Immigration rules may hurt economy

[rodeodance]

Source: LAT




Immigration rules may hurt economy
Crackdown on employers could cause havoc in agriculture, healthcare and other industries, Chertoff acknowledges.

By Nicole Gaouette, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

August 11, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff predicted painful economic fallout from the array of immigration enforcement measures the administration unveiled Friday in an attempt to choke off the jobs "magnet" that draws illegal immigrants.

The changes, which would stiffen work-site enforcement, add border agents and increase penalties for rogue employers, could cause havoc in immigrant-dependent industries like agriculture, hospitality and healthcare, Chertoff acknowledged. "There will be some unhappy consequences for the economy out of doing this," he said in an interview with The Times.

.........

The enforcement approach is aimed partly at placating conservative Republicans who are angry about the administration's failure to enforce existing immigration laws and the president's support for a plan that would have allowed illegal immigrants to become citizens.

But it also could create a political climate that might lead to the comprehensive changes the administration has sought, including a guest worker program and some accommodation for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States. Chertoff said the provisions, some of which take effect in 30 days, could push corporate America to apply more pressure on Congress to reconsider broad reforms.
........

Gutierrez framed the issue more starkly: "We do not have the workers our economy needs to keep growing each year. The demographics simply are not on our side. Ultimately, Congress will have to pass comprehensive immigration reform."

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-immig11aug11,0,7151802.story?coll=la-home-center

[truthisfreedom]

1. Interesting approach and timing.

Timed perfectly to co-incide with the stock market's plunge.

Who thought up this bushco nightmare?

[fed-up]

2. so this is what bush is going to blame Depression II on???? Rove has all his ducks in a row...nt

[Deja Q]

6. I thought offshoring did far more to hurt our economy than allowing illegal laborers...

And, in retrospect, I may have been wrong in decrying the attempt at reform... I'm just glad I'm not a politician.

[happyslug]

3. What employers will have to PAY EMPLOYEES!!!!

Since Reagan became President, if you include inflation, Income of people of the Working Class (and the Poor) have DROPPED. One of Reason for permitting more legal immigrants has been to to help such employers find workers at the lowest ages possible. Thus immigration has been one of the tools to REDUCE WAGES. This is similar to he period from 1830 till 1920, when immigration was encouraged do to the effect kept wages DOWN (WWI was the lowest period when immigration was reduced, do to Europe NOT permitting they period from immigrating to the US was the first period from 1830-1820 where worker's Income in the US went up). Immigration has always been used to reduce wages, and the GOP thus oppose immigration restrictions for it would force wages UP (Which is what is Needed in the US at present).

[piedmont]

7. Supply and demand: Create a supply glut and prices (or wages) fall. nt

[libodem]

4. go ahead

sink the economy and starve the nation. This administration is turning me into a foul-mouthed sarcastic bitch.

[Deja Q]

5. Let's hope the folks we're offshoring everything to are able to continue progress forward.

What will happen to Americans?

I hate to start thinking tinfoil hat garbage, but not everybody can live on the wages they pay illegals; who often work as family units, which is why they CAN stay together: they combine their wages.

[piedmont]

8. Economies that are dependent on growth are doomed to fail, anyway.

At some point you run out of resources for growth, and then what? If our economy can't survive without injecting 2 millon new workers into it every year, then I'd say that's a major flaw in our system.

[Triana]

9. Manipulation - is what this is...And - "We do not have the workers..." ?

WRONG.

What the do not have is the will to PAY workers a living wage. If they did THAT there'd be enough of them without hiring illegals.

BUT - they're raking in too much profit by paying slave wages to illegals - and they don't want to give THAT up.

Manipulation and MORE lies.

IE:

BU$HIT!!

[NYC]

10. That's precisely what it is.

The unwillingness to pay a living wage.