Whether illegals contribute to the economy or not isn't the issue...?
952610
amen sister. your right.
22607
well, when illegal immigrants work in the US, the gov't doesn't know they're there. And if the gov't doesn't know they're there, then they can't be taxed.  The problem with this is they're working and taking money from US pockets and enjoying American freedoms and rights without really contributing back to the American society.  Furthermore, it would help the US economy if they spent the money in the US, but most likely, they're going to send the money back to their family in wherever country they hail from.  Thus, both our social works that taxes goes towards and our economy gets the shaft. :)
970018
Just broke 300 million, about 25-30 million are illegal.\n\nAmox is wrong, they are not all taxpayers!! Heck, a large chunk of legal, working citizens don't even pay taxes!!!
1055285
when the economy is bad people look for other people to blame\nso Nazism fluctuates with the economy\njust like the illegal immigrant controversy in the USA, people want an "outsider" to blame (I don't think that people that are concerned with illegal immigrants are Nazis I just think that this issue has arisen because of the economy)
676513
Illegal immigration. A very serious problem right now. We are being invaded, and for some reason we aren't stopping it. These illegal aliens are draining away at all of the public services that WE PAY TAXES FOR! The citizens of the U.S. pay the taxes, whilst these invaders do not. They are like leeches - and we are doing nothing to peel them off.\n\n1. They get free medical care from American hospitals.\n2. They get free food from various charities!\n\n\nBut, of course, the things that they get are not really free. Maybe for them they are, but someone is paying for them. Someone is paying for these unlawful citizens to abuse the system. The people paying for these undeserving illegal immigrants are the citizens of the United States.\n\nAnother thing - it's absolute idiocy that these invaders are calling the lawful citizens of America racists. Since when does standing up for your country make you a racist? It makes you a patriotic person!  But, in this case, it seems that some mindless sympathizers have fallen for the illegals nonsensical argument. They are actually convinced that they are racists for not supporting these people! But the very people they are supporting are draining away our culture and destroying our economy! It seems that the sympathizers want to kill our country! At the current rate of immigration, the states near the border will become majorly Mexican and will probably start demanding to join a state like Texas or California back into Mexico! If these invaders keep on coming, It will no longer be the United States of America.\n\nIt's absurd that some of the Mexicans believe that this is their country. They say that it has been their homeland for 40,000 years. They say that they are not illegal if it is their land. They tell the law-abiding people to read the history books and find out that it is their land. My history book says that we won Texas and other states from Mexico in a war. It is ours.\n\nHeres another argument that although seems reasonable, has many flaws. Some people believe that illegals are helping our economy by providing cheap labor for employers. This is true, but the money they make is not circulated back into the economic system. It's going back to Mexico. And, as the illegals pay no taxes, they aren't helping much there either. These illegals are not benefiting the system - they are destroying it.\n\n\nHere are my solutions to the problem:\n\n1. Deport illegal aliens as soon as they are found.\n2. Build a wall. The Great Wall helped the Chinese against the Mongolians. The wall that we have to build will help us with the criminal invaders that are the Mexican illegal immigrants.\n3. Talk to Vincente Fox and demand that he stops giving his people pamphlets on how to get in the U.S.A. illegally. It is happening, and it is a huge problem. Vincente Fox is a terrorist!\n4. Punish companies that hire illegal immigrants severely. If the illegals have no incentive to come, they won't come. Simple as that.\n\n\n\nEducation: $22.5 billion\nBilingual Education: $3.3 billion\nAFDC: $2.4 billion\nSSI: $2.9 billion\nSocial Security: $24.8 billion\nHousing Assistance: $2.6 billion\nCriminal Justice: $2.6 billion\nJobs Lost by Americans: $10.8 billion\nOther Programs: $51.4 billion\nFood Stamps: $7 billion\nHealth Care: $1.4 billion\n$131.7 billion annually. More than the War in Iraq has cost us annually. In fact, about twice as much. We've been in Iraq for 3 years. It has cost us about 277,000,000,000. Illegal immigrants have cost us 131,700,000,000 a year. And, that number will rise at the current rate of illegal immigration.\nWar protestors are always complaining that we've spent too much on the war - well, look at how much we've spent on illegal immigrants.
800594
If illegals are sent back to their countries (not all illegals are mexicans), it is going to hurt our economy. Lots and lots of them have bussines around and debts and ongoing credits, the loss of moneys would be too great for commerce. Also, there are jobs that won't be filled, like right now, in florida farmers are starting to complain about the shortage in help to pick their oranges, tomatoes and strawberries, I'm already expecting an increase in vegetables price for next year.
