With Michigan’s unemployment rate at 7.2% why are they having trouble getting U.S. workers?

This post has now been put at the top, at least for a little while.  The comments are coming in and I want them to keep coming in.  This is something that desperately needs to be discussed.  NOW, discuss.

This is a quote I found in a citizen journalist article from digitaljournal.com. I am busy trying to find the letter i had once seen from US Representative Bart Stupak (D Mich 1st Dist) to Nancy Pelosi. Can’t find it, but it does exist. Anyhoo, I found this article.

Fewer foreign workers allowed in Mackinac Island Mich. this year

Posted Mar 30, 2008 by Cynthia T. [Picasso] in Politics | 12 comments | 352 views

Mackinac Island is a famous tourist attraction that relies on hundreds of foreign workers every summer. Seasonal business owners are now scrambling to fill the spots as many of the workers are not being allowed to return.

They’re not trying to hard. Check out “how many” Help Wanted Ads Mac Isle businesses have placed in the St. Ignace News, or actually haven’t. There is 23 total ads looking for employees in the area. Only 5 are for the island. One is for a massage therapist, the other is for a nanny. I hope this is merely because the employers are waiting ’til time gets closer to “opening season.” As I have heard many of the store, restaurant and hotel owners have just now arrived the island to spring clean to open up. According to urban legend, right now all anyone has to do is show up and say they want a job and they’ve got it. Supposedly, if you want ten jobs, you’ve got ‘em.

MACKINAC ISLAND MICHIGAN–Last fall the H2B program was cut in half by Congress leaving many foreign workers unable to return to their summer jobs at many resorts including Mackinac Island.

Last fall Congress let an exemption lapse that had allowed some past visa holders to return to their old employers each year.

Even though the requests for visas from employers has mushroomed since 2002 in 1990 the the H2B visas were capped at 66,000 a year.

In 2004 Congress had allowed returning workers to be exempt from the cap. Last year more than 120,000 H2B visas were granted. The exemption expired in Sept. and Congress would not renew it. Among those hurt by the change are ski resorts in Colorado, crabmeat processors in Maryland, hotels on Cape Cod and landscapers in Ohio and Michigan.

Well at least Congress has done something good.

As reported in freep.com

“We will weather the storm, but it’s very, very difficult to make it work,” said Dan Musser, whose family owns Mackinac’s iconic Grand Hotel.

Out of the 650 people hired by the Grand Hotel each season about 375 are there on H2B visas. Even though some of them have worked there for decades none of them can return this year.

Musser said,

“It’s potentially devastating to all of us seasonal business owners.”

Musser is hoping to fill the number of workers that are needed by using two other types of visas. Plus being able to borrow H2B workers from hotels in Arizona, California and Colorado who had managed to get workers under the cap last winter.

Musser added

“The staff that guests have gotten to know over the years are not going to be there, we pride ourselves on service, and this will be a challenge.”

Why is Mr. Musser going out of his way to find employees out of state? And why must those employees be non-Americans? Oh, according to an urban legend, this is not the most assinine thing Mr. Musser has said. When he testified in front of Congress to beg for his precious Jamaicans, he said that Jamaicans are the best waiters in the world and his hotel can not function without them. Hear that Americans and Yoopers. He doesn’t think you can do a good job. Everyone say it with me, (smart-ass tone of voice) “THANK YOU MR. MUSSER!” Has anyone out there been to the island? You have to pay double or even triple the price for piddly things like a coke and burger. Hotel rates are exhoborent. I know, I know it’s the ambiance. The hotels out there are not Holiday Inn. But when compared to other bed and breakfasts of similar style, they are much higher rates. None of these hotel owners are suffering if they hire locals. Has anyone tried making a hotel reservation on the island and had to try to explain to a Jamaican that you want to reserve a room? Oh what fun.

Jam: Hello. (Doesn’t mention the hotel name)

Caller: Is this “ABC Hotel”?

Jam: Yes. What you want?

Caller: Yes, I would like to reserve a room.

Jam: What? What you want?

