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5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: Doris Meissner's Evil Twin ()
Date: May 02, 2010 10:53AM

1. Illegal mmigrants take jobs from American workers.


Although immigrants account for 12.5 percent of the U.S. population, they make up about 15 percent of the workforce. They are overrepresented among workers largely because they are willing to work long hours for less money, fewer benefits, and without comforting conditions. This probably won't change anytime soon.

Moreover, illegal immigrants tend to be concentrated in low-skilled occupations that compete with jobs held by American workers. And the foreign-born workers who fill lower-paying jobs are typically first-hired/first-fired employees, allowing employers to expand and contract their workforces rapidly. As a result, immigrants experience higher employment than natives during booms, especially in growing areas such as Fairfax County.

An influx of new workers pushes wages down, but illegal immigration also stimulates growth by creating new consumers, entrepreneurs and investors. As a result of this growth, a few economists claim that wages for the vast majority of true American workers are slightly higher than they would be without immigration. However, U.S. workers without a high school degree experience wage declines as a result of competition from illegal immigrants.

2. Immigration is at an all-time high, and most new immigrants came illegally.


The last time immigration rates were this high was during the American industrial revolution, when the mostly rural landscape and growing cities could easily absorb the laborers. The historic high came more than a century ago, in 1890, when immigrants made up 14.8 percent of our population. Today, over one-third of all immigrants are here illegally, not as naturalized citizens or as lawful permanent residents, more commonly known as "green card" holders. And of the approximately 10.8 million immigrants (a conservative estimate) who are in the country illegally, about 40 percent arrived legally but overstayed their visas.

It's worth noting that although the illegal immigrant population includes more people from Mexico than from any other country, Mexicans are also the largest group of lawful immigrants, especially those who will overstay their visas as noted above and those who create anchor babies in an attempt to stay. As for the flow of illegal immigrants, apprehensions along the U.S.-Mexico border have declined by more than 50 percent over the past four years due to the improved sophistication of mule operations and ineffective federal border control. Meanwhile, increases in the size of the illegal population, which had been growing by about 500,000 a year for more than a decade, have temporarily leveled. This is largely due to the recession, but will certainly increase again as the econonmy rights itself over the next few years.

3. Today's immigrants are not integrating into American life like past waves did.


The integration of immigrants was once a hallmark of America's vitality as a society and a source of admiration abroad, as it has been throughout our history. most Americans recognize that today's immigrants are not integrating into U.S. society as quickly as previous newcomers did. In past immigration waves, immigrants worked hard to learn English and adopt American culture and beliefs. Today, many immigrant supporters ignore those successes. The large numbers of Germans, Irish and Italians who arrived in the 19th and early 20th centuries were successful because of their urgent want to shed their old customs for the American way of life. Yet they were also able to hold on to the important traditions of their heritage. Today, those who promote Americanizing immigrants are labeled racist.

Before, immigrant integration was measured in months and sometimes years. Today, immigrant integration takes a generation or two. Learning English is one key driver of this process; the education and upward mobility of immigrants' children is the other. On the first count, today's immigrants consistently choose not to speak English in such large numbers that public schools are forced to pay for translators, especially in places such as Fairfax County. On the second count, the No Child Left Behind Act has played a critical role in helping educate immigrant children because it holds schools newly accountable for teaching them English, again at tremendous cost. Teaching themselves English used to be a responsibility taken very seriously within the immigrant communities. Now it is viewed as a service that should be provided free by the American taxpayers.

The illegal status of millions of foreign-born immigrants can slow integration in many more crucial ways. For example, illegal immigrants are ineligible for in-state tuition at most public colleges and universities, putting higher education effectively out of their reach. Yet there are those who want to overturn these laws, effectively giving American seats to illegal immigrants. And laws prohibiting illegal immigrants from getting driver's licenses or various professional credentials can leave them stuck in jobs with a high density of other immigrants and unable to advance. The result is a thriving underground business of fake licenses and uninsured drivers.

4. Cracking down on illegal border crossings will make us safer.


The job of protecting the nation's borders is immense, encompassing nearly 7,500 miles of land borders, 12,380 miles of coastline and a vast network of sea ports, international airports, ports of entry along the Mexican and Canadian borders and visa-issuing consulates abroad.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, we have dramatically strengthened our borders through the use of biometrics at ports of entry, secure cargo-shipment systems, intelligence gathering, integrated databases and increased international cooperation. The Border Patrol has nearly doubled in size in the past five years, to more than 20,000 agents. The Department of Homeland Security says it is on schedule to meet minimal congressional mandates for southwestern border enforcement, including fence-building. And cooperation with the Mexican government has improved significantly.

Still, our southwest border is more a classic law enforcement challenge than a front line in the war on terrorism. Antiterrorism measures rely heavily on intelligence gathering and clandestine efforts that are unrelated to border enforcement.

The seasoned enforcement officials I have spoken with all contend that if we focused more on the law enforcement aspect of illegal immigration, as has been done locally in Prince William County, and more recently in the state of Nevada, border agents would be freed to focus on protecting the nation from truly dangerous individuals and activities, such as drug-trafficking, smuggling and cartel violence.