364785
Currently \nThe ILLEGAL Immigrants In Our Nation Comprise 5 Percent Of The Workforce\n\nThe UNEMPLOYMENT Rate Is 4.7 Percent\n\nYOU Do The Math
320484
Yes, they are human beings after all, and do a lot of the jobs that legal citizens wouldn't for the wages paid. Ms China up here must be a Republican, because to think that illegal alliens are responsible for taxes going up it's totally misleading.\n\nFirst: Illegal Immigrants pay millions of dollars in taxes each year, that are never refunded, because they are afraid that if they file, they'll get busted.\n\nSecond: You couldn't afford to stay in a hotel, have fresh produce at your local grocery store, or go to your local McDonalds to have a cheese burger if it weren't for all the illegals! They make it possible for you and me to have all these services for a lot less, due to their minimal wage jobs! \n\nAproximatelly 90% of migrant workers are comprised of illegal alliens! Good luck getting your fresh fruits and veggies delivered to your table.\n\nThe same is true to the meat packaging industry...forget your oscar myer hotdogs and spam...The wetbacks package all that for us too!\n\nSo before you go bathmouthing the illegals, think about how much money would you like to be paid to clean up a publick restroom, or take out the trash from a hospital, or spend all day out in the scorching sun picking up produce! \n\nThese people don't want to come here to get a free-ride, they bust their ass out, doing grunt jobs nobody wants, because they want to be able to feed their families. \n\nTaxes are raised, because a lot of real American's live beyond their means, by filling bankruptcy and overcharging their credit cards! Who do you think ends up paying for that? The tax payers do.\n\nThe politicians, by messing  up all budgets, and overspending with really futile things, such as a bigger retirement plan for themselves...or let's say our beloved Hillary Rodham Clinton which charges the secret service $10,000.00 a month to rent a house to the secret service agents, that guard her huge mansion in NY. Which coincidentaly matches her monthly mortage. Who pays the secret service? We the tax payers do!\n\nOf course the Politicians wants us to think that the illegal alliens are the root of all evil, because that takes the heat off them! This country was build on the backs of immigrants, and it's up to us to fix this mess.
601266
You must be a nonlaw abiding person. Illegal means illegal. They are breaking the law. So how are they helping are economy?
644090
This is all trash to get the focus on illegal immigrants. The economy is going to hell because of a trillion dollar deficit from the pointless war and that is incomparable compared to the millions illegals mooch off the health care system.\n\nhttp://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8260059923762628848\n\n\nThe rate of illegal immigration has not changed, yet all the stories suddenly switched to illegal immigrant problems in the news. This is a political switch for when blame time comes and the economy is doing horrible, people will blame immigrants instead of the massive accumulated debt killing our soldiers to protect some random countries oil for exxon.\n\n\n\nillegals work cheap. The companies get more profits. The companies have to pay more taxes. Taxes pays the illegals healthcare. Blame the companies that employ them cheap if you have a problem with that and demand they give them healthcare like any citizen. Right now they work for slave labor prices and get hurt, just like anyone else.\n\n\nThe fence will be the largest most vandalized project ever and a waste of tax money. Immigrants what a better life forever. Fences won't stop them.
494198
This is all trash to get the focus on illegal immigrants. The economy is going to hell because of a trillion dollar deficit from the pointless war and that is incomparable compared to the millions illegals mooch off the health care system.\n\nhttp://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8260059923762628848\n\n\nThe rate of illegal immigration has not changed, yet all the stories suddenly switched to illegal immigrant problems in the news. This is a political switch for when blame time comes and the economy is doing horrible, people will blame immigrants instead of the massive accumulated debt killing our soldiers to protect some random countries oil for exxon.\n\n\n\nillegals work cheap. The companies get more profits. The companies have to pay more taxes. Taxes pays the illegals healthcare. Blame the companies that employ them cheap if you have a problem with that and demand they give them healthcare like any citizen. Right now they work for slave labor prices and get hurt, just like anyone else.
1111850
You're right - immigration isn't the problem. It's people willing to overlook the illegal aspects of it. Our country was built on immigrants but when people come here and step on the laws and expect to get rewarded it really gets me going.