Caller: I would like to reserve a room.

Jam: OK, we keep room for you. (Doesn’t ask my name. Doesn’t ask when I would like to stay. WTF?)

Caller: What type of rooms do have? What are the rates? Do you have any rooms available for (fill in date).

Jam: We have nice rooms.

Caller: Thanks, I will call back later. (Don’t call back)

Not everyone is sympathetic with those who cannot get foreign workers.

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington think tank that supports tighter controls on immigration said,

“There’s no reason to have H2B visas at all,”
“It’s based on the premise that there are jobs Americans won’t do. It’s absurd. “Employers need to increase wages, change benefits or come up with new ways of recruiting.”

That’s right, it is absurd. I am sick of hearing politicians from both sides saying “They’re taking jobs that Americans won’t do.” Maybe, just maybe, if we pull the rug out from under the welfare recipients, maybe just maybe there will be Americans willing to work any job that will put food in their mouths. I don’t know, maybe that’s just me.

With Michigan’s unemployment rate at 7.2% why are they having trouble getting U.S. workers?

This is my fave from the article.

What the employers all across the island are saying there are few people who are unemployed that want to relocate to the island to take a job that will only last for half of the year. There is little housing and especially for families. For those who are in high school or college they don’t want a summer job waiting tables and cleaning. What they prefer are internships.

Let’s all be picky now about what we will do and won’t do. Work ethics need to be brought back into this country. There are quite a few people in the Straits area who wouldn’t even need to relocate. Some of the people in the Straits area could take on a part-time Summer job to help with rising fuel and food costs. There’s housing available. You just will be stuffed in like sardines. From what I have heard about Jamaican housing, 16 to 20 will be stuffed into a four bedroom house.

Mary McGuire Slevin, director of the Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau said that they need workers who can arrive early and stay late.

The season used to last only June, July and August so students and teachers could be hired.

Now the island has visitors from late April to November. H2B workers can work all of those months but students and teachers are unable to do so.
Students are hired for the peak months but the H2B workers are the ones that open up the hotels in early spring and help close them after Halloween.

Here’s my solution to the students needing to leave early. It’s just a dumb theory, but it is a solution nonetheless. There are contractor guys in the area who get laid off in the fall and collect unemployment, about $750 every other week. When the painting, flooring, remodeling and etc. jobs dry up. They can extend their working time and not collect unemployment as early by closing up the businesses. This would save the taxpayers a little money. But what do I know?

Read the full article here.

Chilean town giving free Viagra to seniors

I really have no comment on this, other than WTF?

SANTIAGO, Chile - A working class suburb of Chile’s capital began handing out free Viagra to senior citizens on Wednesday. Lo Prado Mayor Gonzalo Navarrete said he launched the program because “an active sexuality improves the overall quality of life.”

About 1,500 residents of the working-class area are eligible to receive as many as four pills of the erectile dysfunction drug each month, the mayor said. They have to be at least 60 and be registered with the municipality’s health service. [more here]

Today is ADD Day

All o’ y’all know that I sometimes get writers block. Y’all also know that I’s gotta many tabs going on in at once on my computer. Plus you also know that sometimes I have ADD, other times I oddly have OCD. Today ADD is kicking in. I have many thoughts about things I would like to talk about. But right now, I can’t gather them and separate them. So I will just pop out some things.

I had a really good political conversation with someone today, on the phone, about things I will get into later.

Yesterday I went out to Mackinac Island to try to steal a job from a Jamaican. I had some promising leads. I think I did get recognized by some business owners though. Oh well. There’s always the mainland. I don’t know why anyone who owns a business on Mac Isle would read my blog.

Just FYI, I have nothing against Jamaicans. It is the dad-gum gubmint I am mad at. They are the ones that are letting this happen. They stumble all over themselves to make sure “guest” workers come to this country, but they don’t stumble over themselves to make sure all able bodied persons are off welfare and working.

Why do they call it guest workers? I thought guest meant someone who is invited. I didn’t invite them. Did you?

