IT IS AN INVASION
When you want to take over a country you sneek in undetected and begin with subverting the populance. You politically change the education system, create a domestic problem that makes the government look bad in the eyes of its citizens. Slowly you begin to control the jobs and thus the economy. Once you get a foot hold in you then work on turning the elected officials to your favcor.
Some powerful plans, and it is exactly what is happening NOW TO THIS COUNTRY. This Nation has been always friendly to imigrents and people from all over the world. It is part of the great strengths that we have over the rest of the world. However look at whats going on now. We are being invaded and subverted by those who want what we have. Its not a matter of we won't share. Look everytime there is a disaster or revolution, oppression, The United States is the first to come to the aid and bring civility to the region.
Illegal Immigrants Seek Job Opportunities Away From the Farm
Fifth of Six Parts
By Eric Pera
The Ledger
LAKELAND
For immigrant workers, picking crops isn't the only option. Many are snapping up low-paying jobs doing construction, housekeeping and more.
Of the 2.5 million new jobs created nationally last year, nearly 1 million were filled by Hispanic immigrants new to this country. Of those, an estimated 700,000 are here illegally, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.
Locally, the three hurricanes that crossed Polk County last year brought even more opportunity for Hispanics in construction -- essentially pulling migrants from the groves and putting them on the roofs of damaged buildings.
Anyone who has had home repair work done since the storms has likely dealt with workers who speak Spanish, not English.
It's illegal to hire undocumented workers, but many get hired using bogus identification cards, authorities say. Recently, The Associated Press reported that 66 illegal immigrants who used fake Social Security cards to get jobs were arrested while working at a new federal courthouse site in Orlando.
With industries such as hospitality, construction and agriculture in Central Florida, we have "an awful lot of jobs that are being filled by people here illegally that are allowing our economy to continue to boom," said U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow.
"In many cases they are taking jobs that Americans don't want. You could advertise for a month for tomato harvesters and not have a single domestic worker show up. Who wants that job?" Putnam asked. "It's a real problem."
Or more to the point, it's a dilemma of national scale.
Illegal Mexicans and other Hispanics are largely responsible for getting America's economy out of the doldrums, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, an arm of the Pew Charitable Trusts.
While the demand for immigrant labor remains high, these new workers are primarily filling low-skill, low-wage jobs. Nationwide, more foreign-born Hispanics are working as maids or truck drivers than there are in fields and groves, according to Pew Hispanic Center statistics.
The construction industry relies heavily on these new foreigners, according to a Pew analysis of recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau.
Without this influx of illegal immigrants, Central Florida's construction boom of recent years might have gone bust, said Joel Adams, president of the Polk County Builders Association.
"It was a godsend. We were struggling to find reliable help," he said. "They've stepped up, and I've seen them fill a pretty good void."
Hispanics have been instrumental in meeting builders' demands for framers, masons and drywall installers, said Adams, a builder who co-owns Highland Homes, a family business.
Such trades pay better, on average, than farm labor -- as much as $15 an hour or more, which is twice what an experienced laborer can make picking citrus.
Adams said he understands the dilemma facing politicians because of mounting public pressure to clamp down on illegal border crossings.
But there are no easy answers, he said, because Mexicans and other Hispanics are fundamental to the economy.
"It's a little bit of the free market (at work)," Adams said. "I think they seize an opportunity, and they're not afraid to work hard."
That view is shared by Mexico's President Vicente Fox, who recently criticized U.S. immigration reforms, including the decision to extend walls along the border and make it harder for illegal migrants to get driver licenses.
"There's no doubt that the Mexican men and women -- full of dignity, willpower and a capacity for work -- are doing the work that not even blacks want to do in the United States," Fox said earlier this month
The Rev. Jesse Jackson responded by saying that Fox's comments were "unwitting, unnecessary and inappropriate."
He said Fox "should not confuse the need for sound legal immigration policy between the two countries, which is important, and the border disputes between the two countries, with a spurious comparison."
In response to Jackson's comments, Mexico's foreign relations secretary, Luis Derbez, said Fox was not motivated by racism but was emphasizing that "Mexican migrants are making great contributions in the United States and that their role is a positive role."
Eric Pera can be reached at eric.per@theledger.com or 863-802-7528. The Associated Press contributed to this article.
