Immigration bill: slap in American workers face!

Cecelia Munoz, VP of LaRaza was a guest on C-span's Washington Journal this morning speaking of the immigration policies being shaped in Congress as we speak. She said the Guest Worker program is not an amnesty program, but a work program for illegal immigrants to obtain citizenship status through a legal process. This is exactly the same as saying America can get rid of thieves in the country by legalizing stealing.

Ms. Munoz went on to argue that her organization is working to raise all workers wages, standards of living and quality of work experience. But her argument defies reason, for if cheap labor is not imported, employers will be enjoined by free market forces of supply and demand to offer higher wages to Americans for those same jobs, which in turn would increase wages for Americans and quality of work experience. The simple fact is cheap import labor undermines supply and demand forces in our American economy where business raises wages to the point that sufficient employees are drawn to the jobs.

But at the heart of the issue as I watched the amendments to the immigration markup bill in Congress yesterday, is November's elections. Neither Republicans nor Democrats want to risk losing the Hispanic vote in November, and so in those hearings you will find Sen. Ted Kennedy and Sen. John Kyl smiling and working in agreement with each other to forge a bill that will not rock the Hispanic vote in November.

While illegal immigrants in this country will receive AMNESTY for their illegal entry to our nation, though Kennedy nor Kyl will call it that, American workers who used to make decent wages as janitors, maids, cooks, and housekeepers, many of them Black Americans, will continue to be under qualified for better jobs while being under bid by illegal immigrants granted legal work status under the new proposed legislation.

Agricultural jobs are going to be treated differently, allowing migrant workers to come work in the states for 2 years after which they will be required to return home for one year before returning to the states again. This will be allowed for 3 two year stays in the states. The agricultural jobs are the only jobs that Americans would be unwilling to take due to their temporary and seasonal nature and the inability to stay in one place, making family life very difficult.

If you are a low wage or lower middle class wage earner in this country not working in agriculture, you should be up in arms over what your party (Republican or Democrat) is doing to drive down your wages, increase competition for your jobs, and exempt these illegal immigrants from being held accountable for their crime while you will continue to have to pay your parking tickets or, face jail or, lose your license. A speeding ticket will become a greater crime, more stringently enforced, than illegal entry into this country.

This is appalling on its face and slap in the face to all blue collar citizen workers in America. If you have never called or written your Congresspersons before, there will never be a more important time for you to do so, than right now. And you would be wise, very, very wise in November to vote against your representatives running for Re-election who support this amnesty for illegal workers who are holding down your wages and holding back better jobs from your future.