Illegal aliens

[SeaRain]

At the risk of being lambasted, I am starting a thread based on something CraigD said in the horses thread.

Illegal aliens are alive and well and taking our jobs. True story: My son worked as a cook at a restaurant right on the St. Clair River, right in view of Ontario. Right across the street an apartment complex was being put up.

One day an interesting car stopped to have lunch at the Pilot House. The swarm of workers that jumped in their trucks and sped away from the building project was unbelievable. The car that stopped? Border Patrol. And they only wanted lunch, not aliens. And THEN, the American contractor for the job went into the restaurant and complained to the bartender because all his staff left early that day.

I am on public assistance from the State of Michigan. I worked for it. I earned it. When I call in, the first thing I hear is "Si usted habla español pulse 1" then I hear "If you speak English, press 1" We aren't even first!

And dammit, if you speak Spanish and need free public assistance, learn English. And if you haven't been here long enough to learn English, then you haven't been here long enough to earn public assistance.

I worked as a teacher in an Hispanic-run adult education school. They did wonderful things. But one that was not wonderful: I was called to the front desk. There was a man who could barely speak English, and didn't understand a math problem he had to do to apply for a job. The Spanish receptionist asked if I would do the problem for him. I said no. I'm sorry, I've lost jobs by answering a question wrong. He can too. Or go back to Mexico or Puerto Rico or South America, learn our language, and then come back to earn our money. Or take a class here, after you have become a citizen, and then you can take my math class and learn how to do the fricken problems yourself.

There will be more rants, but for now I am ranted out. Now it is your turn. Either way.

[Westerly_2]

SeaRain - When my husband was stationed in Germany, I tried like heck to learn enough German to make my way around the economy, buying and ordering things, and I was not very good at it. It was hard for me as an adult to learn a new language, and I'm really glad I didn't have to stay there forever and apply for a job. I would have ended up taking in washing.

I do know where you're coming from with the telephone. I think it's particularly annoying to call customer service and try to explain something to a person whose grasp of English is poor. Surely, a non-English speaker should not be on the phone or the front desk? Employ people for their strengths - are they good at math? Can they program computers? Personnel should be more sensible when staffing.

A lot of people hear ya.

[blondie 11]

Searain, they work cheap. Will take any shit an employer dumps on them, and have no pride. we pay their benefits, because all they have to do is ask. There must be some laws made, or the aliens will continue to take the jobs, social security, we have all worked to pay in, and all the other things they can get. Why should they learn the language, we just keep giviing them things. Its America--land of the Rich, just ask one. He/she will understand.

[Bull]

Actually it has been shown with what illegals have with held they provide a surplus to social security, putting in and not being able to collect.

[CraigD]

Bull, How can that be possible without a number, where does the money go? I'm not sure the employers not paying benefits are reporting their earnings to the fed.

[Bull]

Sorry for the length.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24054024/

The real question is how many of them pay more than they owe. There are undoubtedly hundreds of thousands of people in that situation," Ford said.

But some illegal immigrants choose to file taxes and write a check come April 15, using an alternative to the Social Security number offered by the IRS so it can collect income tax from foreign workers.

"It's a mistake to think that no illegal immigrants pay taxes. They definitely do," said Martha Pantoja, who has been helping Hispanic immigrants this tax season as an IRS-certified volunteer tax preparer for the nonprofit Nashville Wealth Building Coalition.

Among those she has assisted is Eric Jimenez, a self-employed handyman who has worked in Nashville for several years. He feels obliged to pay taxes — even though, as Pantoja said, "nothing would happen" to him if he did not.

"I have an idea, a mentality, that to be a good citizen you have to pay taxes," he said. "Also, I'm conscious of the fact that the money we pay in taxes supports the schools and all the public services."

Pantoja said she has helped a number of construction workers who, because they are classified as independent contractors by their employers and have no taxes withheld, owe big tax bills come April. Beyond income tax, they have to pay the full Social Security and Medicare taxes due.

The Social Security Administration estimates that about three-quarters of illegal workers pay taxes that contribute to the overall solvency of Social Security and Medicare.

