[quasi modo]

Without a large supply of illegal (lacking legal status) workers, the farm economies of California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida and most of the Southeast would collapse. It's not that Americans won't do the jobs that illegals do--we just won't do them for $2 an hour.

[ovrtaxt]

*yawwwwwn* And the welfare and indigent care cost us more than they're worth. Find another argument.

(-hint- there aren't any good ones for your position.)

[afnamvet]

Ahh, your first time on Free Republic...your first post quasi?

Show me the sources for your $ 2.00/hr nonsense.

[Marine Inspector]

Without a large supply of illegal (lacking legal status) workers, the farm economies of California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida and most of the Southeast would collapse.

Wrong.

[radicalamericannationalist]

"Without a large supply of illegal (lacking legal status) workers, the farm economies of California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida and most of the Southeast would collapse."

How does Australia have a viable agricultural industry without being Mexico's neighbor?

[hoot2]

" It's not that Americans won't do the jobs that illegals do--we just won't do them for $2 an hour."

Where did you get that figure please? Here in Moorpark, they start at $10, you can haggle if there are bunch of "illegals" standing around.

"Hourly earnings of orange harvesters ranged from $4.50 to more than $11.00 per hour (Figure 1). Based on contracted piece rates and actual worker productivity, approximately 700, or six percent of harvest hours earned less than minimum wage, $5.15 per hour."
This from a University of Florida study. Cal is probably higher.

[Sunnyvale CA Eng.]

"Without a large supply of illegal (lacking legal status) workers, the farm economies of California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida and most of the Southeast would collapse. It's not that Americans won't do the jobs that illegals do--we just won't do them for $2 an hour"

No, economies will not collapse. Market forces kick in and now picking veggies pays more AND mechanical picking machines get used more. Food will cost a little more but government (should) cost a little less. Also a few billion less leaves the country in money sent home.

Recently, I read an article in an engineering magazine about new high tech mechanical picking machines. They are becoming more cost effective and faster because of machine vision, computer control. The machines can remember where they were and what they saw there - veggies that need a few more days on the vine for example.

[international american]

"Without a large supply of illegal (lacking legal status) workers, the farm economies of California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida and most of the Southeast would collapse. It's not that Americans won't do the jobs that illegals do--we just won't do them for $2 an hour."

This is the big lie being perpetrated on the public.
1)We have 10 times the illegals we need here in California to farm
2) They are paid 500-700 a week, not 2 dollars, but with no benefits.

[flaglady47]

"Without a large supply of illegal (lacking legal status) workers, the farm economies of California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida and most of the Southeast would collapse. It's not that Americans won't do the jobs that illegals do--we just won't do them for $2 an hour."

Then pay the workers more and hire Americans. Why should we the taxpayers subsidize businesses who want to hire cheap labor, by having to shoulder the costs for all of the social services we shell out to illegal aliens? Any money that might be made off the backs of illegals is dwarfed by the expense of them via welfare and other social benefits, including their overwhelming many of our school districts, those schools having to dealing with bi-lingual education problems, their swamping our hospitals, and then having to deal with the actuality of babies born by their border-hopping mothers just so the kids will be U.S. citizens. Of course, then there are the jails that are stuffed with illegal immigrant criminals. Yeah, but we must make sure to benefit those business people who illegally hire the illegal immigrants just so they can maximize their profits at our country as a whole's expense. Good deal for them, bad deal for our country.