ILLEGAL ALIENS ARE NOT VITAL TO THE ECONOMY AS A MATTER OF FACT THEY ARE HURTING IT BY TAXING THE RESOURCES AND FORCEING THE AVERAGE WAGE DOWN.
Some powerful plans, and it is exactly what is happening NOW TO THIS COUNTRY. This Nation has been always friendly to imigrents and people from all over the world. It is part of the great strengths that we have over the rest of the world. However look at whats going on now. We are being invaded and subverted by those who want what we have. Its not a matter of we won't share. Look everytime there is a disaster or revolution, oppression, The United States is the first to come to the aid and bring civility to the region.
Illegal Immigrants Seek Job Opportunities Away From the Farm
Fifth of Six Parts
By Eric Pera
The Ledger
LAKELAND
For immigrant workers, picking crops isn't the only option. Many are snapping up low-paying jobs doing construction, housekeeping and more.
Of the 2.5 million new jobs created nationally last year, nearly 1 million were filled by Hispanic immigrants new to this country. Of those, an estimated 700,000 are here illegally, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.
Locally, the three hurricanes that crossed Polk County last year brought even more opportunity for Hispanics in construction -- essentially pulling migrants from the groves and putting them on the roofs of damaged buildings.
Anyone who has had home repair work done since the storms has likely dealt with workers who speak Spanish, not English.
It's illegal to hire undocumented workers, but many get hired using bogus identification cards, authorities say. Recently, The Associated Press reported that 66 illegal immigrants who used fake Social Security cards to get jobs were arrested while working at a new federal courthouse site in Orlando.
With industries such as hospitality, construction and agriculture in Central Florida, we have "an awful lot of jobs that are being filled by people here illegally that are allowing our economy to continue to boom," said U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow.
"In many cases they are taking jobs that Americans don't want. You could advertise for a month for tomato harvesters and not have a single domestic worker show up. Who wants that job?" Putnam asked. "It's a real problem."
Or more to the point, it's a dilemma of national scale.
Illegal Mexicans and other Hispanics are largely responsible for getting America's economy out of the doldrums, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, an arm of the Pew Charitable Trusts.
While the demand for immigrant labor remains high, these new workers are primarily filling low-skill, low-wage jobs. Nationwide, more foreign-born Hispanics are working as maids or truck drivers than there are in fields and groves, according to Pew Hispanic Center statistics.
The construction industry relies heavily on these new foreigners, according to a Pew analysis of recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau.
Without this influx of illegal immigrants, Central Florida's construction boom of recent years might have gone bust, said Joel Adams, president of the Polk County Builders Association.
"It was a godsend. We were struggling to find reliable help," he said. "They've stepped up, and I've seen them fill a pretty good void."
Hispanics have been instrumental in meeting builders' demands for framers, masons and drywall installers, said Adams, a builder who co-owns Highland Homes, a family business.
Such trades pay better, on average, than farm labor -- as much as $15 an hour or more, which is twice what an experienced laborer can make picking citrus.
Adams said he understands the dilemma facing politicians because of mounting public pressure to clamp down on illegal border crossings.
But there are no easy answers, he said, because Mexicans and other Hispanics are fundamental to the economy.
"It's a little bit of the free market (at work)," Adams said. "I think they seize an opportunity, and they're not afraid to work hard."
That view is shared by Mexico's President Vicente Fox, who recently criticized U.S. immigration reforms, including the decision to extend walls along the border and make it harder for illegal migrants to get driver licenses.
"There's no doubt that the Mexican men and women -- full of dignity, willpower and a capacity for work -- are doing the work that not even blacks want to do in the United States," Fox said earlier this month
The Rev. Jesse Jackson responded by saying that Fox's comments were "unwitting, unnecessary and inappropriate."
He said Fox "should not confuse the need for sound legal immigration policy between the two countries, which is important, and the border disputes between the two countries, with a spurious comparison."
In response to Jackson's comments, Mexico's foreign relations secretary, Luis Derbez, said Fox was not motivated by racism but was emphasizing that "Mexican migrants are making great contributions in the United States and that their role is a positive role."
Eric Pera can be reached at eric.per@theledger.com or 863-802-7528. The Associated Press contributed to this article.
ILLEGAL ALIENS ARE NOT VITAL TO THE ECONOMY AS A MATTER OF FACT THEY ARE HURTING IT BY TAXING THE RESOURCES AND FORCEING THE AVERAGE WAGE DOWN.