It also snowed on the island, just as I was leaving on the ferry. I wonder what Algore thinks about that?

My cats are so cute. They had been cooped up in the house all winter. Sitting on my lap while I was blogging. Now they are finally going outside. Yay, out of my hair. Joe, the boy cat, was outside on the porch and Bobbie, the girl, was in the house and watching him out the window. I have one of those antique doors that is mostly all window. I made a curtain to fit over the window. I only bought the top rod, not the bottom. Bobby was dancing around the door moving the curtain to look out. She was standing on her hind legs.

What is up with the hair styles and dresses of these FLDS women?  For real, why is their hair so big?

Around the Web/What Other Bloggers are Saying

I haven’t put any of my fellow bloggers in the spotlight in a long while, so I thought I would do that now.

American Truckers at War let’s us know that;

Tax rebates arrive in Americans’ bank accounts

…If they honestly think giving our tax money back will stimulate the economy, than surely they would think that tax CUTS would, too. But, then again, if we keep our own money, the government cannot redistribute it “evenly” among others (aka Communism) [more here]

Bill Smith at ARRA News Service talks about;

Cost to Americans for Delay of Columbia Free Trade Agreement

Bill Smith, ARRA News Service: The below tickler estimates the amount of tariffs imposed on American companies by Colombia since the Free Trade Agreement came into being. Columbia pays no tariff (0%) for the following goods imported into the U.S.: Bananas, Coffee, Carrot’s, Fresh-cut Flowers. However, U.S. manufacturers must pay tariffs to Columbia for goods they sell to Columbia thereby reducing profits for their companies and reducing potential benefits for their employees. Examples of American exports to Columbia and the tariffs imposed on American goods: Apples (15%), Farm Equipment (10-15%), Fertilizer (15%), soft drinks (Pepsi, Coke, etc. - 20%). [more here]

The New Conservative asks;

Millenials No Match for Greatest Generation?

Immigration News Daily has this gem;

Top federal prosecutor in NJ: Being undocumented not a crime DOVER, N.J.–New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor told a Latino group it’s a civil offense–not a crime–for immigrants to live in the country without proper documentation, a comment that a spokesman later said was aimed at a narrowly worded question. U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, widely considered to be a leading GOP contender for governor next year, spoke Sunday in response to a question on illegal immigration at an open forum that grew heated. He said living in the U.S. without immigration paperwork is “an administrative matter” that federal immigration officials are supposed to address through deportation. “Don’t let people make you believe that that’s a crime that the U.S. attorney’s office should be doing something about,” Christie was quoted as saying in The Star-Ledger of Newark for Monday editions. “It is not.” Christie stressed that lacking immigration documents is not a crime unless the person was previously deported.

Emphasis above mine.  Let this be a lesson to all of those out there who follow the Republican Party lock, stock and barrel.  Just because someone is Mr. Popularity within the party and is a “favorite” to run for this thing or the other does not mean that they believe in all Conservative principles.  Check out the full article on Contra Costa Times.

and this;

Napolitano vetoes bill on police role in immigration Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano vetoed a bill to require city and county police agencies to have programs to confront federal immigration violations. The proposal approved by the Legislature would have allowed local police agencies to meet the requirement to confront immigration violations in several ways. Those ways included getting training for their police and jail officers, putting federal immigration agents in units within their departments or cultivating relationships with federal authorities. The governor says the proposed requirement was unnecessary and expensive.

It is also expensive to keep them here, let them have babies who will be welfare recipients and take jobs from American born welfare recipients.  Full article at azcentral.com.

this also;

Recession, illegal immigration expected to clash A U.S. recession could worsen the illegal immigration crisis, says investigative journalist Jerome Corsi. Dr. Corsi believes the United States economy is currently in recession, judging by the continuing rise in gas prices and the weakening of the U.S. dollar. But the New York Times best-selling author believes the recession may bring another issue to a head — the continued presence of millions of illegal aliens from south of the border. “Ten percent of Mexico’s population living in the United States, maybe America will tolerate. [But] 50 percent or 30 percent? Well, we’re already going to have 20 percent of Mexico’s population here within two years,” he details. “Those are the projections. By 2010 there will be 20 percent of Mexico’s population in the United States.”

