User Comments

KJ on Aug 11, 2007 at 19:48:36 said:

Why isn\\\'t anyone talking about the violent gang MS13 crossing our southern border..\\\"Illegally\\\"...? these thugs are here to take whats your, by any means, including severe violence and murder..They take those low paying jobs Americans don\\\'t want as a cover for there real purpose...! The war is here and now, in America,not Iraq...The violent south of the border gang MS13 has a big agenda, cops in all major US cities fear them. These are some of the nice, hrd working immigrants coming to the US....you know, like that illegal hispanic dude who just recently murdered those innocent Black Am.college bound kids in New Jersey, after he raped a 5yr old girl...isn\\\'t that just wonderful...? Get real bleeding hearts, we are at war, here at home..

Border Town Native on Aug 11, 2007 at 14:16:21 said:

What is the true cost?
if an Undocumented (illegal) immigrant works tax free for $11.50 (which is pretty much the minimum in CA). That individual earns $23,850 per year...net...in their pocket.

To earn that much in their pocket, a legal employee would be grossing about $37,322 per year.

How do these numbers work?


Gross Income = $37,322
Self Employment Tax (15.3%) = $5,710.38
Deduct $200.00/mo for Health Insurance for a total of $2400.00
Deduct 1/2 Self-Employment Tax = $2855.19
Adjusted Gross Income = $37,322.76
less SE Health Ins <2400>
Less 1/2 SE Tax <2855.19>
AGI = $32,067.57
Less STandard Deduction of $5150
Less Personal Exemption fo $3300
Taxable Income = $23,617.57
Federal Tax = $3166
CA Tax (9.3%) = $2196
SE Tax = $5710
HI Paid = $2400
Total Taxes and Insurance = $13,472
Net Income = 23,850.76 + 13,472 = $37,322

Looks like reasonable pay for the work "Americans won't do."

Considering there is more money received by illegal immigrants in the form of health care (certainly more than $200.00 per month) as well as other services (i.e., education) that are not funded by the user since they pay no taxes. The "deal" is pretty good.

I don't see any laws passed in the US that will keep a human from seeking a respectable life.

The ONLY solution I see is to remove the desire to leave their homecountry. Could you imagine what an influx of 12 million citizens could do to revolutionize Mexico? These are hard working people with strong family values. It is a shame they have not sought to use their power to take back their own country from the corruption.

Max Stirner on Aug 11, 2007 at 11:49:39 said:

Envading countries, cause God whispered in Bush’s ear "go Georgy boy smoke'em out" is not a crime and desperately seeking any job that americans don't take, is a crime? ok.

SecretPrisonAvoider on Aug 11, 2007 at 01:50:05 said:

Since this latest 'immigration crackdown' is a Bush initiative, look carefully for twist and sabotage. I suspect as dairy farmers who don't know how to milk their own cows, roofers who've never lifted a shingle, and growers who've never picked a piece of fruit all start complaining about the burden this imposes upon them, then public sentiment against the illegals will start to fade a bit. I suspect this is what Bush wants, to create a large panic driven by rotting tomatoes, leaking roofs, and dropping dairy cows. Once that peaks, I suspect he'll then go for the NAFTA PLUNGE again with a new revised immigration bill based upon the "I told you so" foundation of need for foreign labor.

The facts remain. Supply and demand within finite borders works when you let it. When you subsidize certain groups at the expense of others, all will eventually suffer. Stop farm subsidies of money and cheap labor. Farming is manual labor though many farmers have never done any. It's time they started.

A declining schedule of subsidies to smaller farmers might be appropriate to help them make the transition to an American workforce, but not one that just replaces the freebies they've influenced their legislators into providing at American's expense.

The subsidies have destroyed the Mexican farming market which is driving the Mexicans into the U.S. looking for work. When Clinton signed Bush Sr. NAFTA into law in 94', the immigration problem exploded. Reverse NAFTA and impose appropriate tariffs to equalize world trade. World trade without restrictions doesn't work because people can't migrate from one country to the next with global changes in economies. Nice theory but it tends to kill employees who must stay mobile to stay employed. That's fine with the globalist. Employess are just another resource of production to them. Not anything to fret about.

Maybe some day the whole world will speak one language and everyone will be able to go anywhere without restrictions. That may be a good thing or may not be, but it shouldn't be forced upon the world by globalist out of greed, especially in the time frame they have chosen for us. If you want your country to be run by Exxon, then do nothing. It will happen. It already has to a very large extent.

How often do you hear of a shortage of fishermen? Fishing in the Bering Sea is miserable work and is the most dangerous of all occupations listed by the BLS, last I checked. I long-lined for cod in "A season" of 2000 for 3 months at age 44 (too old but I carried my weight, barely, but fairly). There are foreign fishermen working for U.S. fisheries, but the majority are Americans doing the jobs that Bush says they won't do. Maybe it's Bush that won't do those jobs, or his employer bankrollers who won't do those jobs. Americans have, are, and will continue doing those jobs.

The fisheries don't have a shortage of labor because you can actually make good money fishing (sometimes), depending upon the circumstances. Try being a crabber during Alakan King Crab season, which only lasts a few days, more or less, depending on quotas. You would think they would have a problem finding help that only wanted to work a few days out of the year, in Alaska, no less. NOPE!!!!!!!!!!

Why? Because they're willing to PAY GOOD MONEY TO THE FISHERMAN THAT RISK THEIR LIVES TO BRING IN THE CRAB. These fishermen fly into the Aleutian Islands from Seattle and other places in the continental U.S. Few of them live in the Aleutians.

