Enlarge Image More than a million immigrants in the United States have taken part in a day of nationwide action to protest against proposed immigration reform.
Mass rallies were staged across the US as immigrants boycotted work or school and avoided spending money as a way of showing their worth to the economy.
Called A Day Without Immigrants, the protest took place as Congress wrestles with reforming immigration laws.
About 11.5m illegal immigrants live in the US, many of them of Latino origin.
The protests were aimed at persuading Congress to abandon the tough measures in a bill passed last year by the US House of Representatives that includes provisions to criminalise illegal immigrants and bolster border security.
A bipartisan Senate bill, currently stalled, would provide illegal immigrants a path toward citizenship and a guest-worker programme long favoured by President George W Bush.
Migrant worker gathering flowers We are the backbone of what America is, legal or illegal, it doesn't matter Melanie Lugo Protester
Send us your comments In pictures: Day's protests Mexico shows solidarity
But there is some way to go before the competing bills are reconciled and a compromise reached. A number of US politicians say illegal migrants should be sent home.
Some commentators say the emerging immigrant movement - the force of which was evident at nationwide demonstrations last month - can be compared with the civil rights protests of the 1960s and 70s.
"Everyone's an immigrant here. The only real American is the Indian," Puerto Rican-born Rene Ochart, a doorman in a Manhattan hotel, said of the campaign.
Despite Monday being a normal working day in the US, many businesses were forced to close as workers in industries including agriculture, construction and leisure withheld their labour.
Goya Foods halted distribution for the day, while Tyson Foods, the world's largest meat producer, shut nine of its 15 plants.
Mexican support
The biggest demonstrations on Monday were seen in the US cities of Los Angeles and Chicago.
Some 400,000 people are estimated by police to have taken part in two marches in Los Angeles.
Many of the marchers wore white - a colour chosen by protest organisers as a sign of solidarity with the illegal immigrants, while others marched draped in US or Mexican flags.
In Chicago, police said 400,000 people marched through the streets and in New York, supporters formed human chains at 1216 (1616 GMT) to symbolise 16 December 2005 - the day the controversial immigration bill was passed in the House of Representatives.
Who said that???? I am just saying it's not black and white...It doesn't matter to me if you send them back...I'm just playing devils advocate as to the consequences....
Yes but not as big of a problem...we might have about 200,000 illegal workers...but they rejected amnesty here...however the sector that would suffer here if they were sent back is the construction sector....we have very few skilled trades people here or people who want to be trained in those areas...
Nooooooo I am suggesting merely that by getting rid of your illegal workers that you will be further damaging your own economy...That you have to look at the pros and cons of each move...what benefits if any are there to making them legal or sending them back????
"For example, if the supply of lettuce pickers in the Untied States increases through immigration, theory predicts that the wages of lettuce pickers will fall, and so will the wages of workers with similar skills," said Rachel Friedberg. "But there will be an increase in the earnings of truck drivers, restaurant workers, supermarket stockers, and all the people who work with lettuce pickers in getting lettuce to our dinner tables."
In other words, a sudden infusion of new workers can depress wages in any particular segment of an industry. But the savings in production costs will benefit workers in other segments of that same industry, bringing gains that balance out or even surpass the wage loses suffered by the negatively-impacted group.
And there is another factor to consider, according to Friedberg: newcomers to the United States do more than earn a wage.
"Because immigrants not only work, but also spend money, the increased demand for goods and services will create jobs and raise wages throughout the economy," she said.
The consensus view among those who testified before the subcommittee is that immigration, whether legal or illegal, brings net economic benefits to the United States.
But costs do exist, and those costs are not shared equally. While there may be many winners, there will also be some losers as a result of immigration.
Several economists who spoke at the hearing suggested the best course of action is to continue to welcome newcomers, but to provide additional training and educational opportunities for those whose employment and earnings suffer as a result of the arrival of foreign-born workers. - VOA News
Illegal Immigration's Impact on US Workforce Examined...
Last week, President Bush reaffirmed his support for overhauling America's immigration system to provide a path to eventual citizenship for the estimated 12 million illegal aliens in the country. One of the most contentious issues in the immigration debate is the effect that undocumented workers have on the U.S. labor market.
It is a basic economic principle: the more you have of something, the less it costs. So it would seem to stand to reason that the more workers you have in any particular industry, the less employers will have to pay in wages.
Republican Congressman Steve King of Iowa says illegal immigration is currently proving the validity of that theory, contending that a flood of low-skilled undocumented workers is depressing wages and causing greater unemployment for U.S. citizens who lack a university education.
"The reality is employers hire desperate aliens who will work for much less than Americans, driving wages down and making it impossible for American workers to compete," said Steve King. "And what about the claims that there are jobs that Americans will not do? That claim is a slap in the face to the millions of U.S. citizens who go to work every day, working those very same jobs side by side. [For example], 79 percent of all service workers are native-born."
