Illegal Immigration: Fool Me Once, Shame on You ...
Barbara Anderson
March 23, 2006
The old saying goes: ?Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me?. The U.S. Senate is poised to fool the American people the second time with the euphemistically named ?guest worker? scheme. It did so the first time in 1986, led by Senator Kennedy, who is also in the forefront of the current push for amnesty for illegal aliens. The 1986 amnesty had forgiveness of lawbreaking by those who sneaked into the country, but promised strict surveillance of the borders. The borders were never controlled, leading several million more lawbreakers to come into the country.
Apologists for illegal immigration always claim that the U.S. could not function without the cheap illegal workers pouring across our borders every day. Estimates vary as to how many are here, from 12 million to 24+ million (Bear Stearns estimate January 2005). Since border patrol agents estimate that three to four thousand sneak across our border successfully every day, the Bear Stearns estimate would swell considerably by approximately one million, three hundred thousand to the present date. The obvious question is: how many millions must we let in to satisfy the so-called need?
University of California economist Philip Martin tells about that state?s tomato industry. In the early 1960s growers relied on seasonal Mexican laborers, brought in by the government?s ?bracero? program. In 1964 the government killed the program despite dire warnings that its abolition would doom the industry. Of course, it did not, as scientists developed oblong tomatoes that could be harvested by machine. California?s tomato output has risen fivefold since that time.
Low-paid illegal aliens cannot feed their families on those wages any better than a citizen can and must use our generous social welfare benefits to make ends meet. Therefore, the taxpayer must subsidize these workers. When the cost of subsidizing so many is taken into consideration, paying a nickel more for a tomato doesn?t sound bad. Also, the market ensures that there are no jobs an American citizen will not do, as long as the wage is sufficient to make it worthwhile.
There are many studies to contradict the claim of need for these millions of cheap laborers. In its report of over a year ago, ?The Underground and Labor Force Is Rising to the Surface?, Bear Stearns stated that we have 20 million illegal aliens in the U.S., more than double the 9 million that the Census Bureau estimated. Bear Stearns stated that one of the reasons for the undercount is that at least 5 million illegal aliens are paid under the table and do not show up in the normal demographic data the bureau uses to calculate population.
Bear Stearns reports that those 5+ millions cheat the government out of over $35 Billion a year in income taxes. At the same time they receive $30 billion a year in government largess. Not a good trade-off for the American taxpayer.
Another study was released in December by Milken Institute entitled ?The Los Angeles Economy Project?. The study was done in partnership with the City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles. What they found was that 15 percent of the workforce (680,000 workers) were paid under the table. That is just in LA county. They estimate that 61 percent are illegal aliens.
Those 680,000 workers cheat the government out of $2 Billion a year in taxes. LA County Supervisor Michael Antonovich estimates that illegal aliens cost LA County about $1 Billion a year just in health care, criminal incarceration and public education. The authors of the report conclude that there is a real risk that a steadily increasing number of employers will adopt this illicit labor practice in order to remain competitive. After all, if a roofing company is paying somebody under the table and not taking any taxes out of the wages, he can undercut bids every time of someone who is abiding by the law, thereby eventually driving a competitor out of business.
The region?s underground economy, now estimated at an $8.1 Billion payroll annually, siphons off vast sums of money as workers and employers fail to make payments to Social Security, workers compensation, health insurance and other social safety net programs. Even if an illegal alien is carried on the office payroll, most are poorly educated and unskilled, resulting in them not earning enough money to be required to pay taxes. Poorly paid or not, enough have saved money to send back to Mexico to families, amounting to $20 Billion dollars last year. It is Mexico?s second largest source of income. It is easy to see why Mexico?s President Vincente Fox is lobbying so hard to keep the workers here. Those dollars are going to enrich his economy, but take it out of our economy. The real question is: why are we letting this happen?
Every facet of our society is affected by illegal immigration, but two are bleeding communities all over America: public education and health care.
Using Census Bureau data, it is estimated that 96 percent of the increase in enrollment in public schools is due to immigration. This being so, and parents of those students contribute little or nothing in taxes to support their education, something has to give. Usually, it is the taxpayer. Thus, programs and teachers must be cut or taxes raised on the American citizens who do pay taxes.
But, those staggering numbers just apply to big cities and big states, right? As a case in point, a small city in Oregon, McMinnville, is experiencing the same draining of its taxpayer dollars. This is a small city of about 30,000, nestled in the heart of the Willamette Valley?s wine country. Midway between the coast and Portland and 30 miles from the capitol city of Salem, it is valued as a wonderful place to live and visit.
Over the past two years, there has been an increase in the number of English Language Learners (ELL) in the McMinnville School District from 772 to 1,138, a 32 percent increase. The district has had to put a $96 million bond levy on the May ballot. Last year, the Salem School District spent over $7 million on ELL programs, but only $668,000 on the Talented and Gifted Program (TAG). That meant that an extra $2,500 was spent on an ELL student, but a mere extra $131 per TAG student. The parceling out of resources is ironic, in that, nationally, over 60 percent of ELL students do not even graduate from high school, while over 90 percent of TAG students not only graduate but also go on to universities.
