Would you like to know what I hate? Illegal immigration. Hate. It. I hate the fact that Bush pretty much wants to envite the entire country of Mexico to come live here. I hate the PC nonsense that suggests we call them “undocumented” suggesting that, well… they’re not illegal — it’s just a technicality!
Sure, I realize that if we kicked all of the illegals out prices for things would go up because the companies would actually have to pay their workers according to federal laws… but what strikes me as odd is that the liberals tend to be the ones pointing that out. The same group that talks about a need to increase the minimum wage without regard for its impact on the economy is dreadfully worried that removing the illegals (who are not benefitting from their minimum wage laws) would cause an increase in the price of goods and services. I’ve got an idea: why don’t we kick out the illegals and lower the minimum wage. It’ll offset!
The conspiracy theorist part of me thinks it’s because the Dems know that illegals manage to vote in our elections (also why they despise requiring ID to vote), so they want to look like they’re “protecting” them. Who knows, maybe Bush picked this trick up in Texas.
Anyway, I have a point. My point is that this is funny.
Frustrated by perceived federal indifference to illegal immigrants, a small-town police chief struck back Tuesday by employing a novel legal strategy against a construction worker whose vehicle had broken down.
Mexican citizen Jorge Mora Ramirez, 21, pleaded guilty to trespassing last month in nearby New Ipswich and agreed to report to immigration authorities.
New Ipswich Police Chief W. Garrett Chamberlain charged Ramirez with criminal trespassing — a violation comparable to a traffic ticket — on April 15 after immigration officials refused to take him into custody. Ramirez, who also pleaded guilty to operating without a valid license, has until Friday afternoon to report to immigration authorities in Manchester.
Who knows if it’ll work, but it’s funny. Although I will say that if it doesn’t get him out of the country, it was a waste of money.
Of course, there’s an appearance by one of our brilliant immigration workers:
Paula Grenier, a spokeswoman for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement in New England, said when the agency officially gets information on Ramirez, “we intend to write him up and put him into removal proceedings.”
But the fact is, she said, this case is about one illegal immigrant whose only crime was being broken down on the side of the road.
His “only crime”? Ma’am, I’m not sure if you realize this… but… he was also violating immigration laws. And driving without a license. And probably didn’t have insurance either.
I think that somewhere along the way, the training program at ICE missed something with this woman.
If we got rid of minimum wage laws, that would reduce the incentive for large corporations to hire illegal immigrants (not get rid of it, but reduce it). More importantly, it would reduce corporations lobbying efforts to keep immigration illegal, but not enforced. It is this system that allows them to take advantage of both these people and the laws.
If we would remove the minimum wage law and make immigration legal, we could kill a few birds at once.
[Formatting added to make it easier to read. -ph]
I agree with most of what matt said… but want to give a few points.
1) Chris Rock said it best when he said that if it was not for minimum wage laws, some people would get paid in cans of Spam!
2) For the most part, illegal immigrants are doing jobs that Americans, for whatever stupid reason, feel that are “beneath them”. Along with that, most people who are unemployed are unemployed because their skill sets don’t match with available jobs, or, they just don’t want those jobs. If there truly were no jobs, there would not be 20 pages of classified ads for jobs every sunday in the paper in new orleans. Many Americans could be hired as janitors, dishwashers, grass cutters, etc, but they just don’t want to work those jobs.
3) People are always going to get paid under the table. Plenty of citizens get paid under the table today. Some of them are for less than minimum wage.
Bobby:
1) Citing comedians in a policy debate isn’t really a very good idea.
I’m not sure what the percentage is any more, but a really high percentage of employed workers make more than minimum wage.
We have to assume that some of the folks making minimum wage would not see a significant pay change from a removal of the minimum wage.
That leaves a really small percentage of people who’d be making substantially less than the minimum wage. Those people are doing jobs that aren’t WORTH the minimum wage (obviously) so why should they get it?
3) It would certainly lessen their disadvantage, though, which I think is the point. We’re never going to be able to completely eliminate things like that… but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.
“His “only crime”? Ma’am, I’m not sure if you realize this… but… he was also violating immigration laws. And driving without a license. And probably didn’t have insurance either. ”
Is that why you have to keep that pesty uninsured/underinsured coverage on your vehicle?? I’ll be sure to use that as an example when teaching auto policies.