Representative King, who opposes President Bush's immigration reform plan, sits on the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship. He says those who favor granting eventual legal status to millions of undocumented workers are putting the interests of foreigners ahead of those of U.S. citizens.
"The American dream means that you are the driver of your own destiny, and you can work hard to be successful," he said. "But you cannot work hard towards that dream if your job is taken by someone willing to work for lower wages, or if wages in an entire occupation are depressed by illegal immigration."
But do economic data support the congressman's assertion? Not according to the Assistant Secretary for Policy at the U.S. Labor Department, Leon Sequeira.
"Over the past 10 years, foreign-born workers increased from 10.8 percent of the civilian labor force to 15.3 percent," said Leon Sequeira. "Yet during this time the national unemployment rate has declined. It was 5.3 percent 10 years ago, and it has declined significantly to 4.6 percent last year, and most recently - last month - 4.6 percent."
In addition, Sequeira says, wages of non-supervisory workers have risen, on average, nearly nine-percent above the rate of inflation.
But Sequeira was providing macro-economic numbers for the nation as a whole. What of specific industries where undocumented workers comprise a large component of the labor force, such as fruit and vegetable harvesting, hotel and restaurant work, and construction? The picture there is more complicated and nuanced, according to Brown University economist Rachel Friedberg.
I'm looking at all sides of the issue...they already have proven that your economy can't function without them the day they went on strike...soooooo if you want to send them back and send your economy into a further tailspin...That's entirely up to you...
I went back 8 years ago for 2 years and switched careers..You're never too old to learn...and it can mean the difference between doing a job you hate or having a career you love....
Yes it is the law...but this isn't just one...it's thousands...and I really believe the damage would be greater to send them back...BUT that's the choice that has to be made by the U.S....which is the lesser of the two evils at a time when your economy is suffering as it is????
Wellll...you can send them back at the detriment to your economy...or you can recognize that they are a benefit...legalize them and have them fully contribute my paying taxes etc....I mean what does the U.S. have to lose by making them legal??? I think they have more to lose by sending them back...
Well what happened when they went on strike for one day that time??? Did they not prove that the economy couldn't function without them???? So in that sense...even though they are illegal...they are actually contributing something by helping to keep the economy going....I think those who are there should be given amnesty.....
Hey if you have been talking to him for 4 years I wouldn't worry...I'm sure you must know him well enough by now and trust me anyone who is gonna want to hurt you in that way...isn't gonna wait four years to do it...Just relax and have fun....
Hugz_n_Kissez Forum Posts (25,438)
RE: Illegal Aliens---should they be allowed to stay or be sent home?
Ohhhhhhhh Really NOW....US immigrants stage boycott day
In Homestead, Florida, about 1,200 people marched
Enlarge Image
More than a million immigrants in the United States have taken part in a day of nationwide action to protest against proposed immigration reform.
Mass rallies were staged across the US as immigrants boycotted work or school and avoided spending money as a way of showing their worth to the economy.
Called A Day Without Immigrants, the protest took place as Congress wrestles with reforming immigration laws.
About 11.5m illegal immigrants live in the US, many of them of Latino origin.
The protests were aimed at persuading Congress to abandon the tough measures in a bill passed last year by the US House of Representatives that includes provisions to criminalise illegal immigrants and bolster border security.
A bipartisan Senate bill, currently stalled, would provide illegal immigrants a path toward citizenship and a guest-worker programme long favoured by President George W Bush.
Migrant worker gathering flowers
We are the backbone of what America is, legal or illegal, it doesn't matter
Melanie Lugo
Protester
Send us your comments
In pictures: Day's protests
Mexico shows solidarity
But there is some way to go before the competing bills are reconciled and a compromise reached. A number of US politicians say illegal migrants should be sent home.
Some commentators say the emerging immigrant movement - the force of which was evident at nationwide demonstrations last month - can be compared with the civil rights protests of the 1960s and 70s.
"Everyone's an immigrant here. The only real American is the Indian," Puerto Rican-born Rene Ochart, a doorman in a Manhattan hotel, said of the campaign.
Despite Monday being a normal working day in the US, many businesses were forced to close as workers in industries including agriculture, construction and leisure withheld their labour.
Goya Foods halted distribution for the day, while Tyson Foods, the world's largest meat producer, shut nine of its 15 plants.
Mexican support
The biggest demonstrations on Monday were seen in the US cities of Los Angeles and Chicago.
Some 400,000 people are estimated by police to have taken part in two marches in Los Angeles.
Many of the marchers wore white - a colour chosen by protest organisers as a sign of solidarity with the illegal immigrants, while others marched draped in US or Mexican flags.
In Chicago, police said 400,000 people marched through the streets and in New York, supporters formed human chains at 1216 (1616 GMT) to symbolise 16 December 2005 - the day the controversial immigration bill was passed in the House of Representatives.
(Cont'd)....