"Since the landmark raid, an economic squeeze has destroyed several businesses. Postville's population has shrunk by nearly half, to about 1,800 residents, and townsfolk say the resulting anxiety -- felt from the deli to the schoolyard -- has been relentless.
"It's like you're in an oven and there's no place to go and there's no timer to get you out," said former Mayor Robert Penrod, who, overwhelmed, resigned earlier this year....
"One of President Obama's highest policy priorities is making America energy independent. The president has correctly observed that our reliance on others for essential energy needs is both a source of weakness and an impediment to the development of new technologies that would also strengthen our economy and help the environment.
"Around this time each year, thousands of foreign students graduate with science and engineering degrees from U.S. universities. Many are eager to stay in America and contribute to the U.S. economy.
So does the United States welcome them with open arms? No, the government tells thousands of them to hit the road — and take their sought-after skills and brainpower to countries and companies that compete with the USA.
Talk about a self-defeating immigration policy...."
A new study published by the business schools at New York University and the University of Pennsylvania reports that U.S. companies using foreign workers on H-1B visas has reduced wages for computer programmers, system analysts and software engineers by 6%.
The conceptual framework used by environmentalists such as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. when they fight against pollution applies precisely to illegal immigration. They refuse to embrace the logical conclusion of their ideas because it is not politically correct.
Last week, I posted part 1 of Reply to An Outside Commenter, whom I am calling Mr. Smith. The blog received many thoughtful and excellent comments– many of you were as flabbergasted as I was.
NumbersUSA received a number of "outside" comments from people who disagreed with Roy Beck's quote in a front-page New York Times article on April 9. The following was particularly interesting. I verified that the writer owns a small insurance company in Houston, Texas. I am changing his name to Mr. Smith in order to protect his anonymity.
Roy Beck, executive director of Numbers USA, said the report strengthens the case against granting amnesty to illegal immigrants.
"There are more than 7 million illegal aliens holding non-agricultural jobs," said Beck, whose organization favors reduced immigration levels. "There are more than 7 million less-educated Americans who are unemployed and looking for jobs in those exact same occupations."http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_12142073
By Stephen Wall -- San Bernardino (CA) Sun
A tiny bit of hopeful evidence emerges that consistent, long-term and substantial U.S. citizen opposition to the open-borders agenda may eventually back off some of the wealthiest foundations that are funding the pro-amnesty efforts. A report on the website of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation suggests leaving the political arena on immigration because of the great disappointment in losing the amnesty battles of 2007.
"A compromise bill that seeks to deter illegal immigration has been advanced to the final round of debate in the Nebraska Legislature. But following debate Thursday, some lawmakers remained unconvinced that its provisions will work toward curbing the problem and that the bill could end up costing the state....
"We ought to be honest about what this bill does and does not do," said Sen. Brenda Council of Omaha, who called the bill "feel-good legislation."
In media coverage -- from cable news programs to newspaper editorial boards to YouTube videos -- immigration appears to be taking a backseat only to the struggling economy and late night talk show appearances by President Obama.
With rising unemployment figures in the United States and the possibility of more legislation similar to the H-1B restrictions added into the economic stimulus package, Indian outsourcing firms are looking to hire Americans for U.S.-based Indian companies. A report in the Wall Street Journal says that the large outsourcing firms Infosys Technologies and Wipro are looking to hire Americans so they can remain competitive if the ability to hire foreign workers tightens.
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) issued a press release tonight decrying the removal of House-passed E-Verify worker protections from the conference committee report, which could be voted on as early as tomorrow. He notes that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) were responsible. See Roy Beck's blog for more commentary on this injustice.
A Boulder, Colo. cleaning company is suing because of lost business to two companies that they claim hire illegal workers. Dustbusters filed a lawsuit against Longmont’s Finishing Touch Janitorial Services and Loveland’s Porter Industries after losing city contracts, including one to clean the public library.
An investigation by the Associated Press revealed that major U.S. banks brought in foreign workers for high paying jobs while laying off American workers at the same time. The investigation revealed that a dozen banks requested visas for 21,800 foreign workers over a six year span with an average annual salary of more than $90,000.
