Amnesty Then and Now
In 1986, lawmakers decided the problem of illegal immigration had to be dealt with. More than 3 million people were living in the United States after crossing the border illegally or overstaying their visas…Less than 30 years later, the number of immigrants living in the country illegally is thought to have nearly quadrupled, and the freighted baggage of amnesty looms over new efforts to reform the nation’s immigration laws,” the LA Times writes.
“Both camps trot out economic projections. Higher immigrant wages will pad tax coffers and boost the domestic product by billions of dollars, one argument goes. Opponents predict a drain on public funds as newly legalized immigrants apply for government benefits, and harm to American workers as immigrants get better jobs.”
“‘After legalization, they’ll be eligible for virtually every job in the country,’ said Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the anti-legalization Federation for American Immigration Reform. ‘People whose jobs are not threatened right now will find themselves in competition with these workers.;”
Kotkin: FWD.us and America’s New Oligarchs
“There’s been a huge surge of Valley investment in Washington lobbying, not just on immigration but also on issues effecting national, industrial, and science policy. Facebook’s lobbying budget grew from $351,000 in all of 2010 to $2.45 million in just the first quarter of this year. Google spent a record $18 million last year. In the process, they have hired plenty of professional Washington parasites to make their case; exactly the kind of people Valley denizens used to demean,” says Joel Kotkin.
“The oligarchs believe their control of the information network itself gives them a potential influence greater than more conventional lobbies. The prospectus for Fwd.us—headed up by one of Zuckerberg’s old Harvard roommates—suggests tech should become ‘one of the most powerful political forces,” noting “we control massive distribution channels, both as companies and individuals.'”
“Bipartisan” House Bill Bogs Down
“A bipartisan group in the House has gotten bogged down in its efforts to craft an immigration proposal, even as a similar group is moving its bill through the Senate Judiciary Committee. After spending most of the winter promising that the bill’s release was imminent, the House immigration group may now stop short of unveiling a comprehensive immigration overhaul and instead settle on releasing only those provisions on which it can reach agreement, according to aides and advocates following the talks,” Roll Call reports.
Council on Foreign Relations Says Border is Insecure
“The yardstick used in the immigration bill to determine border control may produce too rosy a picture of how well the Border Patrol is doing in cracking down on illegal crossings, according to an independent study released Monday that threatens to upend the immigration debate. In their 76-page report, three researchers at the Council on Foreign Relations also said the drop in illegal immigration is only partly a result of tougher border security and about two-thirds because of economic changes in Mexico and the U.S. that have made it less attractive for Mexicans to migrate north,” the Washington Times reports.
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Q: Who is the typical California garment worker and what factors lead such individuals to take part in such an abusive industry?
A: The majority are immigrants. Some have work authorization, or residency, but most do not. The majority are women. About 75 percent are Latino, mostly from Mexico, but also from Central and South America. A large portion of Asian workers as well, including Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese workers.
Many newcomers go into the garment industry when they don’t have the skills, language ability, work authorization, or knowledge of how to get into other industries. We have heard stories from workers that sometimes people “with papers” won’t get hired because employers think undocumented workers will be easier to intimidate.
Many immigrants simply do not know their rights. And even if they do, they can not afford to stand up for them, because they are living day to day. If they were fired, the time that it would take to look for another job-and they would probably be looking for the same kind of low-paying, abusive garment job-is time that they can not afford to be without work. The fact that they are intimidated by employer threats of deportation, the fact that they don’t know their rights, and lack of employment options all contribute to their tolerance of these conditions.
More info on one of the manufactoring industies supported by Joel in the 1990’s.
cyntha what a cruel reality……………………………then it makes me think……………..after all the abuse, no differently form the law granting green cards to spouse beaten by their husbands….they deserve a shot as well….
There’s been a huge surge of Valley investment in Washington lobbying, not just on immigration but also on issues effecting national, industrial, and science policy. Facebook’s lobbying budget grew from $351,000 in all of 2010 to $2.45 million in just the first quarter of this year. Google spent a record $18 million last year. In the process, they have hired plenty of professional Washington parasites to make their case; exactly the kind of people Valley denizens used to demean,” says Joel Kotkin.
“The oligarchs believe their control of the information network itself gives them a potential influence greater than more conventional lobbies. The prospectus for Fwd.us—headed up by one of Zuckerberg’s old Harvard roommates—suggests tech should become ‘one of the most powerful political forces,” noting “we control massive distribution channels, both as companies and individuals.’”
Joel supported a lot of illegal immirgation in LA and Orange Conty thru the years. He even admired the La Garment Industry that employed more illegal immirgants as a percentage of the industry next to farm work. Joel is not that good on immirgation issues and supported the poverazation of LA, Orange and now the state of Texas.
One Good Thing About Encouraging Overpopulation Through Excessive Immigration in America
I’d love to see the open border supporters lose their jobs to the very overpopulation they encourage.
In the end, that LA Times story is more of the same old “good for the economy” claims. The fact is that California has for all intents and purposes let illegal immigrants work at any job they wanted to, for years now. They have in effect had amnesty for decades. And it’s gotten them an unemployment rate that has been 2% above the national rate for five plus years, only dipping below 10% unemployment in the last few months.
And officials in California are already crying about what a burden citizenship for illegals will put on them because they are going to have to pay out benefits to those amnestied. But the fact is they already are paying those benefits, and this situation will make it even worse. But it’s what you wanted. You allowed all this illegal immigration, so if all your rosy projections of how good it is for your economy don’t work out, that’s on you.
Leland along with Cyntha’s story…..WE NEVE CARED…………………really…………now we do?????…..so let it be…..for those that deserve to stay after the pain and abuse…………………………………..really.