Your chance of getting on a good crab boat is about zero if you don't own it or know the owner. There's too much money to be made even if you have a good chance of getting killed at sea. These crabber's might not sleep at all during the few days the season is open. Twenty-four hours a day dropping huge steel cages to the ocean floor, crawling on top of a stack of steel wanting desperately to heave over with the sometimes hurricane force winds (105 knots in the hurricane we were in while cod fishing). These Americans are working non-stop at often INTENSE manual jobs to bring in the crab. DON'T TELL ME AMERICANS WON'T WORK YOU LAZY, CROOKED, BLUE-BLOOD, SILVER-SPOON, IVY-LEAGUE SNOT. I KNOW BETTER!

Why can't farmer's, growers, roofers, builders, WalMart, oil companies, and everybody else GET THAT? WHY? BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT TO GET THAT! THEY DON'T WANT TO PAY THEIR EMPLOYEES A LIVING WAGE. IF THEY DID, THEIR EMPLOYEES WOULD BE PEOPLE, AND THEN THEY WOULD HAVE TO TREAT THEM LIKE PEOPLE. KIND OF LIKE THE PLANTATION OWNER'S WHO REFUSED TO TREAT THEIR SLAVES LIKE PEOPLE. IT WAS JUST TOO MUCH OF A SHOCK TO THEIR SICK EGOS TO THINK THAT THE PEOPLE THEY HAD ABUSED ALL THOSE YEARS WERE ANYTHING MORE THAN NON-HUMAN.

IT'S AN EGO THING PECULIAR TO HUMANS AND THEIR CLASS STRUCTURE TENDENCIES, A VERY DESTRUCTIVE EGO THING THAT IS DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY.

IF WE ARE TO SURVIVE AS A COUNTRY, WE MUST STOP THIS 'OLD SCHOOL', 'OLD SOUTH' MENTALITY NOW!!!

EVERY U.S. CITIZEN SHOULD EXPECT A 'LIVING' WAGE IN EXCHANGE FOR THEIR TIME, NOT JUST THE 'CHOSEN ONES'. Every 'good' mother tells their kids that they are 'SPECIAL'., That doesn't mean that the 'SPECIAL' people should get all the money and 'those other poor people' get nothing. How egocentric, how selfish, how rude. We're you born in a cave? GROW UP!.

BTW, and then I'll quit. Our country is over-populated by about 100 per cent. Our optimal population to maintain a decent living for everyone while providing the necessary social services is less than 175 million people. We were at 200 million in 1974 when the Rockefeller Commission report on population was released (available online). Our countries managers have done nothing to stop growth and now we're at 300 million and if the Mexicans and Bush and Hillary and the DNC had their way, we would be a 400 million and skyrocketing. Part of the strain that everyone feels in making a living is that we have spread our real estate out among to many people. The U.S. land area isn't getting any bigger. Every person we add to the population will reduce the standard of living for everyone else. Why don't our leaders get that? They're too busy stuffing money into their pockets to care. IMPEACH BUSH. HOW MANY TIMES DO WE HAVE TO SAY IT, NANCY.

In case your wondering, I have a Degree in Finance and have worked in white, blue, and black collar jobs. i've been a stockbroker, a civil servant, and a working homeless person, among many other things. I've lived in the country club and under the overpass beside it. I've been around enough to know that what we all are going through now is absolutely unnecessary and pure bull perpetuated by our crooked leaders.

It's time for the honest good-faith academic economists among us to assert their knowledge onto the public and help us devine goals that we can then demand from our representatives or oust them for not following. We no longer have the luxury of indifference if we are to survive in a way that is worth living. We all took a Pledge of Allegiance to each other in school that vows that we will operate in each other's best interest, not in the best interest of oil companies, or WalMart, or pharmaceuticals, or Mexico, or Fox, or Calderon, or the Pope, or anyone else except our fellow U.S. citizens. Let's start keeping our Pledge and prosecuting those among us to don't. It's our only chance. United we stand, divided we fall. That's why we call it the United States. You gotta get THAT!!!!!

Mike D. on Aug 10, 2007 at 17:16:28 said:

I have spent the last 3 years in Central Washington state. I was closely aligned with Mexican families there so I don't see with rose colored glasses. The entire area has become largely a Latino culture with little left of the Native American and "White" influences before. By sheer numbers and increasing births, legal and illegal, immigrants have transformed the entire area to one of their own design. You cannot find a job unless you speak Spanish, government programs finance their children's education, health care, adult GED programs, translators, housing,etc. They use Washington state as a funnel to get driver's licenses and benefits they cannot get in California without legal immigration documents, then go back to California. They teach each others how to use the system in ways that are not available for non-Hispanics. Strategies are used and false work histories are passed around to help those who want to prove they have been in this country a certain period of time for immigration purposes. The argument that they do work Whites would not do is clearly in error as the amount of financial drain through financially beneficial program for Hispanics far outweighs their contribution. Almost every female strives for 4,5 and up to 8 children as the norm. Young girls of 18 have 3 children, and "want more". Many if the Mexicans send less money home now because either their elders in Mexico have died already and/or they have their families and "loved ones" here with them, legally or illegally. Everyone loves their families and many people want children but at the heart of the problem is the uncontrolled and socially acceptable problem of over population in the Hispanic culture. In Mexico, the more children you have the better your life will be when you are older as they will likely take care of you. In the US, the increase in family size is nothing but a financial drain on the rest of us. Please learn to see things differently.

