Doing the more sensible thing - like passing the DREAM Act - is something we just can't convince our elected officials in Washington DC to do; for the GOP, it doesn't resonate with their base as well as bumper-stick fodder like "get rid of the illegals." The problem with that is, it's actually damaging to our economy and our farmers to do so. So explains the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
...many farmers complained this year that Georgia’s new immigration enforcement law -- House Bill 87 -- has scared away the migrant Hispanic workers they depend on, putting their crops at risk.
...as a result of the right-heavy Georgia General Assembly and Republican Governor ripping the band-aid off a wound. Then there's this....
Researchers studied data from seven fruit and vegetable crops representing nearly half of the acreage available for harvest last spring. They tied an estimated $140 million in crop losses to a shortage of 5,244 farm laborers this year.
But wait; there's this from the anti-immigrant side:
Immigration watchdogs say they are sensitive to the farmers’ concerns. But they wonder whether farmers could attract more U.S. workers by boosting their pay and recruiting practices.
Well, yes, I suppose that's true; so when the price of fruits and vegetables go up at the market, will the right then complain about "too much government regulation" costing Americans at the checkout stand?
Then there's this thought: wouldn't it be cheaper to enforce existing laws on the employers, instead of trying to chase town 10-16 million illegals working and living within the United States' borders? Wouldn't a path to citizenship and/or a "guest worker" program benefit everyone more?
And when you discuss this among your right-wing friends, and they go on about illegals living here and "not contributing," remind them that illegals DO contribute to the local and state tax base simply by renting a place to live, paying utilities and buying goods - property and sales taxes within those expenses.