Posted on 03/17/2009 9:17:18 AM PDT by Chief Engineer
A B.C. sales representative who markets equestrian products in Canada was barred from crossing the U.S. border to attend a trade show last month by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer who accused him of trying to steal American jobs.
"He looked at me, and in a yelling voice he said, 'You're friggin' stealing jobs away from American citizens,' and I tried telling him that I wasn't," Joel Borsteinas told CBC News.
Borsteinas, a Canadian citizen, said he's been in business for 15 years, acting as a middleman between U.S. and Canadian suppliers of western wear and equestrian products and Canadian retailers who want to stock the products.
He said he goes to the U.S. half a dozen times a year, to attend trade shows and meet with suppliers who want him to market their products to retailers north of the border. They pay him a commission for every Canadian order he sends to them.
On Feb. 26, Borsteinas said, he was on his way to a trade show in Oregon when he was pulled over at the border and questioned for an hour before being refused entry. He said he's never been stopped at the border before, and he said he always tells the truth about where he is going and why.
Anybody that buys off an American distribution company or an American manufacturer company has some sort of a liaison in Canada," said Borsteinas.
'I'm creating American jobs' "I'm creating American jobs. The (U.S.) companies that I actually work for — I have been in touch with them all — and they still think that this is absolutely crazy."
Borsteinas said the border officer who refused to allow him entry to the U.S. was the supervisor on duty at the time, at the Sumas crossing in southwestern B.C.
"I said, 'Well I don't actually bring the products in. I just write the orders. It's all in Canada,'" said Borsteinas.
He says, 'Oh you are a consultant then.' I says, 'No — I'm just a salesman. I sell to Canadian stores.' And he says 'Nope, you are a consultant,'" said Borsteinas. "Once again, he says 'You are stealing jobs away from us.'"
Borsteinas said he was then fingerprinted and sent back into Canada. The border officer warned him if he tried to enter the U.S. on business again, he should expect to be prosecuted.
More at link.
I didn't say that.... what I did say is, that the economics of illegal immigration are driven by cost. Americans cost more -- a lot more -- than illegals. A lot of those jobs (especially in agriculture) are only available because of the low wages that illegals will accept. Getting rid of the low-wage workers may well drive many Americans out of business.
Of course they are cheaper. The only problem is that it is against the law to hire them.
Hm. Have you ever wondered about why so many American employers are so blatantly unimpressed by that argument?
Demand isn't the problem in this ountry. We have plenty of labor, skilled and unskilled.
Two sentences that have very little to do with one another. The demand for labor is quite obviously being filled by illegals, and not by those from whom jobs are allegedly being "stolen." The difference in employability between illegal and domestic labor sources has its roots in one thing only: the cost of illegal labor is much, much lower.
The employers might be willing (or able) to pay if they didn't have access to any more illegal workers.
And many of them might well go out of business, too. You have to figure that they're flouting the law for a reason.
What kind of logic is that? It sounds like the same reasoning that went into the slave trade. Hiring illegal workers as a cheap, inexhaustible supply of labor is AGAINST THE LAW. Are you suggesting that we change the law or open the borders?
Hm. Have you ever wondered about why so many American employers are so blatantly unimpressed by that argument?
Because the USG has not been enforcing its own laws and the US taxpayer is subsidizing the costs in terms of health care, education, and other social benefits. Tomorrow, the Center for Immigration studies will be issuing a new report on the impact of Immigration Enforcement in the Meatpacking industry. I will send it to you tomorrow and you can see how Swift was able to deal with the raids on their plants. Hint: They were able to find replacement AMERICAN workers and they paid them more.
Two sentences that have very little to do with one another. The demand for labor is quite obviously being filled by illegals, and not by those from whom jobs are allegedly being "stolen." The difference in employability between illegal and domestic labor sources has its roots in one thing only: the cost of illegal labor is much, much lower.
Why do you keep stating the obvious? Of course they are cheaper, which is why they are attractive. You don't have to provide them with the same benefits that are required by law. The point is that they are illegal and businesses are prohibited by law from hiring them. The foundation upon which this country is built is the rule of law. Businesses that hire illegals should be punished severely.
And many of them might well go out of business, too. You have to figure that they're flouting the law for a reason.
Pure BS. It is up to them to comply with our existing laws or have them changed. We already bring in one million guest workers thru programs like H1B, H2B, etc. I don't understand where you are coming from.
I had the opposite happen. About 15 years ago I went to Canada to visit some companies with our Canadian sales rep. When I went through Canadian customs I slipped on the verbiage a bit and it came off to them that I was up there offering these Canadian companies a service.
I was detained for nearly half an hour and they went through all of the regs, licensing and tax requirements if I were up there providing a commercial service. We finally cleared it up but in my return trips over the years I’ve learned to just say “accompanying our Canadian rep on some customer visits” even though I was the one providing the particular support service. Never run into that in any other country I’ve visited on business.
Ahem this man was coming to the U.S. and going back to Canada to sell American produced goods to Canadian companies! The border guard was wrong! Did you read the story?
Please don’t tar all Canadians with the same brush, my wife is a Canadian and is extremely law abiding!
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