At a December 2 hearing in the House of Representatives on President Obama’s grant of temporary amnesty for illegal aliens, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson was grilled on the legality of the program and its impact on Americans.
Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.) noted that millions of Americans are seeking employment at the same time that the administration is granting amnesty and work permits to the illegal aliens, thereby empowering them to compete with Americans for scarce jobs. Secretary Johnson, in response, argued that the illegal aliens were already working so there was no added competition.
That response by Johnson was mistaken or deliberately misleading. As reported in the Washington Post on December 1, “A survey of DACA recipients [the previous group of some 700,000 illegal alien beneficiaries of President Obama’s unilateral amnesty]found that 60 percent had gotten a new job…” With DACA recipients receiving work authorization, they had an easier time finding jobs that could have and should have gone to legal workers.
The defenders of illegal aliens claim that the illegal workers are harmless to American workers because they do jobs that Americans do not want. But, when they are given permits to work legally, the 60 percent who have gotten new jobs with their new work permits were no longer limited in the jobs they competed for. This makes it clear that Rep. Barletta was on target to insist that the President’s actions are clearly unfair to American workers.
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Legal workers certainly will do the jobs that illegal aliens and their advocates insist that only illegals are willing to take. If legal workers are paid a living wage and benefits package, they will take those jobs. The cost of living will rise, somewhat, but so what. The cost of providing health and human services to illegals far out-distances the slight rise in cost of living that Americans would experience. As for the taxes that illegals pay in the U.S., those, too, are eclipsed by the cost of educating and otherwise providing for them. Add to that the untaxed billions of dollars that illegals send home, and it becomes clear just how much they cost us.
And I would add that if unemployment/ welfare benefits are discontinued for legal workers when jobs ARE available –whether they take the jobs or not– they would be even MORE willing to take those jobs.
Illegals do jobs we do not want TO DO FOR LESS THAN LEGAL WAGE.
Republicans were elected to stop Obama. Now it is time for them to do the job they were elected for. This is for me the preverbal line in the sand. If the republicans do not stop this action, by any means, whether or not it means impeaching this president, then I and I am sure millions of conservatives will walk away from the GOP and never look back. They have one chance to prove they are trust worthy. If they fail, then they should look to Eric Cantor as their future.
You are Jack *** Martin. You have 24 wrinkles on your face and still sound like a 4 year old kid. Make it 6. They already worked under the table and now they work “legally”. There is no loss of job.
Those jobs could have originally gone to citizens. Even non violent US prisoners, those jobs could have gone to our teens, instead of teens from Russia or elsewhere!
Stranger is correct.
Perhaps the Title of This Article Could Be:
Illegal and Legal Immigration Ate Up All the new Jobs
The defenders of illegal aliens claim that the illegal workers are harmless to American workers because they do jobs that Americans do not want. Thats a lie! Because Illegal aliens are stealing high paying construction jobs, federal contract logging jobs, at or above minmum wage restaurant jobs, etc. all the while in receipt of both state & federal housing $ assistance, free medical and free education, $ welfare payments for their anchor babies and medicare payments for their illegal alien parent/s.
DEFUND ALL OF OBAMA ‘ PROGRAMS! DEFUND HIS MONTHLY HIP HOP & JAZZ CONCERTS AT THE WHITE HOUSE THAT ARE TELEVISED AND DEFUND THE OBAMA’ NUMEROUS AIR FORCE 1 BEING FLOWN FOR SHOPPING TRIPS/VACATIONS FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS = HOW MANY BILLIONS OF U.S. TAXPAYER DOLLARS?
DEFUND OBAMA’ $124 BILLION HE’LL FLUSH DOWN THE TOILET THIS YEAR TO FINANCIALLY FUND,”AIDE & ABET” ILLEGAL ALIENS. ALL THE MONIES WASTED THAT SHOULD BE GOING TO U.S. INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS & SECURING THAT DAMN BORDER BETWEEN THE U.S. AND MEXICO TO STOP THE STEM OF DRUG CARTEL ACTIVITY AND ILLEGAL ALIEN SMUGGLING. STOP ALL PAYMENTS TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES IN THE FORM OF MILITARY AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.
OR JUST IMPEACH OBAMA AND SAVE THE U.S. TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS FROM DISAPPEARING.
Absolutely correct analysis. Many may be working at low wage jobs they have had a long time but were afraid to leave because they might not get hired elsewhere. Now that they have unlimited work permits they can go anywhere and apply for anything.