Variations on a Theme: Now Newsweek Tells Us How Awful It Is That Immigration Enforcement Is Working So Well
How well? Newsweek’s story opens up with the customary interview of an illegal immigrant just trying to make ends meet, and self-deporting:
Since the employer sanctions law went into effect, Roberto has been fired from one job because he had no documents. He quit his other job to seek higher-paying day labor, but that never panned out. Now he earns less than the meager $120 a week he made as a construction worker back in Mexico.
That’s the idea. Economic incentives lead to self-deportation. From there, naturally, it’s a reprise of the theme introduced by the LA Times, with the labor shortages and businesses that cater to illegal immigrants shutting down and the climate of fear and repression and scary scary oh noes, and (apparently a matter of exigent political concern to the Left)…expensive produce:
In the Yuma area, where agricultural workers earn from $10 to $19 per hour, farmers couldn’t find enough laborers to harvest their lettuce crop, Sigg says. Other farmers have stopped planting labor-intensive vegetables like lettuce in favor of mechanically harvested alfalfa and wheat, and some farmers are considering selling out altogether, he says. “If the agricultural industry can’t get laborers, the land will be converted to other uses and we’ll put our food production at the mercy of other countries,” Sigg predicts.
Is it really a labor shortage driving this, though, or something else? Wheat prices are through the roof, and UNESCO is putting the blame on increased demand from another, slightly less PC sector:
Rising food prices – one of the world’s fastest-growing crises – are being blamed on China’s rapidly increasing consumption, climate change and the increased use of biofuels, all of which heavily increase demand disproportionately against supply.
“The diversion of agricultural crops to fuel can raise food prices and reduce our ability to alleviate hunger throughout the world,” the report said. Wheat prices have risen by 130 per cent since March 2007 and soy prices by 87 per cent, it added. Last week, the World Bank warned that 100 million more people could be pushed into poverty because food prices had risen by 83 per cent in three years.
No joke. I saw this picture on a story about Pakistan sealing its borders to prevent smuggling and I thought…well, you know what I thought:
Guess what? It’s flour.
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see-dubya #86 Well said see-dubya!!!
Does anyone remember back in the area of 1982 or 1983, there was a shut down of the illegal immigration flood. Technology was the answer then for the “labor shortage”, and it cost less per item to the consumer to go that route.
Oh waaaah. CRY MOAR.
Well, I guess the doughnuts in Houston are going to be more expensive since the
raid today. The business even had a dormitory for their illegal employees. Thoughty
aren’t they? Can pay them even less than you already are if they don’t have to pay
rent. I think Houston has about decided, from what I keep hearing and reading, that
they will no longer be a sanctuary city. Hope Dallas decides to also stop being one.
Dear illegal mexican immigrants, please go home and force your leaders to quit draining the national treasury for their own personal benefit. Viva la revolution.
Hey tre, not all of us with Hispanic sounding names are criminals. Some serve their country in time of war as United States Marines… And some are good husbands and fathers.
Anyway, if I were going to be a criminal I would not choose Oklahoma. What could I steel, Peanuts?
/s/
Jose
Interesting. And here all this time I thought the LA Times leaned left. But that can’t be right because only conservatives (you know, earth-destroying eco-rapists) need worry about the cost of lettuce.
After all, liberals and leftists — being the greenie, concerned-about-the-planet good guys that they are — would never dream of BUYING lettuce. Especially lettuce that was raised on big corporate farms in the heartland. Why, BUYING lettuce requires all sorts of un-eco-friendly activities — things such as transporting it in large diesel-burning, fume-spilling trucks and displaying the produce on shelves of power-consuming stores. Oh, no, I’m sure liberals would never BUY something as simple to grow as lettuce. I’m certain they all get their lettuce from little pots on their Manhattan balconies.
In fact, I bet they are delighted to know the price of lettuce is going to rise since only conservatives (you know, those greedy, earth-hating, planet-ravaging devils) will be affected by the price increases.
see-dubya,
I don’t want this to appear as an attack on Tre because it is not. You might want to consider deleting tre’s and your posts about the “hispanic” comments. From my perspective it leaves open an avenue for left wing kooks to point at MM and call her a racist. Which we all know she is not. Yes, yes I know they already do that but why supply them ammunition.