5. Immigration reform cannot happen in an election year.


The politics of immigration can be explosive and can chase lawmakers away, especially as elections near, with the result that Congress infrequently and reluctantly updates immigration laws. However, some significant immigration bills enacted in recent decades were passed in election years, often at the last minute and after fractious debates, as politicians recognized that their constituents demand action as a condition of reelection.

This list dates back to the Refugee Act of 1980, which established our system for humanitarian protection and refugee and asylum admissions. Next came the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which made it illegal to hire unauthorized immigrants and provided amnesty for 2.7 million illegal immigrants. The Immigration Act of 1990 increased the number of visas allotted to highly skilled workers. And the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act charged immigration agencies with implementing significant new law enforcement mandates.

Legislative attempts to make urgently needed changes fizzled in the House in 2005 and in the Senate in 2006 and 2007 under the majority Democratic leadership, and the to-do list for the current Congress is both substantial and ignored. But ruling out immigration reform, whether because Congress has other priorities or because it's an election year, would be a mistake. The outline for immigration legislation that Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.) and his Democratic colleagues unveiled last week, together with the success of the Arizona law, may help convince lawmakers that there's no time like the present.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/30/AR2010043001106.html

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Re: 5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: Wingnut() ()
Date: May 02, 2010 10:57AM

I've got some mixed feelings on this, I like the Spanish and appreciate their work ethic. I don't like the way some neighborhoods have become barrios and that employers are able to race to the bottom with wages and that illegal tradesmen are able to undercut native workers because of lower overhead.

Illegals who work as subcontractors do not pay taxes, besides the unavoidable gas and sales taxes.

The assinmilation thing is fluid. There may be some intergration culturally but i fear it will become more difficult because of satellite TV and language specific radio, cheap long distance and airfare and the willingness of society to encourage ethnic pride and almost seperatism. Here's your capitalism and the freee market place-if there's a buck to be made in balkanization, they'll do it.

I think sometimes there is a catch22 in that if you legalize the illegals, they lose their utility because they require higher pay. If you keep the system as it is, it drives wages down for everyone.

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Re: 5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: WingNut ()
Date: May 02, 2010 11:55AM

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^''

That's weird, I didn't respnd to the post above but someone did unregistered with a name similar to mine and a response that looks identical.


guess it's a troll trying to keep it fresh.

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Re: 5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: linux ()
Date: May 02, 2010 12:35PM

This site is likely back-ended to mysql on linux, and it views the same letters with different capitalization as a different word. If he had attempted to use "WingNut" like your name is setup, it wo

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Re: 5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: linux ()
Date: May 02, 2010 12:36PM

Oops, got cut off. I meant to say "If he had attempted to use "WingNut" like your name is setup, it wouldn't have allowed it"

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Re: 5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: Hee hee ()
Date: May 02, 2010 12:49PM

Noticed the similarities between this and the off-topic thread...

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Re: 5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: C. Miller ()
Date: May 02, 2010 02:27PM

"because they are willing to work long hours for less money, fewer benefits, and without comforting conditions."

If they can preform the job better, than they deserve the job. They work very hard for little pay, which is good for our economy.

Also, I agree that it's a drag that immigrants don't pay the same taxes as us, but their kids are all legal citizens, and that means when they are old enough, they will pay taxes.

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Re: 5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: Dr. Johnson ()
Date: May 02, 2010 06:15PM

"Also, I agree that it's a drag that immigrants don't pay the same taxes as us, but their kids are all legal citizens, and that means when they are old enough, they will pay taxes."

Free health care for 18 years for the children and lifetime for the parents seems fair?

What's in your wallet?

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Re: 5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: Kenny_Powers ()
Date: May 02, 2010 06:19PM

i too have mixed feelings about this, i hate mexicans, but i like the fact that they are currently being used in semi-slavery. i just dont know what to think anymore...

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Re: 5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: ThePackLeader ()
Date: May 02, 2010 07:46PM

The fact is, illegal immigrants take away jobs not only from citizens, but also legal immigrants. I know quite a few legal refugees and immigrants who lost jobs to the wetbacks.

==================================================================================================
"And if any women or children get their legs torn off, or faces caved in, well, it's tough shit for them." -2LT. Bert Stiles, 505th, 339th (On Berlin Bombardier Mission, 1944).

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Re: 5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: Troll@AOL ()
Date: May 02, 2010 10:51PM

'LEGALIZE the ILLEGALS'.

The words themselves, are a testament to what an OXYMORON this whole issue really is.

==================================================================================
"Why don't you LOSERS just pack your flower print DOUCHE BAGS
and get your stoopid @$$#$ THE FUCK OFF MY INTERNETZ!"

- 'philscamms' (the YT Watchdog) ; internet & YouTube® extraordinaire.

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Re: 5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: Bacon ()
Date: May 03, 2010 10:49AM

and they don't bother learning English and don't teach the children they had so they can stay legally how to speak English. They don't seem to know what a trach can is, or that flames on a 10-15 year old Honda Accord isn't cool and doesn't look good.