bush_is_an_idiot on Aug 10, 2007 at 10:37:30 said:

President Bush, speaking to a group of economics reporters Wednesday, expressed sympathy for the plight of the migrants and those who seek to employ them.
"I predicted after the comprehensive immigration bill went down to defeat in the Senate there would be blowback," he said. "And to start with employers, they're saying, 'Where am I going to get my peach pickers in Georgia or my apple pickers in Washington ... or my chicken pluckers in central Arkansas.' There's a lot of labor that Americans aren't doing that are being done by people who are here and want to work hard for a living."
Bushie, you ignorant pig, GET A CLUE! The farmers will get their employees LEGALLY, and pass any extra costs on to customers. Its how the economy WORKS. If you would stop short-circuiting the low-wage labor market with ILLEGAL immigration, wages would rise. You said America DOESN’T NEED PROTECTIONISM. Well, how is skirting the law anything but protectionism? If these farmers, construction firms, hotels, or whatever go out of business LET THEM! Its a signal from our markets that they should be doing something else, not a signal they do something ILLEGAL. Because if it is, Im going to start selling dope on the streets!!!!

sobe eaton on Aug 10, 2007 at 07:08:20 said:

A decline in the rate of increase is not a decline in the total amount.
The people from other countries who come here to find work and support their families back home are not bad people, but we have to have control over our borders. There ARE bad people coming in, and we don't know it until they are arrested for a crime.
Entering the country without going through Immigration is a crime in every country in the world. Social Security fraud is a crime, albeit non-violent. Once you've committed two crimes, why not commit a third if the opportunity arises?

Peter Ward on Aug 10, 2007 at 02:56:53 said:

Mexico needs to wake up and snap out of it!

The USA isn't here to pay their bills. If they would run an honest country and dump the corruption, they wouldn't have to siphon off of us.

Ridiculous!

Randy Ripley on Aug 10, 2007 at 02:34:34 said:

Among all this rhetoric and fervor, no one seems to touch on the truth of the problem. Has anyone of you heard of the "North American Union"... I suggest you look that up and become familiar with the subject matter. Furthermore, the "establishment" (that means "wealthy and powerful") are "playing games" and we are the "bait". Wake up People! Don't get sucked into an argument that's been socio-politcally engineered. The richest man in the world is a Mexican and I ask... what is he doing for his countrymen? We dont need walls, we dont need hate, we dont need ignorance. We need truth to power! I would love to live in Mexico (but the political system and their economy stink). We "all" must focus on truth to power and hold those within the establishment accountable... Don't Tread on Me!

Donna H. on Aug 10, 2007 at 00:21:59 said:

Divide and conquer! That has always been a strategy of the powerful, and many of the responses here demonstrate that the powerful have been pretty successful in making it work for them, setting American workers against immigrants instead of directing their anger where it belongs. The powerful in this country have enriched themselves at the expense of the American worker; wages and salaries make up the smallest proportion of the economy since the government started keeping records in 1947.
There's lots of places one can start, but let's look at the U.S. since the 1980 election, when the Democrats decided they were going to stop letting the Republicans get all the largesse of big business, and go after big corporate donations as well. And guess what? They started catering much more to corporate interests. Which has made it easier since then for corporations to get legislation passed which only looks out for their interests. NAFTA is just one of the results.
Even before NAFTA, wages were not keeping up with productivity (up 67% since 1979).Since NAFTA, according to the Economic Policy Institute, 73 percent of the U.S. population--those without a college education-- saw their wages drop by 13%; those in high-paying manufacturing jobs lost 23%. U.S. companies moved abroad for cheaper wages. Funny; our laws prohibit individuals from moving across borders for economic reasons, but encourage corporations to do the same thing.
Meanwhile, 1.5 to 2 million Mexican farmers were put out of business because the corn, wheat, and other products from large subsidized U.S. farms undersold the same crops the Mexican farmers produced, many plowing with a donkey and sowing by hand on their 5-7 acre farms. Apart from some success with fruit and vegetable products, Mexican farmers can't compete with US farmers.
NAFTA also allowed companies like Wal-Mart to move into Mexico and sell ultra-cheap Chinese goods, which led to the loss of an estimated 28,000 small and medium-sized businesses in Mexico, and yet more unemployed.
Wages in Mexico also dropped precipitiously since NAFTA; 80% by one estimate.
Most Mexicans would much prefer to stay in their communities; just like most Americans would like the jobs they used to have stay "at home" as well. But fulfillment of unmet basic needs has driven migration throughout human history, and isn't likely to stop doing so now.
If we want to reverse those trends which have brought so much grief to so many workers, Mexican and American, we need to look at changing the laws of NAFTA, and making other changes so that Americans can once again share more equitably in the fruits of their labor.

jeremiah on Aug 10, 2007 at 00:00:06 said:

To the bleeding hearts that think we\'re all untraveled racists for not embracing illegal immigration, I have been to South America and Mexico - I see why they want to live here. I grew up in Texas with the children of Mexican immigrants. I went to college with them. I\'m not ignorant of their needs, nor do I hate them, but please wake up and realize that illegal immigration hurts the legal immigrants who have respected our laws. It drives down all their wages. And enough with this \"they do all the hard work\" bullshit. I grew up in construction, \"white people\" aren\'t afraid to work. I do my own household labor. My blue-collar dad and brothers are having a difficult time negotiating fair middle class wages against illegal contractors. Our social support systems are collapsing under the weight of supporting an unchecked flow of Mexican poverty. Our government does not care because it apparently wants those systems to fail and the business lobby is making too much money by exploiting illegal labor. Besides that, it\'s not just racists nativists - the Mexicans are just as racist, let me tell you. And why do they buy the houses in my neighborhood, fill the yard full of junk and then fly Mexican flags in their yards? Not even a US flag on July 4th. That\'s just racist antagonizing. So, to all you non-border staters, before you get off on your supposedly well-traveled, moral high horse come try to live where the real story is taking place.

jeff on Aug 09, 2007 at 22:49:59 said:

Supply & demand dictates that there must be a demand for this labor, otherwise there would be nothing to support the supply.

