Thread: Not-so-welcome guests

Not-so-welcome guests


Some say illegal immigration is threatening America’s economy and security


Scott Condon
December 30, 2005


A liberal environmentalist from Aspen and an ex-Marine from Frisco may seem unlikely political allies, but opposition to illegal immigration has made strange bedfellows of them and other Coloradans.

The emotionally charged issue has brought together people with views as varied as their backgrounds.

Terry Paulson, the Aspen environmentalist, is concerned about overpopulation. He believes the country is allowing more immigration â€â€

But the contractor in the Roaring Fork Valley said construction costs would soar even higher with legal and illegal immigrants. There simply aren’t enough non-migrant workers available.

I found this part of the article interesting. My husband is in construction and has been for forty years. Most of the reason that there are not enough non-migrant workers is that while this is very physically demanding labor...the pay has not kept pace with other industries. Due to the illegals entering this job market the pay has remained low with little hope for future increases. We just don't get the young guys wanting to apprentice in construction these days.

Once on the jobsite the apprentice may find themselves and the supervisor to be the only English speaking persons there. Communication is very difficult and frustrating. While the above contractor states that the illegals do 'good work' my husband found it unacceptable and sloppy. The answer the illegal gives is 'we don't do it that way in Mexico' completely overlooking the fact that they are no longer in Mexico. Much of the work accomplished in a day had to be removed and done over. Construction is 'production'...if the job isn't properly done the contractor loses money.

In this area of east Texas almost the entirety of residential construction has gone to illegals. It isn't too expensive to buy a few tools, hire a few relatives at below mimimum wage and underbid the other sub contractors. My husband and our sons gave up residential construction for that very reason and are now in commercial construction. Commerical construction is much more difficult to get into considering the expense of the tools and equipment.

Construction was at one time a highly paid trade. It paid well enough to overcome the glaring negatives and attract a stream of young men willing to apprentice. No longer, I am sad to say.

My grandson is a finish carpenter. He came here from Va. last year to work for awhile. In Va. his rate of pay was almost double what it is in this area...again thanks to the illegals. He couldn't stay for more than a few months altho he had hoped to make this his home.

Yes, illegal immigration is hurting us...it's hurting us very badly in obvious and not so obvious ways.

I depart from Tancredo when he says he supports a guestworker program of some sort. I do not. I will not. No one should. We don't 'need' guest workers unless we want our own lives diminished.

RR