The agency estimates that for 2005, the last year for which figures are available, about $9 billion in taxes was paid on about $75 billion in wages from people who filed W2 forms with incorrect or mismatched data, which would include illegal immigrants who drew paychecks under fake names and Social Security numbers.

Spokesman Mark Hinkle says Social Security does not know how much of the $9 billion can be attributed to illegal immigrants. The number is certainly not 100 percent, but a significant portion probably comes from taxes paid by illegal immigrants.

Nine billion dollars sounds like a lot of money, and it is, but it is only about 1.5 percent of the total $593 billion paid into Social Security in 2005.

The impact on Social Security is significant, though, because most of that money is never claimed by the people who pay it but instead helps cover retirement checks to legal workers.

Federal law prohibits paying Social Security to illegal immigrants, but the administration factors in both legal and illegal immigration when projecting the trust fund's long-term solvency

[Merry]

My X was a foreman for a group of illegals and one of them told him about a kids cartoon called "Super Cyote" who goes around whipping up on border patrol. With the money made illegaly in the States they can live extremely well back in their own country and are considered heroic. If you think that people like the mayor were oblivious to what was going on when they visited the construction site to see how things were going ..................................well then, I can't help you.
I believe they worked for $10 an hour> unheard of in construction. Oh that's right, it used to be.

[CraigD]

Try and go to their country and retire with property. You are not allowed to unless you're a citizen, and just try and talk about their government, you'll end up in jail, you lose your rights to free speech.This used to be Americans, for Americans in this country, but not lately, maybe I'm bitter because i am out of work for 5 months and see construction going on without my labor.

[Bull]

Craig
Sorry for your situation. I'm not trying say there is no problem. Like many problems, I wish we could find some middle ground and get the extreme positions out of the argument. It seems they are more interested in gaining a political advantage than solving anything.

[CraigD]

No doubt Bull, but thanks for your understanding, been through this type of thing in 1981 so I can get by.

[Bull]

My best, and good luck.

[Merry]

Yes, the assumption that one is a racist twerp if they are anti-illegal immigration is just as wrong as pointing out that supporting it makes someone in favor of a situation that unfortunately contributes to human trafficking and sweatshop labor.

[ZenDog]

Illegal Alien ~ Genesis

Got out of bed, wasn't feeling too good
With my wallet and my passport, a new pair of shoes
The sun is shining so I head for the park,
With a bottle of Tequila, and a new pack of cigarettes

I got a cousin and she got a friend,
Who thought that her aunt knew a man who could help
At his apartment I knocked on the door,
He wouldn't come out until he got paid.
Now don't tell anybody what I wanna do
If they find out you know that they'll never let me through, cos

It's no fun being an illegal alien, no
It's no fun being an illegal alien

Down at the office had to fill out the forms
A pink one, a red one, the colours you choose,
Up to the counter to see what they think
They said "it doesn't count man, it ain't written in ink".
I don't trust anybody, least not around here, cos

It's no fun being an illegal alien, I tell ya
It's no fun being an illegal alien, no no no no no
It's no fun being an illegal alien, I mean it when I tell ya that
It's no fun being an illegal alien,
An illegal alien, O.K.

Consideration for your fellow man
Would not hurt anybody, it sure fits in with my plan
Over the border, there lies the promised land
Where everything comes easy, you just hold out your hand

Keep your suspicions, I've seen that look before
But I ain't done nothing wrong now, is that such a suprise
But I've got a sister who'd be willing to oblige
She will do anything now to help me get to the outside

So don't tell anybody what I wanna do
If they find out you know that they'll never let me through, because

It's no fun being an illegal alien, I tell ya
It's no fun being an illegal alien, and it's getting me down
It's no fun being an illegal alien, no no no no no
It's no fun being an illegal alien, yeah yeah yeah

It's no fun (not much fun) being an illegal alien, I tell ya that
It's no fun being an illegal alien, I tell ya
It's no fun being an illegal alien, no no no
It's no fun (not bloody much fun) being an illegal alien,
It's no fun being an illegal alien, and that's what I am.