The reality is that corporations are rewarded for "slashing" costs as a means of "growing" earnings by investors.

The major cost of almost any product is labor, so maket pressures drive them to hire undocumented workers as a means of staying "competitive".

What results is an ever downward spiraling effect of corporations selling out to short-term interests predicated upon the belief that the most important thing is to "make" the quarterly numbers.

A more holistic & healthy approach would be for corporations to develop long-term strategies that create sustainable economic growth, as opposed to responding to the short-term pressures placed on them by institutional investors.

As a Canadian born, naturalized American, Mexican "imigrado" (holder of FM2 for over 5 years), it is from my perspective rather short-sighted to lay "blame" on Mexicans who illegally enter this country.

While it is not right to distribute illegal drugs, a parallel can be drawn that as long there is a demand, there will be someone to fulfill the supply.

Don't want illegal immigration? Then deal in real terms with the fact that it is this Country's insatiable "need" to drive down costs to maximize earnings that creates the demand for cheap labor.

We can't have it both ways, making big bucks while paying a ridiculously low price for products & services.

There are over 50 Mexican migrant workers in the orchards all around me working on the almond harvest this very moment here in California.

Truth be told, I trust them a whole lot more than the corporate scoundrels that sell out the long-term interests of this wonderful country to the short-term pressures of institutional investors.

Corporations need to begin telling investors to back off and deal with the fact they are going to have to accept reduced earnings at the expense of building a long-term future for this country.

Otherwise, just like a whore, this country must accept the diseases that come with selling out to the pressures of money.

For me, I am neutral on the issue, there is no "right" answer, there are only different options to consider.

The one thing I do support is to not sell out our future at the expense of our children's future. In that regard, I suppose I would rather scale back growth than feel compelled to race ahead at such a fast pace.

Has anyone really stopped to consider to ask the question "As a nation, exactly where is it that we are going?" After the realization that the realistic answer is "I don't know", it really begs to ask the hardest question that nobody wants to address "then why are we in such a hurry to get there?", when we don't even know where there is.

Lets not be like Wildebeasts in a herd all plowing off the cliff to sure death in the river below. I suggest we actually stop, pause, think, and then develop long-term goals and a plan to take this country forward in a logical and sustainable manner.

That probably makes too much sense, so for me I am in no hurry to get to the front of the pack ... I'd rather chill and live another day that I may share it with what is truly important, my children and if God so blesses me, my grandchildren.

Its nice to be an American, its nicer to be North American, its nicest to be human!

Kind regards to everyone from the tip of Canada all the way down to Chiapas, we share a lot more in common than is given credit, its just going to take some more time to come to realize that I suppose.

pat on Aug 09, 2007 at 21:00:12 said:

I wonder why the mexican government does not come to the aid of its own people. they do receive a large donation from america when we buy their oil and natural gas. i think that maybe they need to go south of mexico and help south america. oh by the way, does one not break a usa law when they come into america without legal paperwork? if americans break laws they go to jail, why is it different for mexican and south american law breakers?

yup on Aug 09, 2007 at 17:13:34 said:

good news for the legal tax payer!

Larry on Aug 09, 2007 at 16:52:26 said:

I would like all illegals to leave the US and bring our economy to its knees. I've heard this same crap for years but as usual its just that. Please, please, please cripple our economy and leave us and go back home to a country that you have no rights, no education, drugs, poverty, gangs that rule the govenment and what little government that does exist cares little or nothing about its people. Go home and overthrow your government and arrest the drug dealers and make it a democracy instead of a poverty state full of thugs. I would if it was my country but instead you complain about violation of rights in someone else's country and how you are unjustly treated. My guess is you are cowards and love to be in poverty by a government that steals your oil money and treats you like "dirt".

Pavel on Aug 09, 2007 at 15:49:02 said:

My beef with this article is that it contradicts itself.

Editor's note says: "..but in the first six months of 2007, the rate of growth for remittances slowed to a trickle compared to previous years."

Then article starts out with "Spanish language newspapers report that money being sent back to Mexico has decreased in the last few months."

Did someone forget to take high school math? There's a difference between a decreasing RATE OF GROWTH and the AMOUNT.

Tammy on Aug 09, 2007 at 15:48:54 said:

The fact is, Mexicans are not, by far, the only "illegal immigrants" in this country. However, when we talk about illegals, they're all of a sudden *all* Hispanic. In my opinion, most of the comments here are based more on prejudice than anything else. The fact of the matter is the Hispanic people work and they work HARD. Many, many of them do the crap jobs that Americans feel are "above" them and they do those jobs for far less than Americans would ever do them for.

Yes, it would crash our economy if they just all jumped up and left and, you know what, we would deserve it for the way we have treated them and/or allowed them to be treated. Every human being alive deserves dignity and deserves to be treated like a human and deserves a halfway decent life. Don't hate these people for trying to better the lives of their families. How many of you would do whatever it took to go somewhere to make $5.00/hour vs. $10 for an entire 10-12 hour day of hard work.

