04/17/2006
Sometimes I get criticized by other progressives for my stands on immigration. I think folks at Vdare.com should know that I’m not the only one. Here are some articles from CommonDreams.org — a leading progressive publication.Recently George W. Bush insulted working Americans by saying that we need eleven million illegal immigrants here in the United States because (in a slightly cleaned-up version of the more blatantly racist comments of Vicente Fox) there are some jobs that "American’s won’t do." As the modern-day Sago miners, and the 1950s Ed Norton character Art Carney played on the old Jackie Gleason show (who worked in the sewers of NYC) prove, the reality is that there are virtually no jobs Americans won’t do — for an appropriate paycheck. Illegal Workers — the Con’s Secret Weapon
If illegal immigrants could no longer work, unions would flourish, the minimum wage would rise, and oligarchic nations to our south would have to confront and fix their corrupt ways.Between the Reagan years — when there were only around 1 to 2 million illegal aliens in our workforce — and today, we've gone from about 25 percent of our private workforce being unionized to around seven percent. Much of this is the direct result — as Caesar Chávez predicted — of illegal immigrants competing directly with unionized and legal labor. Although it’s most obvious in the construction trades over the past 30 years, it’s hit all sectors of our economy. Today’s Immigration Battle — Corporatists vs. Racists (and Labor is Left Behind)
Assuming Congress could ever escape the moneyed clutches of the immigration lobbies, what would an effective immigration policy be?It could follow Hunter and build a triple fence from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico, 1,275 miles, complete with lighting, border towers and hundreds of guards. Based on the cost of the present fence, that would cost around $227 million, and probably force Mexicans, like Cubans and Haitians, into the seas.
Or we could introduce forge-proof identity cards, like a biometric Social Security card, at a fraction of the cost and the humiliation.
It’s up to you, Congress. Serious immigration policy or more grandstanding? A Fence Won’t Stem the Tide of Immigration
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