669210
During his testimony during the Senate hearing last week, economist Professor Richard B. Freeman, Program Director of Labor Studies at the National Bureau of Economic Research noted that in no job category do immigrants constitute a majority. I believe he said 30% was the highest concentration. So literally there is no job that Americans don't do. Not theory, but fact.\n\nHowever if shortages of labor do occur the normal economic responses would apply. Raising compensation to attract workers or increasing the efficiency of workers through mechanization or other methods is what's usually done. There may be certain jobs that don't make economic sense. The existence of a huge pool of willing workers of has encouraged the use of labor where it would not have occurred had our immigration laws been enforced. It's not like the economy won't adapt. That's what markets do. \n\nYou also have to realize that just as illegal immigrants don't take jobs from legal residents in a zero sum calculation, their absence will also mean that fewer jobs will need to be done. Illegal immigrants, like everyone else, aren't just workers. They are also consumers of goods and services and when they leave that role, a certain number of jobs that are related to that consumption will also not be needed. \n\nMy hope the increased demand for labor will allow teenagers  once again to enter the world of work. And even more important for our society, the disturbing level of unemployment among black males and the social problems that creates could be reduced. I would also like to see prisoners work. There is no rehabilitation without work. Work is what responsible members of a society do.
674134
It is and there have been some arrests recently. The reason companies hire illegals is that they can pay them little and remain competitive. If we are serious about stopping this, then we must be willing to pay higher prices for the goods they help produce. If the companies have to pay decent wages and benefits, it WILL raise prices to the consumers. So, instead of calling these companies greedy, we need to decide just how greedy are we? Greedy enough to look the other way so we can pay low prices?
1453
I believe that like it or not nothing effective will ever be done and for this reason... illegal aliens usually come here to make money and create a better life for themselves. With the knowledge that they are illegal they are very willing to take jobs that pay under the minimum wage in order to even have a job. since this is illegal there is no way to get help on raising thier pay so they are stuck. This situation is appealing to the owners of agriculture because they can pay them very little for very hard labor increasing their profits. this in turn helps our economy as well as filling jobs that most americans do not want. So bush probably doesnt feel the need to address this problem.
640209
Answering just to your question "Is poverty a legitmate excuse to breaking the law?", my answer is No. And you are right, Mexico is not a poor country, so I kinda agree with you. I'd say the economy has not been devided equally; rich people are very, very rich and poor people are very, very poor. So it's these poor guys the ones who run to the USA with the expectation of a better life, which they do not always get. I personally prefer to be middle class with a secure job in a middle class country (Mexico), than to be poor, receive humilliations and be struggling for a job in a rich country (USA).
634634
Illegal aliens are NOT doing work Americans won't do. \nWhat jobs won't Americans do? \nAmericans still \n--clean their own houses, \n--do their own landscaping, \n--clean hotel rooms, \n--work in restaurants and fast food places, \n--paint houses, \n--DO CONSTRUCTION WORK, \n--work in airports, etc. - I Can Go ON And On\njust like we have the past 200 years before "our" government allowed these people to invade our country. \nThere are 18 million Americans who cannot find a job, so ILLEGAL Aliens who are coming here to work do so at peril to American workers By FALSELY DEPRESSING The Wage Rates\n\n5 Percent Of Our Workforce Are ILLEGAL Aliens\nThe Unemployment Rate In The U.S. RIGHT NOW is 4.7 Percent\nLets Do The Math\nDEPORT The ILLEGAL Aliens\nUnemployment Drops To ZERO \n\nWithout illegal aliens, the price of agricultural products and other goods and services will NOT soar. \nThe definitive study on this subject is the University of Iowa's "How Much Is That Tomato?" \nThe study concludes that 'since labor is such a small component of the end-price of agricultural products \n(which includes price to the growers, transportation costs, processing /storage costs, grocers' profit, etc.), \nusing minimum wage workers instead of illegal aliens would increase prices of agricultural products \nby approximately 3 percent in the summer and 4 percent in the winter ... \nhardly the making of $10 heads of lettuce, $25 hamburgers, $1,000 per night Days Inn hotel rooms like the pro-illegal alien lobby claims. \n\nConsumers are NOT benefiting from lower labor costs. \nAgain, it's CEOs and business owners who benefit from taxpayer subsidies for their illegal alien workers. \nThe Big Three automakers say they moved so many jobs to Mexico because their labor costs are 80 percent less than in America. \nAnybody notice the price of new cars spiraling downward under NAFTA? I Havent\n\nIt is time we take back our country. This is a very real problem and we had better stand in unison against this threat to our national security.