Have any of you even taken the time to get to know a single one of these people that you endlessly moan and complain about? Try it, you might find that you have a lot in common with them. Don't stop at one - get to know a few because you can't judge a whole group of people based on experiences with one or two. You might find that many are even nicer than most Americans who have become known all over the world as a very pompous and arrogant group of people.

This nation has a long history of immigration, legal and illegal. Did the pilgrims get visas? Why no, they were pearly white and they deserved this new land so they darn near exterminated anything that was even remotely "brown". Lose the prejudices. White is hardly ever white and this is coming from someone who is white.

Juan Marquez on Aug 09, 2007 at 15:48:39 said:

The stupidity posted by the Anti-Immigrants in this site is unbelievable. What a bunch of clueless, ignorant morons! Well I guess I shouldn't be se harsh and you... after all you probably have crappy lives and just need a scape goat to blame.

Keep one thing in mind... your ancestors weren't welcome in this country either. Aside from the rosey stories about Ellis island the reality of immigration to the U.S. has always been one of hostility to the new comer. The English, Germans & Scot descendants treated the Irish like crap... then they all ganged up on the Czechs & the next wave of Scots (in the 1860's)... then it was the turn for the Italians, the Serbs & the Rumanians... then the Chinese etc.,

I am sure your great-great grandparents who suffered the same level of rejection by those who had already been here a couple of generations would be extremely proud of you!

Best Regards from a former "Illegal Alien"

Marc Warshaw on Aug 09, 2007 at 15:46:06 said:

I obey the laws, I pay auto and health insurance, I have to register my vehicle, I have to keep my driver's license up-to-date, I'm getting destroyerd by taxes...and some people and politicians have the nerve to wonder why US CITIZENS are furious over the issue of ILLEGAL immigrants and don't give a hoot about their "troubles" here ?! Save it.

S on Aug 09, 2007 at 15:19:43 said:

There is gender bigotry, racial bigotry and religious bigotry
Those forces are very real and they first time have a fanatical bent to
in this Country that it is an easy target for exploitation by unscrupulous persons who
take advantage of the aspirations of foreigners to immigrate to the United
States.

As the GI's in Europe after the second world war, who loved to stay would not had support from Billions of people anywhere from France, Germany, Swiss, Belgium, Italy, Spain etc.
Europe has more multicultural that any place in the world. When the American was station there many where of there people who loved to make a better living in European countries,
Companies or corporations paid a lot of money to get any US guy in his company.
Without betraying.
Here is gender bigotry, racial bigotry and religious bigotry. Those forces are very real and they first time have a fanatical bent to in this country. That it is an easy target for exploitation by unscrupulous persons as a sport, who take advantage of the aspirations of foreigners to immigrate to the United States. How many Builders, subcontractors, etc, Banks without ethics do it and did it. Scruples Billions of Dollars lost in the US because of it. It is a shame. Why no one is writing about that?

ANDY FILKINS on Aug 09, 2007 at 14:47:03 said:

Let me just sum up how the average American feels about this whole illegal immigration (felons under the laws in place at this time)issue: DON'T REWARD THEM, DEPORT THEM!!!

John on Aug 09, 2007 at 14:19:32 said:

Good let the mexican economy crash.
This will not affect the US economy as it is the largest in the world bar none. California alone is the fifth largest economy in the world. We survived 911. I will gladly pay more for my fruits and vegatables as my health care premiums go down do to the lack of \"Free Healthcare\" for illegals.
Descrimination takes place in Mexico not in the US in mexico they discrimminate against their own peoples skin tone. The whiter you are in Mexico the less descrimination you will experience. Sound familiar?

tim notavailable on Aug 09, 2007 at 14:17:00 said:

It is an unpleasant reality that the same people that should have never come here to begin with are now having a negative economic impact on our country as they leave. The fact is, the U.S. will experience an economic downturn as illegals find the grapes no longer sweet enough to remain. These are the same people that were ready to pledge allegiance to the United States if they were given instant amnesty.
It would appear that they are no more allegiant to the U.S. than they were to their own country of Mexico when they abandoned it for greener pastures.

The fact is that the U.S. will suffer somewhat as a result of this reverse migration but would suffer terminal collapse if illegal immigration is allowed to continue. The Mexicans need to go home, kick the Pope off his throne, make available free contraception to all and encourage it's use, help us reverse NAFTA and stop the U.S. farm subsidies to U.S. farmers that destroy their farming, and work with us in helping them remove from power those that keep them where they are. Only when both countries go through serious political and economic reform will both countries once again be able to become good neighbors to each other. As long as we have people like Bush, the Pope, Fox (now Calderon), and the the drivel that kisses their butts, there is no hope for any of us.

If you think I'm bashing the Pope, consider this:

The Pope started African slavery in Portugal in the 1400's by decreeing the non-Christian Africans to be less than people. The Catholic Church is once again lusting for that same power as it envisions it's place in the 'New World Order' as the perpetuator of the poor. Religion is not only the opiate of the masses, it is often the cause of the masses also. As far as the Church is concerned, more poor equals more income. No wonder the Catholic Church is the weatlthiest business in the world.

Would anyone you RESPECT make a living 'accepting' money from the poorest people in the world as a primary source of income? Think about it?

BTW, haven't seen this site before. Why is it OK to be RACIST if your in a minority?
I haven't figured that one out yet.