Last year, President Bush released $1 Billion to reimburse hospitals in the Southwest for free health care they gave illegal aliens. California Congressman Dana Rohrbacher estimates that the $1 Billion is only about 10 percent of the actual cost to those hospitals and doesn?t include state or county money spent on illegal aliens. Besides, the $1 Billion sent by the federal government is also taxpayer money, funneled through Washington.
A report in the spring edition of the Journal of Physicians and Surgeons, an article titled ?Illegal Aliens and American Medicine?, written by Madeleine Cosman, chronicled that over the past 10 years, 60 California emergency room hospitals have gone bankrupt and closed their doors due to unreimbursed medical care given to illegal aliens. Twenty-four more hospitals are on the verge of bankruptcy, This is a calamity for many American citizens who need nearby medical care.
In Oregon last month it was announced that the Oregon Department of Human Services is $172 million over budget just five months into the biennium. DHS administers the health plan. While swimming in this $172 million sea of red ink, DHS nonetheless sends out employees on Saturdays and pays them overtime, to attend events that, by agreement with the Mexican consul general, are only open to Mexican nationals, (read illegal aliens). At these events, the DHS employees show Mexican nationals how to access Oregon state benefits.
Current immigration policies that allow 2 to 3 million legal and illegal immigrants per year into the country are overwhelming our public schools, our public health systems, and the criminal justice system, (about 30 percent of the inmates in federal prison are not citizens), sending the livability of our communities and our natural environment in a downward spiral.
While all this is happening, our senators right now are considering whether we should just forget about our laws and make all the ones who have sneaked in legal. No matter that they have broken the law by coming in, another law by residing here, and another law by working here, some of the senators are willing to overlook the lawbreaking for the sake of their own agendas. Republicans are pandering to the businesses that hire illegals. Democrats are eyeing the voters they think will come their way. As usual, the average taxpayer is not represented in any meaningful way. The only thing these senators fear is a loss of power. If enough of their constituents say ?No amnesty, no way, no how?, it might overcome the powerful interests that are pulling them the other way. After all, they need votes to be re-elected. The ones who are pushing amnesty the hardest are Senators McCain and Kennedy, Cornyn and Frist. They all have elements of amnesty in their bills. The tug of war is going on now and those who want their voices to be heard must act soon to be able to affect the legislation in any way.
Otherwise, be ready to welcome all who are here now, plus their families who will be allowed to come legally, plus the millions more who will be pulled by the magnet of becoming citizens eventually if they can just get over the border.
Apologists for illegal immigration always claim that the U.S. could not function without the cheap illegal workers pouring across our borders every day. Estimates vary as to how many are here, from 12 million to 24+ million (Bear Stearns estimate January 2005). Since border patrol agents estimate that three to four thousand sneak across our border successfully every day, the Bear Stearns estimate would swell considerably by approximately one million, three hundred thousand to the present date. The obvious question is: how many millions must we let in to satisfy the so-called need?
University of California economist Philip Martin tells about that state?s tomato industry. In the early 1960s growers relied on seasonal Mexican laborers, brought in by the government?s ?bracero? program. In 1964 the government killed the program despite dire warnings that its abolition would doom the industry. Of course, it did not, as scientists developed oblong tomatoes that could be harvested by machine. California?s tomato output has risen fivefold since that time.
Low-paid illegal aliens cannot feed their families on those wages any better than a citizen can and must use our generous social welfare benefits to make ends meet. Therefore, the taxpayer must subsidize these workers. When the cost of subsidizing so many is taken into consideration, paying a nickel more for a tomato doesn?t sound bad. Also, the market ensures that there are no jobs an American citizen will not do, as long as the wage is sufficient to make it worthwhile.
There are many studies to contradict the claim of need for these millions of cheap laborers. In its report of over a year ago, ?The Underground and Labor Force Is Rising to the Surface?, Bear Stearns stated that we have 20 million illegal aliens in the U.S., more than double the 9 million that the Census Bureau estimated. Bear Stearns stated that one of the reasons for the undercount is that at least 5 million illegal aliens are paid under the table and do not show up in the normal demographic data the bureau uses to calculate population.
Bear Stearns reports that those 5+ millions cheat the government out of over $35 Billion a year in income taxes. At the same time they receive $30 billion a year in government largess. Not a good trade-off for the American taxpayer.
Another study was released in December by Milken Institute entitled ?The Los Angeles Economy Project?. The study was done in partnership with the City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles. What they found was that 15 percent of the workforce (680,000 workers) were paid under the table. That is just in LA county. They estimate that 61 percent are illegal aliens.