When I was in highschool I picked walnuts, almonds, onions and a few other odds and ends. Hard work all but worth it. I don’t know what the growing season is here in Arizona but seems to me a program targeting highschool students might draw a few. Making $1720 to $3268 a month does not sound to shabby to me.
Let me also say that I think we need a rational program to allow people to come and do these backbreaking jobs legally and then return home.
.
While other countries are making it as easy as possible to hire their citizens to work, the American gov’t keeps going out of it’s way to make American labor as expensive as it possibly can.
Taxes for this, insurance for that, regulations for this thing, lawyers for the other thing, blah, blah, blah …
And then we wonder why employers are trying to dodge the system!
And why so many people are outsourcing!
The illegals have been a great release valve for greasy politicians who will never want to ease the tax and regulatory pressure on business people and employers.
Laissez nous faire!
Let the employers stop withholding income taxes for their staff, so that everybody has to pay directly.
These problems will all resolve themselves in a year — right after a massive tax revolt ensues.
Good riddens Roberto – have a safe trip home and good luck.
Here in South Texas the crime is out of hand. It is amazing how often it turns out to be an illegal. What I want to know is why the Mexican nationals are not holding there own government repsonsible. After all Mexico is a rich country. Don’t bother answering – why should they when they can come here and have it all given to them.
On a side note about illegal aliens (sorry, undocumented workers) was wondering if anyone else has seen the “Moneygram” that a certain BIG chain has at their service desk to send money (cash) to Mexico? So much for paying taxes and keeping the money here that is made! Maybe, just maybe the ones using the “Moneygram” are tax paying US citizens? Hmmmm!
bluekitty222
Next time you are in that store take a closer look at the signs … you can only send $200 to another US location … you can send up to $1000 to Mexico … and the fee to Mexico is almost $2 less than the fee to send money across the US …
Explain that one …
I no longer shop at that store. I got tired of hearing only Spanish when I was in the store and having to dodge their uncontrolled and uncontrollable children. Plus,
most of the merchandise is being made in China.
Something that I’ve always found curious is how the federal authorities cannot possibly locate and identify all of the illegal aliens in this country (thus they shouldn’t even try), and yet reporters always seem to be able to locate one or two whenever they need a sob story. Hm…
I wanted to e-mail my senators so I perused the list of topics and sure enough, Illegal Aliens was not on the list. So I chose the Immigration topic and voiced my opinion of hard working Americans (of any ethnicity) having to pay for people trying to get a free ride. Illegal Aliens are draining the resources of people who have taken responsibility for themselves and earned their own way to the American Dream. The only fair answer is to send them home and do it NOW. The responses I received were nothing but political doublespeak. I’m scared for America.
Maybe instead of emptying the prisons into society to save money, we empty them instead into the lettuce fields.
This is seriously cutting into the number of undocumented co-eds that used to flood the local clubs.
Cant anyone stop this madness? They never hurt anyone….
- sigh -
All we need now is follow-up legislation that requires welfare recipients to take these horrible $10/hour jobs instead of sponging off taxpayers. That’s what I call 2 birds with one stone.
Ah yes, TXRose and DesertLover, I am going out on a limb here, but assuming from your names you are in the Southwest? I am smack dab in the middle of midamerica, good old Illinois! I know what you mean about the signs in the store being in Spanish! I brought one of the “Moneygrams” home with me to put my cheaters on to read the fine print on the back, how interesting about the amount of money that can be sent and OUT of the country, how convient for them. Most the time I try to avoid that establishment too, but since it is so close and has everything I need, I GO THERE. Maybe I should rethink my use of good old K-mart and Target, right? Think I will do that from now on. I too, get tired of walking around and listening to Spanish being spoken, how about an “English only” sign? Ha, that would go over really, really well, wouldn’t it? I AM going to see if the college here offers a “Seniors Spanish class”, well, I am 54, so close enough. I have gotten thru college, insurance lic., ham radio lic., and emt lic., so imagine I can do that class. Anybody else want to know what is being said about you in the restaurants when you are eatting? I think we have more Mexican restaurants in town than any others and as I said, I am in Illinois. We have an overload of packed pickup trucks dropping off workers. We can thank good old Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) for all the entitlements he hands out to illegals (undocumented workers). Enough said. Have a swell day!