While Great Britain is feeling the same financial hardships being felt here in the United States, several hundred nuclear processing plant workers walked out on Monday to protest the importation of foreign workers. Around 900 workers at the Sellafield nuclear plant in Cumbria, England joined hundreds of other contract workers protesting against what they claim to be preferential treatment given to foreign workers.
The U.S. economy lost 2.589 million jobs in 2008 under Bush's watch. But he still can't see that his vision of open borders is incompatible with middle class jobs for American workers. Here's his latest: "We should be open-minded about big issues like immigration reform, because if we’re viewed as anti-somebody — in other words, if the party is viewed as anti-immigrant — then another fellow may say, well, if they’re against the immigrant, they may be against me."
President-elect Obama has requested that Congress have a fiscal stimulus package waiting on his desk for his signature when he takes office on January 20. The stimulus is projected to be up to $700 billion with the aim of creating 2.5 million jobs over 2 years. That is $280,000 per job, or $140 billion per each 500,000 jobs created.
At a time of galloping unemployment, Pres. Bush had the gall to tell ABC News that one of his biggest disappointments in the White House was his inability to get Americans to quit being so small-minded about keeping U.S. jobs for themselves instead of sharing them with illegal aliens. Will the next Administration be this elitist and this heartless? The jury is out.
The Federation for American Immigration Reform had Zogby international conduct a post-election poll and the results show that Americans are against an immigration plan that includes amnesty. The poll revealed that actual voters from the recent election favor tougher enforcement and that amnesty for illegal aliens would "further harm the interests of struggling American workers."
CHICAGO -- Changing planes here seems an appropriate place to anticipate the results and congratulate Sen. Obama on his victory. As my readers know, I have rated most past immigration actions and campaign promises of both Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain as "bad" to "abysmal." But I feel mildly optimistic at this moment about the next Presidency.
The most important vote in the fight against immigration next Tuesday will take place in Arizona.
Contrary to its name, "The Stop Illegal Hiring Act," Proposition 202 abolishes the use of E-Verify in Arizona and requires the state to wait for the federal government in actions against employers.
Lots of big talk these last few days before the elections, but we've prepared a list of 20 U.S. Representatives and 19 U.S. Senators who are the best in Congress at consistently taking immigration actions that really protect jobs for American workers. Come inside and see.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has increased the maximum period of time that a Trade-NAFTA professional worker from Canada or Mexico may remain in the United States. The rule change increases the period of stay from one year to three years, equaling the initial period of time granted to H-1B workers.
More than 50 day laborers stood, bored, anxious and mostly silent, in the sun-blasted parking lot of a Home Depot here last week, tracking the ebb and flow of customers and hoping for work. The hours crawled by. Six, maybe seven men scored jobs. The rest just waited.
Black laborers in the construction industry used to be the norm, but with the increased migration of Latin Americans, the construction industry slowly became more Latino. Washington D.C. based concrete construction firm Miller & Long once employed a workforce that was 80 percent black, but as those black laborers slowly retired, they were replaced with Latinos, which now make up 71 percent of the company's workers.
Low unemployment numbers help the political party in power get reelected. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, which reports the unemployment rate, is part of the Department of Labor. The Secretary of Labor is appointed directly by the President, is a member of the President’s cabinet, and is likely to be loyal to the President. For these reasons, it is not surprising that the figure commonly supplied by the government and reported by the media actually underreports the true situation.
Rep. Lamar Smith wrote a scathing op-ed in the Washington Times about the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's anti-American worker activities, particularly their opposition to the E-Verify system.
Senate Majority Leader Reid has two honorable choices: (1) Bring Sen. Menendez's backroom filibuster to the Senate floor for a vote. If he does this, there easily will be the 60 votes necessary to stop Menendez and allow a vote to pass H.R. 6633 (a clean E-Verify reauthorization). (2) Avoid a vote altogether by talking to Menendez privately, persuading him that what he is doing is threatening the reputation of the Democratic Party just before elections and get him to withdraw his "hold" on H.R. 6633.
