Jesus man,
I work in a restaurant and I tell you what each day I grow closer and closer to joining some group that deports illegals.
Most of our kitchen and prep people are illegals and as a manager that sucks cause I cannot tell them anything I have to show them what to do and they dont even do that right half the time. Most are good workers but they dont call in sick they just dont show cause they are either in Mexico or Dallas getting temporary fake paperwork or whatever they do to work here. Anyway I am tired of caudling people because they dont know our language. It increases training time and is aggrevating as hell. I dont even know what their problems are so they just quit because I dont know espanol and they dont know English. I am not for kicking them all out just making them learn English. Thats why I support them becoming legals the old fashioned way because you are forced to learn English as part of your citzenship.
cn: Learn English already you damn moochers
The bottom line is that they're here illegally, and they send most of their $$$ back to Mexico or whatever latin american country so their relatives can sneak up here. and they DEMAND driver's licenses, free health care, schooling etc. we don't even take care of all of our own people. something drastic has to be done.
It isn't quite that cut-and-dried. Take huskerdavo's example. Why is it he's hiring those individuals? Either there is no one else that will take those jobs, or there is no one else that will take them for the price the business is willing to pay for the labor. In either case, how would that business function without those workers?
The amount of money they send back to their native countries is practically nil when compared to the monies that they permit businesses to generate - which in turn generate tax revenues; revenues that far exceed the small amount of wages that are "exported". And, of course, it pales in comparison to the amounts that the U.S. sends to other countries as aid...
Further, most illegals can't actually get most of the benefits you mentioned. For example, most can't get Medicaid (free healthcare for the indigent) - there is now a "proof of citizenship" requirement to become Medicaid eligible. Prior to that, many states had their own specific requirements that denied Medicaid to those that could not prove citizenship.
Free schooling? Well, again, much of the taxes that support schools comes from people or businesses that are able to earn income based on the work of illegals. And if you want them to "learn English", what better way than to have their children attend school?
People keep talking about how there is an immigration problem, and that something needs to be done about it. But when you really think about it, there isn't one. The vast majority of those here illegally actually fly beneth the radar. They work, stay out of trouble, draw almost no benefits - yet their labor is what permits many business to remain in business.
It's true that there is an element in that population that violates the law, or manages to obtain benefits using illegal means - but the percentage is relatively small, and when compared to the boost to the economy they provide, the trade-off actually benefits the U.S. Did you see NYC's mayor talking about the effect cutting off illegal immigrants would have on his city? Well, that same effect would hit all major metropolitan areas as well.
Do we need to secure the boarders? Yes, we do - but for issues concerning possible terrorisim, and not immigration.
Do we want some kind of comprehensive, enforceable immigration policy? Again, yes - but there is hardly a "crisis" out there.
