America's policy is to keep wages low and workers scared.

[bklyncowgirl]

It's really very simple.

Immigration:

There are laws on the books to prevent employers from hiring illegal immigrants. These laws haven't been enforced in any systematic way for years (especially since Bush came into office)hence a massive influx of undocumented workers who are willing to work for peanuts and are easily exploited.

Business wants cheap labor. Business gets politicians (mainly Republicans but sadly plenty of Democrats too) to vote for policies that will undermine labor laws, increase competition for labor and scare workers--who happen to be the majority of Americans into submission. Ordinary Americans see this happening but blame the Mexicans instead of placing blame where blame should be placed.

You can certainly understand why businesses would prefer to hire a low wage undocumented workforce over American citizens or legal aliens. Back in the olden days, however, many were deterred by the thought of being slapped with a large fine. That risk is pretty much gone now. In fact if your illegal aliens get uppity a simple anonymous call to the INS will get rid of the troublemakers and at worst you might get a slappypoo on the wrist while you get your contractor to bring in fresh workers. It's all in the price of doing business.

It seems to me that if you remove the profit from hiring illegal aliens and increase the risk with steep fines and penalties it will dry up a great deal of demand for cheap labor and the mad rush of people across the border.

The enemy is not the Mexicans, it's not even the small businessman who's forced into using undocumented workers to compete with those who do, it's the unscrupulous business leaders and their allies in Washington who are the real problem.

[LiberalEsto]

1. It's the policy of the rich corporate elite,

not the policy of America. America is us, too. They can take away our jobs, but they can't take away the fact that we are Americans. We are more in tune with America's founders than these corporate monarchists.
The repigs just happen to be running America for now, but our time will come.

[bklyncowgirl]

5. The rich, corporate elite gets ordinary Americans to go along with them

Divide and conquer.

Pit American workers against immigrants and prevent them both from seeing that both are being screwed royally.

Our government is proud of having held down inflation yet, apparently, inflation is only a threat to our way of life when it involves raising the salaries of ordinary workers. Executive pay has skyrocketed, oil prices have soared but the Federal Reserve does not get upset unless ordinary Americans are starting to take home more money.

I realize that there are some Democrats speaking out on these issues but they're hard to hear above the procorporate noise and other Democrats who have hitched their wagons to the corporate world.

[justice1]

2. I agree, hispanics only put a face on a problem

It's like what happened in the 1800's with the Irish. They were going through hard times, and American companies would encourage them to come to America to work on the railroads etc. The millions of people in a short period of time, led to low wages, widespread poverty and disease. Immigrants were forced to put their children on "Orphan Trains", and never saw them again.

We haven't reached that point yet, but at the rate we are going we will. The past behavior of companies as well as government have given us this problem, and it needs to be dealt with immediately, before it gets worse.

Politicians that worked with Jack Abramoff and his associates, need to be held accountable. There is also a need for major policy reform. The changes have to broad, including the U.S., its territories, and companies like cruise lines that exploit foreign labor in this country.

The current proposals will make the problems worse, and will only legalize the exploitation of people. Employers will benefit by pitting guest workers against American workers.

Having a brother who has made a career of the military, married with a 5-year old son, who he has yet to bring home because of the back log at our local immigration office, does bring up resentment toward people who ignored the laws.

As a resident of Nebraska, home to over 50% of the entire Sudanese population of refugees in the U.S., makes it even more difficult to justify making illegals who have easy access to our border the priority. As bad as Mexico is, there are people in the world who are worse off.

The fact of the matter is, we have to deal with the immediate problem. Our politicians did encourage the people to come here, so it only makes sense to give people who have met certain requirements to continue to do so lawfully.

Rather than taking to the streets, I would suggest everyone regardless of nationality that works in the industries that exploit workers to pick a date to call in sick. They should spend the day working with their industries union representatives. With Americans and illegals banning together, companies would be forced to pay living wages.

There are some people who have bought into the propaganda that they wouldn't be able to afford food, if the industries had unions.

An example from the meat industry, which often processes in small towns. If the salary of Smithfield Foods CEO had his salary reduced to $1.2 million a year, that could give 1000 employees a $1000 a month increase in wages and benefits, without affecting the market. The benefits would be huge to a community. It would give tax relief to other residents, as well people with more money to spend in the town.

[MountainLaurel]

3. That's because the elite fear the poor and the workers

I believe it was "A People's History of the U.S." that reprints letters from Thomas Jefferson that basically outlined the plan for race war in this country. You see, the poor whites were starting to sympathize with slaves and free blacks, and that just couldn't be allowed to happen. So, the early American spin machine went into overdrive, raising boogeymen of how blacks just wanted to rape white women and how they were less than human. Free blacks would take jobs and land away from good god-fearing whites.

Sound familiar?

[Neil Lisst]

4. Cowgirl, you so money! Absolutely a system to keep wages down.

It also keeps workers doing what they're told without complaining.

Right now, few Americans have any job security at all. Most Americans are "employees at will," and can be fired for any reason or no reason. At best, they get unemployment benefits for some period.

Up and down the white and blue collar job markets, the threat that your job may get outsourced or given to an illegal worker is there.

As a society, we cannot have that kind of chaos among citizens, or we're building a great big social meltdown.

[raccoon]

6. You are SO right about that.

"few Americans have any job security at all."

Especially in right-to-work and/or at will employment states.

Most of the time employers can fire somebody as quickly as they could pick up the phone and order a pizza.