Full article here.

Kevin Tracy explains why;

Republicans in CA-8 Need To Help Sheehan!

Michelle Malkin live blogged “Reverend” Wright at the National Press Club.

Nick at www.rightmichigan.com talks about;

Hsu’s the Governor’s fourth largest contributor, you ask?

The Mailman’s Bag has up a very inspirational video of a German Immigrant in Wisconsin.

They have pickup trucks in America

Via Rightwing Sparkle:

From his website:
Stefan Koehler is a recent immigrant from Germany, Stefan was an eyewitness to the horrors of life under a dictatorship. He is now thankful and proud to live in America, the country of his dreams, the land of freedom and opportunity. His goal is to encourage Americans to appreciate and honor their great nation. His authentic enthusiasm is highly upbeat, touching, contagious. [Click here to view the video]

I like this bikermailman guy, author of The Mailman’s Bag, not just because he is one of my most loyal readers and commentors, but also because he is also a witty, smart and entertaining blogger.

A couple things from Maritime Sentry;

United Nations Human Rights Cmte Continues Pressuring Poland on Abortion

Catholic League News Release (re: Florida Senate Weighs Christian License Plates)

Unemployment plummets after crackdown on illegals

Please don’t think I was being lazy on this.  It takes a while to filter, for you,  through what other bloggers are talking about that may be of interest to my great readers.  Plus, as I have complained before, I am have Windows 98, on dial up.  This thing is super slow.  So slow that if I don’t use Firefox as my browser and have a few tabs going on at once, I will go insane staring forever at a page to load.  Plus it is an crutch to my odd ADD/OCD combo.

František Kališ Worked Two Jobs

Who is František Kališ? Superb question. František Kališ is no one special. Or at least no one special who will go down in history books. František Kališ lived in the little village of Nosadl, Bohemia, now known as Nosálov, Czech Republic. František was born in about 1826. He married Elizabeth Selinger, or some variation of that name. Elizabeth may have either been from Nosálov herself, or Mšeno which is about a 20 minute drive. Elizabeth was born in 1825. The young couple set sail for better horizons in America. They wanted to start a family and raise their children in the “Land of Opportunity.” They wanted the best for their offspring and decendants. They knew that things would not be easy for them right away. But they knew with hard work, things would be easier for their children’s children and even their children, until you get to yours truly. That’s right, if you haven’t figured it out, I am talking about my Bohemian/Czech ancestors.

Now that that has been established, let’s get back to talking about Kališovi (Czech for Kališ couple). I am not quite sure when it was that Kališovi arrived in the U.S. In fact, I am not quite sure where they arrived. This would have been before Ellis Island. There were other ports of entry, besides New York. A cousin said that he thinks they arrived in New York on a ship called Anna. Elizabeth gave birth to a baby girl, Marie, who died at sea.

What is known about that black hole time between leaving Bohemia and arriving in the U.S. is that they settled in Illinois. I do know they were here before 1860. František Americanized his name to Frank Kallis. The 1860 census has them listed with their first two sons, living in Grundy County with another couple from Bohemia, the Wylamoc’s or at least that’s how it is spelled in the census. Before I found the 1860 census, a cousin told me that Kališovi first son Joseph was born in 1857, in the U.S. According to the census, he was born in Illinois. So, they were definitely here before 1857. This same cousin said his side of the family found a letter from Frank’s brother, Josef, dated 1850. I have not found any proof of the Kallis’ living here in 1850. Perhaps they were somewhere else in Europe when Josef sent the letter.

According to my cousin with whom I have correspondences with, said that Frank worked at a saloon during weeknights and was an organ player at the Catholic Church on the weekends. Also in some of the census’ I have found, he has his occupation listed as potter or farmer, depending on which decade you look at. While the saloon and church jobs seem to contradict each other, there really was no other option for Frank. He had a wife and kids to support. Count ‘em, he had 11 kids to support, 12 if you count little Marie. He could not be choosy. He had to take what he could to support his family.