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Re: 5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: Gonads & Strife ()
Date: May 03, 2010 10:50AM

Bacon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> and they don't bother learning English and don't
> teach the children they had so they can stay
> legally how to speak English. They don't seem to
> know what a trach can is, or that flames on a
> 10-15 year old Honda Accord isn't cool and doesn't
> look good.


Having an "anchor child" and/or marrying a citizen doesn't grant you citizenship.

(trust me on this one)

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Re: 5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: Eggs ()
Date: May 03, 2010 01:45PM

Bacon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
They don't seem to know what a trach can is...


basura?

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Re: 5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: TroII@AOL ()
Date: May 03, 2010 10:19PM

I fucking hate these dirty ass spics that come in and trash our neighborhoods. And hey Gonads, all she needs to do now is work on the whole W - V thing. Genocide! *wink*

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Re: 5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: Troll@AOL ()
Date: May 04, 2010 02:21AM

((((Alert)))) ^ ^ ^ Fake *GAY* Troll ^ ^ ^ ((((Alert))))

==================================================================================
"Why don't you LOSERS just pack your flower print DOUCHE BAGS
and get your stoopid @$$#$ THE FUCK OFF MY INTERNETZ!"

- 'philscamms' (the YT Watchdog) ; internet & YouTube® extraordinaire.

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Re: 5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: Gonads & Strife ()
Date: May 04, 2010 07:31AM

TroII@AOL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I fucking hate these dirty ass spics that come in
> and trash our neighborhoods. And hey Gonads, all
> she needs to do now is work on the whole W - V
> thing. Genocide! *wink*


LOL - Ironic that her first car was a new beetle, right?

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Re: 5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: TroII@AOL ()
Date: May 05, 2010 12:08AM

Troll@AOL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ((((Alert)))) ^ ^ ^ Fake *GAY* Troll ^ ^ ^
> ((((Alert))))


How is this fake? That is my registered name. Go fuck yourself "fake" troll@aol. I win.

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Re: 5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: billy kristol ()
Date: May 05, 2010 12:43AM

How come they have so many babies? Isn't the world overpopulated as it is?
Instead of having children couldn't they be sending the money back to the homelands to create a better life for them

This is not the land of unlimited resources and opportunities. see federal deficit and the greater concentration of wealth for i.e.

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Re: 5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: River Denial ()
Date: May 05, 2010 05:48AM

It appears that illegal immigration does not exist in Fairfax County. Few people are willing to discuss it. If you mention illegals in a post on *city data* Northern Virginia forum, the post gets "CLEANSED" of the comment. Silly...removing the comments does not change the reality.

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Re: 5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: Total Realist ()
Date: May 05, 2010 05:58AM

immigrants steal jobs from law abiding citizens

immigrants are criminals. They commited a class three misdemeanor, like going 15 miles per hour over the speed limit! They are hardened criminals we should have no sympathy for!

immigrants look funny.

immgrants speak funny.

immagrants aint from around here.

immigrants are dirty.

immigrants take our jobs.

immigrants are immigrants.

imigrans are bad.

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Re: 5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: one statement ()
Date: May 05, 2010 04:22PM

Total Realist's lines are exaggerations--a smoke screen to cover up the only true statement:

Illegal immigrants are ILLEGAL.


They are not all criminals, etc. Some are well-educated and simply want a safer life. But have an American try to go to Norway and enjoy a prosperous life-in the manner that we've seen people do here- and that country would not allow it. Why are those countries allowed to enforce their immigration laws, and the US is not?

A double standard.

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Re: 5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: Troll@AOL ()
Date: May 05, 2010 04:37PM

Fuck you sympatics who support dirty lazy thieving degenerates who sneak into our country, making the quality of life go down in the nieghborhoods they infest like cockroaches.


Yeahhhh for ARIZONA!!!

AND FUCK HUSSEIN OBAMA!

==================================================================================
"Why don't you LOSERS just pack your flower print DOUCHE BAGS
and get your stoopid @$$#$ THE FUCK OFF MY INTERNETZ!"

- 'philscamms' (the YT Watchdog) ; internet & YouTube® extraordinaire.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: 5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: TroII@AOL ()
Date: May 06, 2010 12:24AM

Troll@AOL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Fuck you sympatics who support dirty lazy thieving
> degenerates who sneak into our country, making the
> quality of life go down in the nieghborhoods they
> infest like cockroaches.
>
>
> Yeahhhh for ARIZONA!!!
>
> AND FUCK HUSSEIN OBAMA!


Holy shit... We are in agreement...weird.

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Re: 5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: Gonads & Strife ()
Date: May 06, 2010 06:10AM

"WEIRD!"

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Re: 5 Truths About Immigration in Fairfax County
Posted by: umm ()
Date: May 06, 2010 10:38PM

so...if they weren't "stealing our jobs"...you would apply to be a landscaper or housecleaner? not trying to say that they are bad jobs, i think the problem is that we demote those type of positions to ones that we wouldn't touch, and the immigrants, illegal or legal, are willing to make money doing hard work.

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