Thread: U.S. employers can slow illegal immigration

U.S. employers can slow illegal immigration

Sunday, December 31, 2006

By ANNA CENTUOLO
For the Courier-Post

I'm a softy for immigrants, I admit it.

Maybe it's because my Jewish great-grandparents escaped Europe and came to America just before our doors tragically closed to Jews in 1924. But don't get me wrong. Immigrants of yesterday were different from those of today.

My great-grandparents were happy to wash their hands of Europe, embrace America and become American. American soil was a sanctuary, full of opportunity. Jewish immigrants were eager to learn English, assimilate, and leave their native land far, far behind.

I remember my grandfather's stories, including being turned away from one job after another, because he was Jewish. Despite the strong American anti-Semitic climate of the time, they made their own way, embracing their new American identity.

So why are immigrants so different today? Why is there a rift between immigrants and native-born Americans? History books no longer describe America as a "melting pot," but as a "tossed salad."

Sadly, if we continue in this direction, American patriotism, once the common thread gloriously uniting diversity, will be severed. Of course, I feel we should take pride in our heritage. We should celebrate our culture. We should embrace diversity. But above all, we should be grateful to call ourselves American.

Get a handle

I empathize with our immigrants. But for our great-grandchildren's sake, we must get a handle on immigration. Our government is failing miserably, with about 1 million immigrants entering our country illegally every year. With our population just topping 300 million, the astonishing projection is that we will reach 400 million by 2050. How is that possible when, since 1972, Americans have been below replacement-level fertility?

The consequences of the influx of immigrants and their high fertility is staggering. Will there be any remnants of what America is, what our country was founded on, when our historical roots and national pride are lost?

What is illegal immigration costing us? Our government makes a conservative estimate that there's currently 8 million to 9 million illegal immigrants in the United States. These immigrants drain our economy of at least $11 billion to $22 billion a year. We like to tell ourselves, while sitting in a comfy office and earning a nice salary, that the immigrants are merely taking the jobs Americans don't want. That's simply untrue.

Depresses wages

Illegal immigration perpetuates low wages and poor job conditions/benefits for Americans. Immigrants make up about 12 percent of our workforce, filling mostly low-income positions. Construction, building maintenance and food preparation are dominated by immigrants, where American citizens might otherwise have had a job.

For instance, immigrants make up a quarter of construction laborers and a third of janitors. There are 70 million American citizens of working age with only a high school education who must compete for work with illegal immigrants. Under these circumstances, the poor will continue to get poorer.

Are migrant farmworkers essential to our agricultural industry? I realize it's not a cut-and-dry issue, but agricultural economists proclaim farmers can survive without immigration labor -- if left without cheap labor, technology could easily be created to replace these workers. Economists allege that farming technology advances have stagnated because of the availability of migrant farmworkers.

In addition, scientists claim that developing more productive plants taking up less area could reduce the amount of land to tend. On the flip side of the coin, to call the life of migrant farmworkers harsh is an understatement. With an average work week of up to 70 hours, annual earnings of $6,000 to $8,000, and a life expectancy of 49 years, eliminating migrant farmworkers is a worthwhile humanitarian pursuit as well.

I have such compassion toward our immigrant population that comes here with peaceful intentions. I wish the answer was to welcome them and to grant large masses citizenship. I wish a $6 billion fence would cut off further immigration woes. I cannot fault these individuals for breaking our law. Even our government, responsible for controlling immigration, sends a double message, arresting immigrants at the border, yet proclaiming once they're here, "How about a job?"

I must admit, had I been born in a Third World country, I would attempt to immigrate here in search of a better life.

Opportunity

Let's not place blame on immigrants. Let's not create an atmosphere of hatred. Let's not cause these people to live in fear. Let's not model to our children hostility and superciliousness. Let's not maliciously drive immigrants out of the country.

Let's simply cease to offer opportunity here for illegal immigrants. Give our jobs back to American citizens.

I beseech business owners, since our government is failing to control this problem, don't offer work to illegal immigrants. We must protect patriotic America for our grandchildren.

The writer is a Vineland resident.

http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/p ... 05/OPINION

Can employers slow illegal immigration? Yes. Can they stop it? No. Illegals will still seek to get here to have their anchor babies, to defraud our welfare system and other systems in place for U.S. Citizens. Only building a wall (or fence) manned by armed guards. Total deportation of all illegals, and those found hiring illegals held accountable by strict fines and jail time and on repeat offenses loss of their businesses to the taxpayers.