Maybe it's the 'pot calling the kettle black' as my mother used to say. Maybe this website should look up the term 'projection' in the psychological sciences. Maybe everyone should.

Mark D. on Aug 09, 2007 at 14:08:47 said:

Illegal aliens are NOT immigrants. They are criminals who should be imprisoned and then deported.
This is not Mexico. Let's keep it that way!

Michael Cowan on Aug 09, 2007 at 14:07:49 said:

What is Bendixen's resource for this statement:

“In many of these cities where immigrants feel unwelcomed and are beginning to leave in large numbers, their economies have collapsed,"

I would agree that there are specific buisnesses that ILLEGALLY use mexicans as a cheap labor force and they would make less profit. Thats the cost of being a criminal.

These buisness owners are thieves stealing from the goverment and the local community. The workers take their tax free money and send it out of the country and then they use our schools and social services.

Its broken. Its illegal and the US economy will do just fine if our fast food resturants and day laabor markets have to readjust back to paying the minimum wage.

laudrel on Aug 09, 2007 at 14:01:21 said:

I wonder where is left the words of Kennedy maybe the thinking of Martin Luther king. Perhaps, it was a different time but we still human and for the reason we should think and not be foolish for politicians and some racist activist who have turn down a proposition on congress to fix the live of 12 million humans. We are the champions of freedom and liberty on the earth planet and we want justice everywhere and even create conflicts around the world to make justice. My question for everyone supporting this idea of justice is, why those 12 million and many of them hard working and the real ants of the economy who makes possible have a fresh and cheep food on my table have to suffer only because they have been looking for better future for them and their family?
I believe, we have forgot the real meaning of America the true ideas that made this country so powerful. We creating resentment with this entire people there will be a time that we have to pay a price for it I hope we will not end like the former Soviet Union.

Fred Goodfellow on Aug 09, 2007 at 13:55:48 said:

People that enter the USA outside of the lawful requirements are breaking the law – Plain and simple! I am astonished that people who have NO respect for our immigration laws (and quite often other laws) will complain that they are not respected by the legal citizens. I’m sorry but that’s a double-standard and quite hypocritical! I can respect a person who has submitted to our laws to enter this country and waited through the process as MANY have. I have contempt for those who do so illegally. For them, it’s all about what they can get for themselves!

some nobody on Aug 09, 2007 at 13:49:31 said:

Ami Bonilla,
While I sympathize with the idea of making a better life for your family, but I disagree with the illegal immigration movement. Frankly, I believe people are just as fed up with illegal immigration, as they are with the media’s blatant denial of truth. You can only dress up illegal so many way’s…

Tarie on Aug 09, 2007 at 13:43:46 said:

Edward - if the US actually enforces it's laws, the price of food etc. may rise 5-10%, and unemployment will drop. Big deal.

Clint J on Aug 09, 2007 at 13:43:00 said:

We are not anti immigrant, we are anti
criminal. That is what illegal aliens
are. DEPORT THEM!

Eric Furan on Aug 09, 2007 at 13:41:09 said:

I would be very interested to see a list of the cities whose economies have "collapsed" because illegal laborers are leaving. Leading statements like this that are not backed up with hard facts tend to make me wonder if there is a hidden agenda.

Gene Dozier on Aug 09, 2007 at 13:30:23 said:

Only a dishonest person would become an illegal immigrant It is a choice made by volunteering to jump, sneek, or swim into a foreign country, across an international border, and pretend to be a citizen of that country, and, by lies or aquiring false papers, steal money, as wages, from a legitimate citizen of that nation whose laws he or she has violated, by replacing that legal
citizen with his or her own self to perform otherwise legitimate labor, that labor being previously performed by the citizen of the
country so violated.

G McCoy on Aug 09, 2007 at 13:28:15 said:

You mentioned economies that have collapsed in the absense of [illegal] immigrants. What economies are you referring to? There have been no such reports that I have read elsewhere. You also failed to reveal how the loss of money flowing out of the United States is hurting the U.S. When you say it is hurting "all", you should tell us why.

Pleas, report news. Do not advance an agenda.

Carlos Anejo on Aug 09, 2007 at 13:26:54 said:

Wow, it is amazing how many liberal media outlets are quoting the "Bendixen and Associates study." Doubt they are THE authority on the subject as I have never heard of them before. Additionally, the article is horribly slanted since we are talking about ILLEGAL immigrants, not legal immigrants. And honestly, if Mexico's economy begins to collapse it would be extremely good. Perhaps the people that live there would demand their corrupt government become accountable and become a government by the people for the people! You know, like we are supposed to have here...

Rodrigo on Aug 09, 2007 at 13:19:48 said:

I don\'t consider it \"bad news\" that illegal aliens (its HONESTY not political correctness) aren\'t poaching as much money from the American people. Its a drain on the American economy and those dollars are going to bolster the even more corrupt socio-economic situation in Mexico.

Actually, I consider it all to be pretty good news. Now I just wish these \"traditional\" states would begin hardening laws against ILLEGAL ALIENS.

fareed on Aug 09, 2007 at 13:14:28 said:

Thae facts supporting this article point to what Americans have allways said,Legal & Illegal Immigration are not the same thing. Remittances to Mexico have gone from 20% to currently 1%.
2.) The Billion & Billions in remittances is more than all foreign direct investment.
3.) 82% of the Illegals said the job market is more difficult: 45% cite, enforcement of immigration law, documentation requirements. 21% cite, not enough jobs. 30% cite, discrimination against Illegals. 24% cite, low salaries. If the Illegals were Legal none of this would matter.

