NEW REPUBLICAN CAUCUS TARGETS ILLEGAL WORKERS

BY CINDY CARCAMO
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
February 4, 2010

Congressman Gary Miller, R-Diamond Bar, is the co-creator of new caucus that will focus on unemployed Americans, who he says face the most competition for jobs from people working in the country illegally.

Miller and Republican Lamar Smith from Texas recently formed the "Reclaim American Jobs Caucus," which places blame on those who are in the country illegally.

They say lower-skilled citizens and legal immigrants are threatened by a glut of people who are working in the country illegally. The new political group comes on the heels of a report commissioned by the Chicago Urban League and the Alternative Schools Network, which showed high unemployment, especially among minority non-college graduates.

"At home in California, almost weekly I hear from my constituents that illegal immigration is exacerbating the unemployment crisis," Miller stated in a news release. "Today's report that a record number of young Americans are jobless once again highlights the fact that we must enforce our current immigration laws to ensure illegals do not take away jobs that rightfully belong to American and legal workers."

Immigrant worker rights' groups and some studies, however, contend that those in the country illegally don't take away American jobs but instead complement them, strengthening the American economy.

Last month, a report highlighted the economic contributions legal immigrants and those in the country illegally make to the state economy. That study was conducted by the California Immigrant Policy Center, a statewide partnership of immigrant rights groups that include the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles and the National Immigration Law Center.

Click link below to see how Orange County immigrants compare to all of California. (Note, as with ALL reports, the Orange County Register lumps Illegal immigrants with Legal Immigrants and just calls them "Immigrants" and touts that they contribute to the good of the U.S. and are not a drain on the U.S. welfare system -- more open borders cr*p)

http://www.ocregister.com/news/immigran ... #graphics1

Studies commissioned by anti-illegal immigration groups, however, show a different story.

Officials at the Center for Immigration Studies, an anti-illegal immigration group that also believes in less overall immigration, say that low-skilled, lesser-educated workers are hurt by immigrants -- legal and illegal – that flood the work force and bring wages down.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7924 or ccarcamo@ocregister.com

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/immi ... 509--.html