Anne, 

I don't know where you live, but here in Arizona you'd get a lot of argument against your statement about the advantages of Mexican immigrants on the job market.   My professional life was spent primarily in refugee/immigrant resettlement, and I can tell you first hand that I've never seen
the likes of what's going on in Maricopa Co. AZ now.   I understand from still- active colleagues, that  the same is true in most of the country, although on a smaller scale than the border states.  

 Yes, the so-called "Mexican" immigrant -- who might actually be from  Columbia, Ecuador or El Salvador--  is  eager to work for less money, and as a result,  in the 20 years we have lived in Arizona, we've seen the construction industry  turned head over  heels.  Americans who worked as skilled workers --framers, concrete finishers, masons, etc.-- have been laid off and replaced by undocumented aliens willing to work for half the pay.   My husband retired as a general contractor,  thank goodness, so we haven't had to face the  problem of trying to stay in business while hiring only those legally able to work while the competition hires aliens willing to work for anything more than $5 an hour.  

Today, our governor just signed into law a bill that as of Jan 2008 will provide for the heaviest punishment in the US for any employer knowingly hiring an illegal, and already the  McDonalds franchisers  et al are up in arms, claiming there won't be anyone left willing to work for them.   

The problems of illegal immigration  are far too complex to sum up here  and neither sentimental statements nor  our  inclinations to to be loving and caring of immigrants are going to solve anything.  

--Joanne


Anne Pemberton <[log in to unmask]> wrote: Lyle,

If I was still in the classroom, I would be please to call you colleague! 
Very well argued.

One point - there were several generations between the end of slavery and 
the beginning of welfare, so I'm not totally sure that the dependence of one 
led into the dependence of the other. I do think that one of the problems 
with the welfare system was the insistance to help wife and children if and 
only if, the father was absent. An unemployed or underemployed man, which 
was many black before Civil Rights opened up decent jobs to them, could do 
his family a favor by moving on and leaving them to welfare, it would be the 
sensible thing to do. Also, a young man who impregnated a girl could do 
better by leaving than by staying and not being able to support her with a 
reasonably decent job.

And, you are right about the Mexican immigrants being hard working. By 
comparison, neither the Puerto Ricans nor the Cubans were known to love work 
as much as the Mexicans do. It is so sad to see how many people object to 
their immigration when they are such a good influence in the job market.

Anne

Anne Pemberton
[log in to unmask]
http://www.erols.com/apembert
http://www.educationalsynthesis.org 


       
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