Those 680,000 workers cheat the government out of $2 Billion a year in taxes. LA County Supervisor Michael Antonovich estimates that illegal aliens cost LA County about $1 Billion a year just in health care, criminal incarceration and public education. The authors of the report conclude that there is a real risk that a steadily increasing number of employers will adopt this illicit labor practice in order to remain competitive. After all, if a roofing company is paying somebody under the table and not taking any taxes out of the wages, he can undercut bids every time of someone who is abiding by the law, thereby eventually driving a competitor out of business.
The region?s underground economy, now estimated at an $8.1 Billion payroll annually, siphons off vast sums of money as workers and employers fail to make payments to Social Security, workers compensation, health insurance and other social safety net programs. Even if an illegal alien is carried on the office payroll, most are poorly educated and unskilled, resulting in them not earning enough money to be required to pay taxes. Poorly paid or not, enough have saved money to send back to Mexico to families, amounting to $20 Billion dollars last year. It is Mexico?s second largest source of income. It is easy to see why Mexico?s President Vincente Fox is lobbying so hard to keep the workers here. Those dollars are going to enrich his economy, but take it out of our economy. The real question is: why are we letting this happen?
Every facet of our society is affected by illegal immigration, but two are bleeding communities all over America: public education and health care.
Using Census Bureau data, it is estimated that 96 percent of the increase in enrollment in public schools is due to immigration. This being so, and parents of those students contribute little or nothing in taxes to support their education, something has to give. Usually, it is the taxpayer. Thus, programs and teachers must be cut or taxes raised on the American citizens who do pay taxes.
But, those staggering numbers just apply to big cities and big states, right? As a case in point, a small city in Oregon, McMinnville, is experiencing the same draining of its taxpayer dollars. This is a small city of about 30,000, nestled in the heart of the Willamette Valley?s wine country. Midway between the coast and Portland and 30 miles from the capitol city of Salem, it is valued as a wonderful place to live and visit.
Over the past two years, there has been an increase in the number of English Language Learners (ELL) in the McMinnville School District from 772 to 1,138, a 32 percent increase. The district has had to put a $96 million bond levy on the May ballot. Last year, the Salem School District spent over $7 million on ELL programs, but only $668,000 on the Talented and Gifted Program (TAG). That meant that an extra $2,500 was spent on an ELL student, but a mere extra $131 per TAG student. The parceling out of resources is ironic, in that, nationally, over 60 percent of ELL students do not even graduate from high school, while over 90 percent of TAG students not only graduate but also go on to universities.
Last year, President Bush released $1 Billion to reimburse hospitals in the Southwest for free health care they gave illegal aliens. California Congressman Dana Rohrbacher estimates that the $1 Billion is only about 10 percent of the actual cost to those hospitals and doesn?t include state or county money spent on illegal aliens. Besides, the $1 Billion sent by the federal government is also taxpayer money, funneled through Washington.
A report in the spring edition of the Journal of Physicians and Surgeons, an article titled ?Illegal Aliens and American Medicine?, written by Madeleine Cosman, chronicled that over the past 10 years, 60 California emergency room hospitals have gone bankrupt and closed their doors due to unreimbursed medical care given to illegal aliens. Twenty-four more hospitals are on the verge of bankruptcy, This is a calamity for many American citizens who need nearby medical care.
In Oregon last month it was announced that the Oregon Department of Human Services is $172 million over budget just five months into the biennium. DHS administers the health plan. While swimming in this $172 million sea of red ink, DHS nonetheless sends out employees on Saturdays and pays them overtime, to attend events that, by agreement with the Mexican consul general, are only open to Mexican nationals, (read illegal aliens). At these events, the DHS employees show Mexican nationals how to access Oregon state benefits.
Current immigration policies that allow 2 to 3 million legal and illegal immigrants per year into the country are overwhelming our public schools, our public health systems, and the criminal justice system, (about 30 percent of the inmates in federal prison are not citizens), sending the livability of our communities and our natural environment in a downward spiral.
While all this is happening, our senators right now are considering whether we should just forget about our laws and make all the ones who have sneaked in legal. No matter that they have broken the law by coming in, another law by residing here, and another law by working here, some of the senators are willing to overlook the lawbreaking for the sake of their own agendas. Republicans are pandering to the businesses that hire illegals. Democrats are eyeing the voters they think will come their way. As usual, the average taxpayer is not represented in any meaningful way. The only thing these senators fear is a loss of power. If enough of their constituents say ?No amnesty, no way, no how?, it might overcome the powerful interests that are pulling them the other way. After all, they need votes to be re-elected. The ones who are pushing amnesty the hardest are Senators McCain and Kennedy, Cornyn and Frist. They all have elements of amnesty in their bills. The tug of war is going on now and those who want their voices to be heard must act soon to be able to affect the legislation in any way.
Otherwise, be ready to welcome all who are here now, plus their families who will be allowed to come legally, plus the millions more who will be pulled by the magnet of becoming citizens eventually if they can just get over the border.
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