bluekitty (love the name), I learned spanish in grade school on the border because
they needed somewhere to put the english speaking kids while they were teaching
the others to speak english. I know what is being said, but They don’t realize it
because, even being part Cherokee, I am so celtic looking with my red hair and pale
skin. A lot of the time, they are discussing the white people in the store. I got so
tired of that that I started shopping at super Target. We do not have a KMart close
to us, and I can’t find one that is nearby in Ft Worth, TX. They all closed down when
walmart started building right next door and undercutting them on prices.
TXRose, wish I had taken more than 2 semesters in highschool, who knew!!!! Seems like Walmart is chasing the other stores out of town. You are lucky to know what is being said about you, maybe soon I will be in that position, ha! Bluekitty is my Siamese, better known as “the cat from hell”, but didn’t think I wanted to use that name. I too am red/brown hair, blue eyes and freckles, from my Irish grandparents, not a bad look, I guess. Still, I just can’t get over how many Mexicans are now in Illinois, but like I said earlier, thanks GOV. ROD BLAGOJEVICH!
You have the cat from hell, our son and daughter in law have a somali known
affectionately as “satan, tormenter of shelties.”
Mine is just a shade too red to be auburn, hazel eyes, no freckles. Scots, Irish and
Cherokee.
You would be surprised to find out how many illegal Mexicans are on the Canadian
border and in Canada. They are everywhere. I do hear that there are A Lot of Irish
illegals and I don’t understand why they don’t self deport because Ireland is
booming at this time just like Brazil. A lot of Brazilian illegals are going home
because the economy is picking up there.
Maybe that’s why Mexico won’t straighten up…don’t want them back.
TXRose, I do know that Chicago is full, too! You can’t even get down on the lake, too many there, double parked, but that is not hard to do in Chicago, absolutely no parking! Are the Irish coming across via Canada? Hmmm! Can’t say if I was Mexico that I would want them back either. We just have to make it harder on them as far as “day work” and maybe they would go back. What about that fence?????
The fence is a joke! Don’t know if it will be effective. More border patrol agents would
be a help if you could demote the Hispanic Higher Ups that are against doing their job.
Just got back on computer. Had a tornado on ground close to us. You can’t go to a
public park on the weekends or to the zoo ( and we have a wonderful zoo); too crowded. Don’t know how they can afford it with the low salaries and all of the kids.
Oh..it’s wild to have a garage sale. You’d better be able to speak spanish.
We have alot of tornados come thru our area too, I go out storm spotting. I was watching the news about the tornado warnings down that way…be careful. Not sure, but expect you don’t have alot of basements in your area. Kinda figured out what you already said about the “fence”, don’t expect it to be built and I agree on more agents, but I would not want them to end up like the 3 in prison, either. I still can’t understand why they were not pardoned!!! Heads up and stay safe!
I don’t get it. I live in Ventura County California. Agriculture is a big industry here. When my wife and I were teens we would have loved having a $10/hr job picking lettuce. I remember many summers weeding soybean fields in Illinois for $5/hr….and I am a US citizen! The farmers here are all so worried that they will lose their “cheap” labor if we put controls on the illegals. What gives? I have a 16 year old teen who can’t find a job because of all the illegals. What, American teens can’t pick your stink’n fields?
Enough is enough already!
Mexico go home.
Pope go home.
Something does not add up. The agricultural rep says workers are paid 10-19 dollars an hour but this guys say no more than 3 under the table. I doubt very much that any business owner is paying illegals that much, especially picking lettuce. He is probably saying that to make his industry look good. If anyone read about LA car washes in the LA Times paper we all know many more of them are being paid under the table than we can believe.