Rob on Aug 09, 2007 at 13:13:36 said:

Is it because there is nobody left back home to send money too. After all the fooling around with immigration the Mexicans are all here now.
I\'d like to live in Mexico but I can\'t get permission to work there. Kind of ironic!

R Herring on Aug 09, 2007 at 13:10:37 said:

So if the money stays in the US why isn't that good for the US. Just wait until those 12 million "undocumented workers" gain entitlements. Maybe we can borrow the money from Mexico!

GoBack on Aug 09, 2007 at 13:07:47 said:

The only bad news I see is that the illegal immigrants are still here in the US.

Did you ever think Americans get their anti-sentiment towards mexico because they cheered for osama bin laden a few years back? I doubt you reported that.

Steve on Aug 09, 2007 at 13:03:36 said:

I read this article and scrolled right down to the comments section to post similar thoughts to those I found already posted. I don't know ANYONE in my community that opposes immigration. I do know many people who oppose illegal immigration. What these illegal immigrants are doing is a slap in the face to all who try to immigrate to the US through proper channels.

That being said, I still think the problem is our immigration process. It is all still a paper trail. I had a friend that was in the process of immigrating and he moved. It took them a year to move his paper work to the new city only 100 miles away. He had to take vacation days just to go down there for his meetings with them. ridiculous

Lam on Aug 09, 2007 at 12:45:09 said:

Ax on the economy? How do you explain states with far less "ILLEGAL" immigrants survive then? Do they rely on "ILLEGAL" immigrants then? NO!!! I doubt that, they employed "LEGAL" americans to do american jobs and pay at the "LEGAL" wage instead of taking advantage of these "ILLEGAL" immigrants who refused to assimilate into American culture, **** Also go back to about 50 years. California was not heavily populated with "ILLEGAL" immigrants and how did it survive? It survived based on the people who are willing to work for money they can live on not dirt wages now being paid due to undercuts by the "ILLEGAL.

Tom Walker on Aug 09, 2007 at 12:43:53 said:

Oh, i get it. It means we have to send less aid in $ if they don't send enough home. Boy, is this world f'd up. Don't you think we could use the money here.

Fanudi on Aug 09, 2007 at 12:42:59 said:

I call BS on the statement that city's economies are collapsing. Sounds like wishful thinking to me. Be honest and post what cities you are talking about and let's get the facts on the table.

Tom Walker on Aug 09, 2007 at 12:40:05 said:

I don't understand why this would be a probelm and to whom the problem affects. Doesn't it mean more money stays in the US and is spent here? Wouldn't that benefit the US economy? What's the poiont of this article?

Larry Behrens on Aug 09, 2007 at 12:32:52 said:

“... economies have collapsed ..."

In your dreams! The main things that happen when the ILLEGAL BORDERJUMPERS leave is that the local wages return to normal, the crime rate drops, and the neighborhoods stop deteriorating.

Jessica on Aug 09, 2007 at 12:30:48 said:

What this article fails to mention is what I believe to be the real cause. This has nothing to do with the feeling of immigrants and how they are leaving areas because of the sentiment.
Anyway, what it comes down to is it is harder and harder these days to keep a home with rising interest rates. I live in a mostly hispanic and black neighborhood, mostly single family homes (there are three appartment complexes on the main road surrounded by houses)outside of Los Angeles in the valley. Everyone is feeling the pinch of rising interest rates of course and most got in over their heads. This is not a hispanic issue, but a US issue. All people in the US that have rising interest rates have this problem. With the lack of responsibility practiced by Realtors, Lenders AND Appraisers. Lack of consumer education accounts for the issues we are having and it shows what a global economy we do have.

Jonah smith on Aug 09, 2007 at 12:25:41 said:

It's a sad commentary when you have to say that Mexico depends on remittances from hard working immigrants in the US to survive.
With so many hard working citizens it's a shame Mexico can't provide jobs and services to their own people
Mexico is hampered by corruption and a government controlled by the wealthy.
It says something when the second (and perhaps soon to be) richest man in the world is a Mexican
The wealthy in Mexico rape the country while the poor are forced to sneak across the border to make a decent living.

Tom on Aug 09, 2007 at 11:51:12 said:

I say WELCOME TO AMERICA all immigrants. If I could I'd be out in the desert handing out water bottles to these people dying every day to get in this country.

Wake up. If you take away the rights of all immigrants who are the labor foundation of this country then we are back in the 1700's. However back then it was called slavery. Give them freedom, stop your crying.

Sergei on Aug 09, 2007 at 11:49:02 said:

“In many of these cities where immigrants feel unwelcomed and are beginning to leave in large numbers, their economies have collapsed," Bendixen said.



This is nice statement. Please do provide names of the many cities whose economies have collapsed due to (illegal) immigrant leavings?

Jeff on Aug 09, 2007 at 11:34:26 said:

\"...it is estimated that the increase for 2007 will be only 1 percent.\"
\"This major decrease in the amount of remittances to Mexico...\"
A one percent increase is not a \"major decrease.\" The sentence I quoted is not true. You are relying on false and manipulated facts to support your opinion.
Also: \"In many of these cities where immigrants feel unwelcomed and are beginning to leave in large numbers, their economies have collapsed.\"
Please list which cities and print verifiable statistics about the economic collapse. I may have missed something, but I did not see a single citation in this article or a reference to a peer reviewd study that could confirm your opinions. This is also completely biased. writing.
To clarify, unlike the previous posters, I wholeheartedly sympathize with the plight of illegal immigrants, but any time some uses trash like this to try and change people\'s minds, the only outcome will be to the writer\'s detriment. You are hurting your cause.

