What should be done about illegal immigration?

Tags: Politics, Immigration, Racism, White Supremacy, Bigotry
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There was a story on NPR's All Things Considered Tuesday that should interest yall. It was entitled something like "NYC battles immigrant wage theft." About 8 minutes long. I could go through the exercise of using things like "...(T)he etc." But it would become cumbersome to write and to read. Suffice it to say that I am cribbing from the text version of the story quite liberally in this little summary.
The NYC Dept of Labor is no longer waiting for complaints from workers about not receiving minimum wage, overtime, lunch breaks or that labor laws apply to them even if they are in the country illegally.
Instead they are going into businesses talking to employees and employers.
The NYC Labor Dept claims that:
* 1/2 of all workers (laborers?) in NYC are foreign born and consist of people here legally and illegally.
* At an upscale restaurant, bathroom attendants receive only tips.
* 3/4 of car washes do not pay overtime.
* A family-friendly chicken place pays a man $25 for an 8-hour shift (less than 1/2 the minimum wage for a waiter in NYC).
* Another employee works 12-hour shifts with no overtime.
* And a 3rd works 80 hours a week with no overtime and is paid in cash.

The NYC Commissioner of Labor claims that enforcement of labor laws in NYC, in NY state and in the rest of the country has been very weak.

So that is my summary of the story as best as I can do without quoting the whole thing. I tried to post it without expressing an opinion, but NPR listeners sure did on the web-site. There will probably be more responses to the story this afternoon.

2 Replies

@realjohnboy,

I wonder how long this has been going on, and also what other "big" cities have the same problems?

2 Replies

@realjohnboy,

Quote:

The NYC Commissioner of Labor claims that enforcement of labor laws in NYC, in NY state and in the rest of the country has been very weak.

What would happen if they were strictly enforced?

1 Reply

@spendius,

Spendius--The law will not be strictly enforced. Why? If I may, I would like to set up a hypothetical in England. Suppose the English Labor Party were able to get five or six million more Muslims into England with promises of jobs and welfare even though the official line was that the Arabs were not to enter because they had not properly applied for entry?

That is what is going on in many states of the USA. The Democratic Party encourages illegal immigration since the votes of thier fellow Hispanics who are citizens and even some of the illegal votes(ACORN gathered many of these) would vote Democrat.

The NYC Commissioner of Labor is impotent without strong held from DC and, of course,BO is looking for votes to be gathered in any way possible!

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Last Wednesday I was invited by friends to the Albuquerque Museum for the swearing in ceremony for children of newly naturalized immigrants. Their kid was being sworn in. They have these ceremonies several times a year to confer naturalization papers on the kids after the parents have already completed their citizenship requirements. There were kids from Mexico, Dominica, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Syria, the Phillipines, India, China, Pakistan, El Salvador, Yemen, and Russia at the ceremony and it was heart warming to see the real emotion in those kids old enough to understand (and their parents). This is what immigration is supposed to look like, and these people are genuinely proud Americans happy to be here and all appear to be productive members of society. We are blessed to have them here.

I lose hope all the time because of the numbnuts in Congress and elsewhere who put political correctness ahead of common sense, but I hold on to a smidgeon of hope that we will come up with an immigration policy that will make it much more difficult and much less attractive to be here illegally, but that will make it easier for more of those who want to be proud Americans to have that opportunity.

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@cicerone imposter,

For decades! Just go to China Town in lower Manhatten. Those doing this have gone underground, but NYC law enforcement have been monitoring certain industries for decades. One well to do couple has been arrested for keeping illegal immigrants in their homes as slaves! I wish I could remember who they are. It was either Fall 08 or early 09. Very sad.

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@Foxfyre,

Quote:

There were kids from Mexico, Dominica, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Syria, the Phillipines, India, China, Pakistan, El Salvador, Yemen, and Russia at the ceremony and it was heart warming to see the real emotion in those kids old enough to understand (and their parents). This is what immigration is supposed to look like, and these people are genuinely proud Americans happy to be here and all appear to be productive members of society. We are blessed to have them here.

I agree with you completely in this post Foxfyre.

I hope there was someone there helping these new Americans register to vote.

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@teenyboone,

Well I hope they hang em. No way can I think of ANY justification for that.

Living here in a border state and working in vocations and avocations that has put me into frequent contact with illegals here in New Mexico, I can say that I've seen the worst of the worst, the best of the best, and just about everything in between. I have experienced the heart wrenching conflict of those who don't want to leave but who won't be allowed to stay, along with the feeling of helplessness that I have no power to intervene, and I have seen first hand the pain and suffering inflicted on innocents by those who never should have been allowed across the border or probably allowed to roam free in their own country for that matter. And I see the bottom line of those hurt by the presence of illegals who just want to make a few bucks for themselves or their families but who skew the economic balance when they circumvent the law.

I believe we can and must do better on all fronts. It won't happen, however, until people are willing to shut up their accusations of racism and bigotry and are willing to see all aspects of the problem and help work out a solution for it.