This was a different time and era. Man had to be man and take care of his family. If he didn’t he would be ostracized in the community and church. If a man would leave a woman and their children, the church and community would help out the woman and her family. But of course, the woman would do her damnedest to find ways to make money. Even if she could not get a study job with an employer, she would use her skills as a seamstress, bake, wash clothes for the local gentry, whatever it took, she would do it. Sometimes, if the kids were old enough, they would do whatever it took to help out.

According to what I have found in the 1860-1880 census’ the Kallis family moved around quite often. Mostly living in either Grundy County or Will County. Plus, the most telling is that the cousin I have been in contact with listed for me when and where the Kallis dětí (children) were born. They seemed to have been born all over the state, in the Will/Grundy County areas. Some of these places jive with the towns on the census’ some don’t. This would mean that they moved around more than every 10 years.

Here’s the point of my story. Back then there was no stickin welfare. People did what they could to survive. They did not eat out at fast food restaurants, have a bunch of nick-nacks to clutter up the house, keep up with the Joneses, be the most up to date on the latest technology, have to have the most fashionable clothes. No, they knew that they needed first and foremost a good mother and father to take care of children, food in the belly and a few clothes on their backs. If welfare had even been available back then, only the lowest of low would have taken it. Even then, those people who would have received the assistance would have hung their heads in shame when using WIC coupons. When a family was truly struggling, they would never ask for help. The people in their church and community would have gotten together to help out the family. Even then, the family would have been reluctant to accept any help.

As I mentioned about Frank above, he could either have let his family starve and be put on the streets because an available job was not his choice or it wasn’t going to be permanent. Or he could have taken any available job, which he did, and always stay on the lookout for something better. Even if that meant having to uproot the family and move to the next town, then the next town and then move back again.

‘08 Will be an Important Year for Electing Congress and Senate Representatives

This is also going to be a special message to fellow conservative bloggers.  During my hiatus I was on during the beginning of this month I had been in political despair, so to speak.  I was having a problem trusting politicians, from any party.  I do not like any of the presidential candidates.  When it comes to immigration issues, we are screwed with any of them, with the exception of Bob Barr.  But then, as I realized, those people we vote for US Senate and US Congress Representatives and send to DC will be able to vote in immigration issues.

Again, during my hiatus, I had continued to read some of my fave bloggers, such as Kevin Tracy and The Maritime Sentry.  Both of them have side buttons on their blogs for candidates not in their voting districts or even states.  This became an inspiration for me.  I realized that while neither I nor the above mentioned blogs can vote for the candidates we are supporting, if you live in those districts or states in which the candidates are running, you can vote for them.

I have had some of these buttons up for a while, but have not talked much about any of them.  Still, you need to click on those buttons and check them out for yourselves.  Some of these Republicans running for Senate or Congress have competition within their own parties.  Don’t just vote for a specific Republican because that is who your District Party and/or State Party tells you to vote for.  Do the research for yourself.  What are the issues that concern you?  Check the websites of candidates you favor.  Also check out their competitors websites.  Even check out the websites of the Democrat.  Compare everyone.  Make your own decision.  While I can’t add buttons for all the candidates I support, I will add the buttons for the best and brightest.  I am making these decisions according to what I am finding in ratings from NumbersUSA, regarding who they consider True Immigration Reform Candidates.

One awesome True Immigration Reform Candidate is Augustus Cho.  He is running for US Congress in North Carolina’s 4th District.  The eye catcher on his website is that he has received a 100% rating from NumbersUSA.  On his About Page, he tells a heartwarming story of being a immigrant, himself at the age of 10.  If you are from N.C.’s 4th District, check him out.

