Instead of hiring people whose only crime is "being here", Alabama decides to hire actual criminals. Priorities are firmly in place.
After the jump: Imagine you are an employer. Which of these two employees do you want working for your organization?
Imagine you are an employer. Which of these two employees do you want working for your organization?
Applicant 1: I am currently serving time for a committing a felony. A felony is a serious crime, typically one that suggest violence. I would like to work in your field because it is better than rotting in prison. Wait, they have A/C and television in prison. On second thought, I'm not sure if I want to sweat it out in a field all day.
Applicant 2: I crossed the Sonoran Desert on foot, risking death through heatstroke, dehydration, or snakebite for an opportunity to pick your fruits and vegetables. I would have entered legally if the laws would allow. I am a family man who wants to have the pride of supporting his family by sending what little I make back to my impoverished wife and children. I was told America was the land of opportunity and for me, working in your field is a great opportunity.
This is how truly backwards the debate has gotten. The typical anti-immigration points are "they're taking all our jobs!", "the border need to be secure against drugs and terrorists", "they are a burden on our society!", and finally "keep the brown people out!". None of these hold water and here is why.
1. "They're taking all our Jobs!"
Last time I checked, I didn't see too many Illegal officeworkers, CPAs, Doctors... Suffice it to say that the vast majority of immigrant labor is backbreaking manual labor. That means that if you have a High School education (even with our appalling low test scores) you are overqualified for immigrant labor. That means, if an unskilled laborer who doesn't speak the language is taking your job, the problem is probably you.
"But he's paid less under the table!!!! AAARGH!!!"
a. That is a problem with the unscrupulous employer who takes advantage of a flawed system, not the immigrant.
b. This is all the more reason to make him a legal immigrant. If he is legal, you are both on the same foot. Employers can't use his immigration status against him.
2. "The Border needs to be secure against all the drugs and nukes that are being smuggled in!!!"
Yes you're right! Think about how how difficult it must be for the border patrol to stop drugs and dirty bombs when they ALSO have to stop people who, but for our backwards laws, would be crossing through legal checkpoints. Now the terrorists and drug mules can blend in with the "noise" of all the immigrants who simply want to work. What if Osama bin Nasty manages to cross the border with some radioactive heroin but was missed because we were too busy stopping some poor guy risking his life to come here and pick vegetables!? Are you kidding me? And a fence is supposed to stop this?
3. "They're eating all our government cheese!!!"
Then make them legal so they can pay into the system!!!
A lot of illegal immigrants already do pay into the system. They often work under a fake SSN; which means that taxes are withheld. One thing they DO NOT do however, is file a tax return claim and risk an audit. If they did, they would risk deportation. So combine the withholdings they pay into through their employer, as well as state and local sales tax, with the fact that many social benefits are denied to illegals, and you get a system that is not favorable to immigrants. In other words, they aren't here for the government cheese.
Right-wing logic is often circular. Their problem with illegals are that they are illegal. If they had a legal means to be here, a lot of their problems would go away...
At then end of the day, the right have nothing left but a racist agenda to defend their policies: "Keep the brown people out!!" and we can let them campaign on that.