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@ebrown p,

ebrown p wrote:

Quote:
There were kids from Mexico, Dominica, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Syria, the Phillipines, India, China, Pakistan, El Salvador, Yemen, and Russia at the ceremony and it was heart warming to see the real emotion in those kids old enough to understand (and their parents). This is what immigration is supposed to look like, and these people are genuinely proud Americans happy to be here and all appear to be productive members of society. We are blessed to have them here.

I agree with you completely in this post Foxfyre.

I hope there was someone there helping these new Americans register to vote.

These people don't need any help in registering to vote. They are excited and proud and grateful for the opportunity to be Americans and I am confident that every one of them will take their citizenship responsibilities and obligations quite seriously including registering to vote. It has been my experience that the vast majority of those who go through the process of naturalization legally make some of our very best Americans.

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@Foxfyre,

Quote:

These people don't need any help in registering to vote. They are excited and proud and grateful for the opportunity to be Americans and I am confident that every one of them will take their citizenship responsibilities and obligations quite seriously including registering to vote. It has been my experience that the vast majority of those who go through the process of naturalization legally make some of our very best Americans.

That's great to hear! Legal immigrants are widely opposed to immigration enforcement and strongly in favor of a path to citizenship. Most legal immigrants also say that they feel targeted by racism as part of the immigration debate.

There are many naturalized citizens, mostly Hispanic and Asian, in the immigrant rights organizations I support in Boston. One of the most important things for our cause is to make sure that these brand new citizens register and vote.

I imagine that immigrant rights groups are similarly engaged in your part of the country.

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@ebrown p,

I disagree. I would guess of the fairly small group of legal immigrants I know well, they are 9 to 1 in favor of strong enforcement of the immigration laws and, while they would like for othrs an easier path than they had to take, and would favor a guest worker program, they are hostile to and critical of those who claim some kind of entitlement to be here and who otherwise despise American values, customs, and expectations. As I said, these are proud Americans. And they don't support the organizations who have a different agenda than that.

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@Foxfyre,

Foxfyre wrote:

I would guess of the fairly small group of legal immigrants I know well, they are 9 to 1 in favor of strong enforcement of the immigration laws

You don't know me well -- but as far as I am concerned, you can make it 9:2

1 Reply

@Thomas,

9:3

1 Reply

@Foxfyre,

9:1 sounds about right.

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@Foxfyre,

Foxfyre, your view of the world is complete detached from reality.

1. Even prominent Republican immigrants, such as Mel Martinez and Alberto Gonzales (although he is second generation), are supporting comprehensive immigration reform and decrying racism in their own party.

2. New citizens are the backbone of pro-immigrant groups, such as La Raza. The immigrant protests a few years back were filled with US naturalized citizens.

3. Pro-enforcement politicians are losing elections. Politicians that are solidly in favor of a path to citizenship (including our popular president) are gaining wide public support from immigrants and non-immigrants alike.

4. Then there are the polls...

http://www.americanprogress.org/kf/imm_policy_poll.pdf (from 2006)

64% of legal immigrants say "The anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States is fueled by racism against immigrants from Latin America and Asia."

54% say the debate about immigration policy has been "unfair and based on misinformation"?

Quote:

"The McCain-Kennedy proposal was favored by more than three-quarters of legal immigrants from Latin America, three-fifths of those from Africa and Europe and by a majority of those from Asia.

President Bush’s immigration proposal was acceptable to a majority of legal immigrants but waschosen as “the best way to deal with illegal immigration” by only one-fifth of the respondents.

Legal immigrants from throughout the world strongly oppose “charging illegal immigrants with the felony of unlawful presence,” “arresting and deporting illegal immigrants” and “denying U.S. citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants born in the United States.”

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It seems that eBrown could care less about the hundreds of thousands of citizens losing their job. To him, it is more important to welcome the illegal immigrant.

The unemployment numbers for May were released on June 5th and they are truly disheartening. More than 345,000 Americans lost their jobs last month and unemployment rocketed to 9.4% (the highest since August, 1983). Clearly, it is time for President Obama to work with Congress to reduce or suspend most immigration. It makes little sense to continue to import 138,000 workers per month when so many Americans are unemployed.

--numbersUSA

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@cicerone imposter,

cicerone imposter wrote:

I wonder how long this has been going on, and also what other "big" cities have the same problems?

I wonder, ci, I wonder? Isn't that so surprising that could happen!!!!

1 Reply

@okie,

Are you a parrot? You offered nothing except repeating my question.

1 Reply

@dyslexia,

You're an immigrant, Dys?

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@teenyboone,

Hi Teeny - it was 2007. Horrific case:

Quote:

Varsha Mahender Sabhnani, 35, and Mahender Murlidhar Sabhnani, 51, have been held without bail since they were arrested in May on federal charges of forced labor and harboring undocumented immigrants.........Prosecutors had asked they be held without bail, saying they had a strong motive to flee because conviction was likely and prison terms would range from 18 years to 40 years.

http://wcbstv.com/national/Long.Island.Slave.2.286239.html

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What should be done about illegal immigration?

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