Comments on: Whose Pay Does Illegal Immigration Raise?

By: Dan

Dan — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 00:37:01 +0000

Whose afraid of immigrants?

By: Preston

Preston — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 23:55:51 +0000

That’s why America went broke in 1879 and never accepted another immigrant.

By: chris

chris — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 23:45:29 +0000

“When you go out to your favorite sushi restaurant I imagine there are illegal immigrants in the kitchen. If they are getting paid at a lower rate than natives that is likely just money in your pocket. ”

the few dollars we save when we go out to eat once a week will be lost when we pay for their medical bill or when we pay to keep them fed in OUR prison. somehow, i feel that going to the dentist costs more than cooking some kung pao.

By: Preston

Preston — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 22:28:44 +0000

So low wages add up to enough savings so that agribusiness and the meat packers and every restaurant in the country is willing to risk fines, business shutdowns, and public embarrassment yet- there really aren’t any labor savings…

By: Preston

Preston — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 20:36:57 +0000

Sure you’d rather. But you don’t.

The fact is that Americans above the lowest income levels generally benefit from immigration- you get cheaper food from the migrant farmers, cheap labor from day workers, and a little bonus to your Social Security from unclaimed contributions.

Like I say, I think we have reasons to enforce immigration law but it will probably cost us to do so.

By: Preston

Preston — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 20:14:13 +0000

As for the question whose pay does an illegal immigrant raise? Probably yours. When you go out to your favorite sushi restaurant I imagine there are illegal immigrants in the kitchen. If they are getting paid at a lower rate than natives that is likely just money in your pocket.

There are of course a thousand examples like that.

Does that mean we should have illegal immigration? No. But don’t pretend you don’t benefit from it.

By: Preston

Preston — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 20:11:10 +0000

None of what you’re saying contradicts the notion that immigrants commit crimes at a lower rate than natives.

So, the average illegal immigrant in prison has been arrested 8 times per person. What’s the average for native convicts? Is that really the key statistic anyway? I’m more interested in number of convictions per 1000.