blake murphy wrote:

> The Washington Post, in a June 4, 2007 editorial article titled
> "Immigrants Equal Growth... Reform Isn't Just Humane. It's
> Self-Interest," offered the following:

I appreciate the offering, Blake, but it is an editiorial opinion. It also
attempts to blur the distinction that I have made: it mixes illegal aliens
with legal migrant workers. I have always contended that legal migrants with
the required legal documentation are a net addition to the economy when
employee shortages place business productivity in jeopardy.

Focusing on illegals in Aug, 2004, the Washington Post reported this story:

Illegal Immigrants' Cost to Government Studied By Mary Fitzgerald Washington
Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2004Aug25.html
[begin quote]
"Households headed by illegal aliens imposed more than $26.3 billion in
costs on the federal government in 2002 and paid only $16 billion in taxes,
creating a net fiscal deficit of $10.4 billion, or $2,700 per illegal
household," said Steven A. Camarota, author of the study.
The costs outlined in the report include government services such as
Medicaid, medical treatment for the uninsured, food assistance programs, the
federal prison and court systems, and federal aid to schools.
The study acknowledged that, on average, the costs that illegal-immigrant
households bear on the federal government are less than half that of other
households, and that many of those costs relate to their U.S.-born children.
It also pointed out that tax payments by illegal-immigrant households
constitute one-fourth those of other households because of low-income jobs.
[end quote]

>> Uh, how do you get picking lettuce out of my talking about skilled
>> trades?

> yes, i was careless in my reading of your post, there. my apologies.

No biggie. It happens to me all the time :-)

> it's hard to tell how things will shake out. with so much money
> involved, special interests will no doubt be disproportionately heard
> from.

You have a point, there. But it seems that ICE and the Border Patrol have
tremendously stepped up their efforts over the last 4 years, and have been
an routine presence amongst the Washington-Oregon Ag industries (you should
have heard the screams of the farmers, which have fallen on deaf ears. The
farmers are now taking full advantage of temporary migrant labor
applications instead of ignoring the process).

> in any case, rounding them all up and shipping them back to where
> they came from isn't really an option (not saying that you favor
> this, just saying).

I agree with that. It shouldn't be a primary focus, nor is it needed. As
illegals find their job opportunities drying up, they will return home on
their own and apply for the relevant visas so that they have the ability to
work above-board. It then continues the pressure on scum-bag employers to
pay the appropriate wages, eventually ending this form of near slavery.

--
Dave
What is best in life? "To crush your enemies, see them driven before
you, and to hear the lamentation of the women." -- Conan