AB on Aug 09, 2007 at 11:34:11 said:

I am a U.S. immigrant, but I entered legally. I also brought with me, a lot of money, which is my immediate investment into the U.S. economy, as well as my education paid for by me and my prior country. I paid thousands of dollars to have my Permanent residency processed and it took a long and painful journey, including interviews, medical exams, inoculations, criminal checks etc. Finally I received my Permanent Resident card (Green Card) and I have made it my duty to integrate and live as a U.S. citizen, rather than bring a small part of "home" with me.
Because of all this, I perhaps resent the influx of illegal immigrants, more than natural born Americans do? For all the effort I made, for all the investment I brought and for the commitment to integrate I have, some Mexican can cross the border illegally, who may be uneducated, a criminal and most likely, have no money. They come to the U.S, expecting work, send the money out of the country and create a "little Mexico" in some pocket of the United States! I'm sorry, but I have absolutely NO sympathy for economic migrants, especially ILLEGAL ones. To me, they are doing little more than exploiting this country and siphoning it's wealth to Mexico, without giving back anything other than cheap labor at the expense of unemployed Americans.
I say we should make it as difficult as possible for ALL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS and let their home country deal with the problem, rather than the U.S. be expected to support their corrupt economy.

gp on Aug 09, 2007 at 10:55:37 said:

The problem IS the law. The problem is that the number of legal visas given out by the US government is too low and needs to be raised.

These immigrants are a net benefit to America, and the only reason that there is a problem is because the US doesn't PROVIDE a means to legally immigrate and work in America for the number of people who want to work here and for the number of jobs that need to be filled.

You people are more concerned with the letter of the law than the impact of it. THE LAWS ARE THE PROBLEM AND THEY NEED TO BE CHANGED.

Good people, who help Americans live better lives, who work hard, and who help both themselves, Americans, and their families in Mexico, are being trampled on by bureaucracy and out dated laws, and the only response from the anti-immigrants is to blame the victims.

Dennis B on Aug 09, 2007 at 10:41:44 said:

I agree with the previous writer, these are ILLEGAL immigrants, this not aimed toward immigrants....Second of all Mexico should not be depending on cash from another country to sustain there economy! they have more than enough natural resources(more than Canada)to help themselves. This is a wonderful thing because it makes Mexico wake up and realize they need to get rid of the corruption and take charge of there own country.Once they do that, there won't be a reason to leave.

Dennis B(African American)

Bert on Aug 09, 2007 at 10:40:03 said:

I think this is one of those issues that people tried to sweep under the rug for years, but now that it's a big lump, and people are tripping over it and hurting themselves and spilling their beer and stuff, questions are finally being asked and the answers aren't very appealing, and some people are asking which country their representation is actually working for, stuff like that. You tell one lie, you have to tell another one to cover it up etc...

James Gooch on Aug 09, 2007 at 10:31:55 said:

It seems the media is more concerned with their socialist agenda and open borders concepts than they are with the truth. I still have a problem understanding why the media should offer a point of view in the first place, it would be nice to see them just report something for once instead of every single reporter and journalist proving editorials instead. Can you really put in your point of view and still call it the "news"?

Robert on Aug 09, 2007 at 10:26:46 said:

As an Northern European American citizen, it is about time certain people in this country get over their cultural elitist attitudes towards other cultures. Get on a plane and fly to San Miguel de Allende, to Guadalajara or to Oaxaca and experience the beauty of different culture. You\'d be suprised. Your mind may open and you may think twice about imposing restrictions and force feeding behavioral changes one of the kindest cultures in the world. People in Mexico actually talk and share with their neighbors rather than monitor their 401Ks. Remember when this country was like that? Take off the white hoods and relax. You\'ve got it good and only stand to lose.

Mike on Aug 09, 2007 at 10:15:27 said:

"when asked whether it was easier, or more difficult now, compared to a year ago, for a Latin-American immigrant to get a good paying job in the United States, 82 percent of Mexican immigrants responded that it was more difficult."

Are we talking legal immigrants or illegal here? Your article is peppered with the blanket term immigrants. Please correct this inaccuracy in the future. If you are documented, none of these crackdowns would have any effect on you.

John on Aug 09, 2007 at 09:58:11 said:

Why do you never once mention it for what it is? The word is "illegal". These are not "undocumented workers" they are illegal immigrants. They have broken the law. There is no "anti-immigration sentiment" in the U.S., there is only anti ILLEGAL sentiment. Manipulation of words in such ways is a poor way to sway the facts.

Edward Crim on Aug 09, 2007 at 09:52:27 said:

Let's see if I have this straight; If the US actually enforces its laws and prevents illegal immigrants from working here, not only will Mexico's economy collapse, but so will that of the United States.

I suspect you have an ax to grind as far as your reporting of the news is concerned.

Dianne on Aug 09, 2007 at 09:50:12 said:

Maybe if illegal immigrants were more concerned with assimilating and contributing their new communities instead of sending the money out of our country, there wouldn't be so much discrimination.

Cheryl Fanso on Aug 09, 2007 at 09:02:23 said:

Not "undocumented immigrants"! Illegal immigrants. Drop the political correctness and be truthful.

"Anti-immigration sentiment in the U.S. appears to be on the rise..." It is anti-illegal immigrant sentiment that is on the rise. Say it straight. The negative sentiment isn't against legal immigrants, but against those who have broken the law and snuck into this country.

-->