Immigration: They come illegally because they can't come legally

The Oregonian ^ | April 21, 2009 | Erlinda Gonzales-Berry,professor emeritus at Oregon State University.

[crazyhorse691]

They break the law, damn it. They are criminals, and they need to be treated as such. If they get sick, let them suffer like dogs. If children who have been socialized and brought up as Americans in our public schools want an affordable college education, tough oats. This riff-raff of undesirable "illegal aliens" needs to head south of the border and the sooner the better.

Thus runs the tenor of anti-immigrant (and specifically anti-Mexican immigrant) discourse these days in our country.

Undocumented workers come to the United States precisely because they can get a job. If there were no jobs, they would not come. We can blame employers for hiring people who have "broken the law," and fine them in an effort to curb their practice of hiring illegal workers. But this rarely happens.

We can rant and rave about "illegals" who break the law and come to take jobs that are here for the taking. Ranting and raving, however, does not lead to structural changes in our labor practices. It would be wonderful if we could, overnight, convince American businesses to pay higher salaries and offer benefits and protections for workers. This would take a major re-haul of our labor laws, minimum wage law and more. Fat chance of that happening anytime soon.

Or we can acknowledge that there are many jobs in this country that will not be filled by American workers because 1) they do not pay a living wage; 2) they are low-status jobs; 3) they have no benefits or worker protections.

Meanwhile, jobs need to be filled, and there is a labor force that crosses the border daily, following the flow of transnational capital and goods unleashed by globalization, and these workers are eager to fill those jobs.

There are those who argue that this labor force creates a financial drain on our system. But rarely do they acknowledge that this labor force makes substantial contributions, through the sweat of its labor, to the Gross Domestic Product of this country, and that it also fattens up our federal coffers by paying payroll taxes that individual workers are frequently unable to recoup.

Also overlooked by those who chant "they break the law, therefore they are criminals" is the fact that perhaps the law they break is an unjust one. When a nation creates, through its labor policies, a glut of low-paying jobs that attract foreign workers, yet does not provide adequate avenues for those workers to enter the country legally, can we not say that its immigration policies are inadequate? That, in effect, its laws are unjust?

Those who resort to facile, emotional arguments regarding the dangers wrought upon our country by "illegal aliens" who break our sovereign laws would do well to acknowledge that people who come here "illegally" to work do so because there is no way for them to come legally. And while they are here they fatten our federal tax coffers and they help increase the GDP of our country.

Furthermore, the fact that they break the law, does not make them any less human than those of us who are here legally. In fact, they have the same dreams, hopes and fears as you and I. For those of you who have never dealt with an illegal immigrant, believe me, they are not here to harm you, to rob you, to diminish your worth. They are, very much, like your own ancestors who migrated here from distant shores, human beings in search of a better tomorrow.

Erlinda Gonzales-Berry is a professor emeritus at Oregon State University.

[crazyhorse691]

I apologize for the lack of acumen displayed by the author, but, she is after all just a college professor.

[CodeToad]

Gosh, my neighbor won’t give me his car so I guess it is morally and legally right for me just to take it.

[nmh]

She is right.

They wouldn’t be able to come here LEGALLY.

We get Mexico’s rejects and criminals.

With Obama’s OPEN BORDER policy being “discussed” ... it will be worse.

[RC2]

If they can’t come legally, they need to stay out. If our people need more people from Mexico, let them go to the government. We have to follow our laws......they should follow them even more so.

[domenad]

Is this guy an idiot? He’s a PROFESSOR, for crying out loud. “They come illegally because they can’t come legally?” What the #@%^) kind of argument is that? I stole a Maserati because I couldn’t legally buy one and that makes it okay. This guy is a moron and the fact that he’s an instructor is chilling.

[a fool in paradise]

If open borders are so wonderful, why do billions of people accept the practice of using a passport to travel abroad and why do you need a visa to go to some countries?

[w1andsodidwe]

Undocumented workers come to the United States precisely because they can get a job. If there were no jobs, they would not come. We can blame employers for hiring people who have "broken the law," and fine them in an effort to curb their practice of hiring illegal workers. But this rarely happens.

You have to actually allow employers to ask for proof that they are here illegally. Currently, I think you have to actually hire someone before you can ask or use everify. And everify is not allowed if you are hiring for a stimulus bill project.

I'm not saying that some employers aren't very guilty, but the government writes the law so that it would be discriminatory to find out their status.

[AuntB]

“Undocumented workers come to the United States precisely because they can get a job. If there were no jobs, they would not come.”

Then why are half of them on social services????

BTW....this author and most people do not realize we now allow over 2 MILLION immigrants in LEGALLY...and MOST ARE MEXICANS.

FACTS: (contrary little things, aren’t they??)

According the the US Government.......Add them up.....legal entries are over 2 million every year.
The Obama Administration wants MORE legal immigrants and wants to amnesty 12 to 20 million more illegal aliens!

http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffairs/DayinLife_050629.pdf
Some of the DAILY work of USCIS according to their own document:

* Conduct 135,000 national security background checks
* process 30,000 applications for immigrant benefits
* Issue 7,000 permanent resident cards (green cards -PER DAY)
* Welcome 2100 new citizens. PER DAY
* Welcome 3500 new permanent residents. PER DAY

More than 1 million people became citizens in 2008, with 780,000 taking the oath of allegiance in the first 10 months, according to preliminary figures from the Department of Homeland Security. In 2007, 660,477 people were granted U.S. citizenship.

