Reply #42: Illegal immigration is good for the economy overall...

[MellowDem]

but those who benefit almost entirely from it are the rich, while labor suffers.

1. Unless you are willing to give specific neighborhoods and prove that illegal immigration only has positive effect for American cities, I do not really feel compelled to try to answer such a question that really cannot be answered with any sort of proof online beyond personal experience. I will only say any theory that illegal immigration only has positive effects on cities is rather naive in the extreme. Of cousre personal perception has a lot to do with things, but the answer is really quite simple. Some illegal immigrant communities have high poverty rates and are very concentrated. Wherever you have high poverty rates that are concentrated, there is higher crime. Because of the nature of illegal immigration, these communities can be harder to reach and can be more isolated as well, for fear of being found out. Illegal immigration can help out a community economically, in the same way as a WalMart coming to town can. There are some real economic benefits, but at quite a cost, and most of those benefits go to the rich.

2. Any job can have dignity, and in some places do. It used to be that no job had "dignity"; that was only reserved for nobility. It has nothing to do with regaining dignity as much as making sure that everyone has a dignified job. Obviously, any trade union that looks down on other jobs is not helping. Unfortunately, just like corporations, unions will look out for their interests first in their fields, even if it hurts laborers in other fields. Feeling solidarity with other workers who cannot and will not unionize is nothing more than mutual suffering from exploitation, but it has no empowerment behind it. You must also realize that illegal immigrants are often used in the same way "scabs" are, so some unions will very much look down on jobs dominated by illegal labor. It is sad that there are such conflicts that make it easier to divide the working class, but illegal immigrants may not realize what harm they are doing. Many are very naive, only thinking they are doing jobs that Americans consider themselves too snooty to do, when really they are lowering the wages of those jobs and creating an ever widening wealth disparity. And many of the Americans they compete for jobs with just see them as competition, rather than potential allies, with the companies being the real enemy.

I have worked as practically the only white person among illegal immigrants in two jobs; one as a dishwasher, the other at a fast food restaurant. It is good to view illegal immigrants as humans, and they are no different obviously, and I felt no ill will to them as individuals. But that does not change the reality of what illegal immigration is all about. It is a very conservative idea and policy that only serves to worsen labor conditions, divide workers, and enrich corporations.