[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.

[quasi modo]

I dunno--every time I drive through California farm country I see fields full of people picking stuff. Market forces in the form of higher prices, maybe.

[hoot2]

"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. "

jails would be half empty...
L.A. schools would be empty...
emergency rooms would be almost empty...
courts, lawyers, and juries...
hit and run drunk drivers...
the FREEWAYS would be OPEN... gosh, so many little things...