Leading countries of birth of new citizens were:
Mexico (122,258), India (46,871), Philippines (38,830), China (33,134) and Vietnam (27,921)

Largest number of people naturalizing lived in:
California (181,684), New York (73,676) and Florida (54,563).
SOURCE: Office of Immigration Statistics, Department of Homeland Security
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/WestVolusia/wvlHEAD03WEST012209.htm

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hispanics made up nearly half of the more than 1 million people who became U.S. citizens last year, according to a Hispanic advocacy group. The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials said the number of Latinos who became Americans in fiscal year 2008 more than doubled over the previous year, to 461,317. That’s nearly half of the record 1,046,539 new citizens overall in 2008, a 58 percent increase from 2007. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gQKI-mUtzRTYIm7MjslLxEoz2zVgD97DFPI01

Study: Illegal Immigrants Having More Kids In US Associated Press ^ | April 14, 2009
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/money/19175382/detail.html

Growing numbers of children of illegal immigrants are being born in this country, and they are nearly twice as likely to live in poverty than those with American-born parents...

Overall, illegal immigrants’ children account for one of every 15 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. In 2008, California had the most illegal immigrants at 2.7 million, double its 1990 number, followed by Texas, Florida, New York and New Jersey.

“In the next eight years, the violent collection of criminal drug cartels could overwhelm the state and establish de facto control over broad regions of northern Mexico,” McCaffrey’s report said. “A failure by the Mexican political system to curtail lawlessness and violence could result in a surge of millions of refugees crossing the U.S. border.”

http://www.star-telegram.com/state_news/story/1245213.htm

[2ndDivisionVet]

There shouldn't be a “minimum wage” law, as that isn't governments role, per the Constitution.

If and when the conservative states secede, I daresay it'll be much harder to enter them than it is now.

[a fool in paradise]

Or we can acknowledge that there are many jobs in this country that will not be filled by American workers because 1) they do not pay a living wage; 2) they are low-status jobs; 3) they have no benefits or worker protections.

Or 4) undocumented workers will work below legal wage.

[GeronL]

Yes they can come legally. I know someone who went back to Mexico and returned legally within 3 months.

3 months.

Pretty simple actually.

[kabar]

We take in 1.2 million LEGAL immigrants a year plus hundreds of thousands more on non-immigrant work visas.

The Bureau of Labor statistics for March 2009 show a national unemployment rate of 8.5 percent, including 13.3 percent for blacks and 11.4 percent for Hispanics. 13.2 million Americans are unemployed. Despite the economic downturn, the U.S. continues to bring in 138,000 new foreign workers a month. This includes new permanent residents (green cards) and long-term temporary visas and others who are authorized to take a job. This makes no sense.

[adversarial]

hahaha...and the robber takes your money because you won’t just give it to him.

[Balding_Eagle]

We get Mexico’s rejects and criminals.

As always in our nations history, we get the cream of the crop from every nation in the world. Germany, Russia, Australia, Canada, Mexico, you name it, we get the best that nation has to offer.

THAT'S why our nation is the most inventive, most prosperous, and has the best, kindest, culture in the history of the world.

[oneamericanvoice]

Why can’t they come here LEGALLY? Millions have. This professor is an idiot like most who don’t support our sovereignty.

[a fool in paradise]

If Obama would push for Economic Justice in Mexico, more Mexicans would remain at home rather than come here to work and then wire their paychecks home.

There’s a guy in Mexico who’s richer than Bill Gates. There is money in Mexico. Just as there is money in the Middle East.

How about the US push for a $6.50/hour minimum wage in Mexico?

THAT would be FAIR to our economy and workers.

[doodad]

Geez, where to even start with this malodorous screed.

[marron]

We can blame employers for hiring people who have "broken the law," and fine them in an effort to curb their practice of hiring illegal workers. But this rarely happens.

Why not?

we can acknowledge that there are many jobs in this country that will not be filled by American workers because 1) they do not pay a living wage; 2) they are low-status jobs; 3) they have no benefits or worker protections.

They don't have to offer competitive wages because there is a pool of second class workers willing to accept less. You'd think the professor would recognize the unfairness of it. Eliminate the pool of illegal workers, the wages and conditions will rise until they are able to attract legal workers.

And lets be clear, we aren't just talking about really undesirable jobs, ordinary construction jobs are facing the same dynamic. In real life what makes a job "undesirable" is the low pay. Being a professor or stock broker would be an undesirable job if you could get illegal workers to do it for $4 an hour with no bathroom breaks.

But illegal workers aren't badly paid, they make pretty good money generally. Just less than the job would pay if they had to compete for legal workers.

perhaps the law they break is an unjust one.

Mexicans don't agree when the country they are talking about is their own. Their immigration laws are quite clear, tough, serious, and on their southern border, enforced.

[Aria]

Well I don’t think I can read this but was it pointed out that Oregon has 12.5% unemployment?

[the_Watchman]

We get Mexico’s rejects and criminals.

I think this is a bit harsh. Yes, they are illegal, but many are here to follow the American dream. They are not necessarily the "rejects and criminals". Many are fine people who should be applauded as they are shown the door and invited back as soon as they jump through the proper hoops.