Now, for the message to bloggers.  If you have a blog and are concerned with immigration, or any other issue for that matter, find all the US Senate and US Congress candidates from any district and state that believe in the same issue as you.  Let all your readers know about those candidates.  After all, you may have readers who can vote for that candidate.  Or you may have friends or families who can vote for them.  Other bloggers who read you can find this candidate, support them and post about them.  This way, the candidate will get the most possible exposure.

While the president is the only one who will get votes from the entire nation, senators and congressmen are still national candidates.  The difference is that they are voted only within a small district or a one state.  But they do go to Washington to vote on issues that affect the whole nation.  The candidate who only talks about the issues in your district or state, but not national issues is not the candidate to vote for.  They could easily be the candidate who will embarrass your district and/or state.  The pressing question is this.  Do you want a candidate who thinks narrow and only focuses on things in your district or state, and your district or state not getting much national exposure?  Or if it does, it will be negative exposure and that rep becomes an embarrassment to your state?  Or do you want a candidate who will focus on the bigger picture and give your state positive attention?  It’s up to each and everyone of you.

Not That I Defend Obama…

…But this this cartoon I found shows how I feel regarding comments about one calling the other elitist.

 

 

 

 Credit goes to Matt Davies, posted on Slate.

Time to Ask Tom Tough Questions

Over at First District GOP Blogs is an announcement that Tom Casperson will be in L’Anse - Meet & Greet.  I would have let y’all know sooner about this, but I just found out on the First GOP Blogs.  Keith only posted it early this morning.   Details are here.  Not much is known about Tom Casperson.  Only that he is a State Rep from Escanaba, Michigan and that he is good for business.  I can not make it to the Meet & Greet.  If any of you out there can go, ask questions.  Questions that his peeps are unable or unwilling to answer.  I have tried asking the campaign where he stands on welfare reform, immigration issues and the H2Bs.  In case your wondering, H2Bs is the visa programs that allow the foreign workers in to work on Mac Isle and Mac City and somewhat in St. Ignace. 

I am rather busy right now, but when I have the time I will post the “love letter” that incubent US Representative Bart Stupak (D) wrote to Nancy Pelosi regarding raising the cap on allotted workers to enter the US.

If you are able to attend the Casperson meet & greet ask him questions about where he stands on the above mentioned issues and please report it to me.  I will give you a chance to guest blog here, plus you will get a gold star!

I have nothing against Mr. Casperson or his peeps.  I just want him to answer some questions before I blindly follow a candidate, just because they have mucky-muck friends.  If you want to know who his primary competition is, check out Don Hooper, Linda Goldthorpe and here is Tom Casperson’s site.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio is a No Nonsense Stand Up Guy

Tough guy, no nonsense, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s posse arrested 73 illegals during March and April.  Most of you have heard of Joe Arpaio and his old school ways of running a prison, a tent city prison.  He has managed to save taxpayers thousands upon thousands of dollars by denying perks to criminals.  Let’s not forget that he likes to humiliate the criminals by making them wear pink underwear, tee-hee. 

Here is some of the recent article in MSNBC online. 

Sheriff raising furor with immigration raids

A total 73 illegal immigrants were arrested in recent crackdown

	In this file photo, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio sits behind his desk next to a sign for the Tent City prison camp with a vacancy sign. Among the rules for inmates there are hard labor, haircuts, bologna sandwiches, pink underwear and no smoking or coffee.  View related photos
Jean-Loup Sense / AFP - Getty Images file

updated 3:58 p.m. ET, Fri., April. 25, 2008

GUADALUPE, Ariz. - The self-proclaimed “toughest sheriff in America” has been making forays into Phoenix and nearby Guadalupe and sweeping up illegal immigrants, drawing howls of protest from the cities’ mayors and other community leaders.

Oh, boo-hoo, I am crying a river.  Mayors and community leaders who care more about the “rights” of ILLEGAL ALIENS are upset.  I would think they would be cheering, but whatever. 

While Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has legal authority to enforce the law in cities within his county, politicians and activists are accusing him of grandstanding and, worse, racial profiling.

That’s right, he has legal authority.  Emphasis above is mine.

“I was upset. We did not request them here,” said Guadalupe Mayor Rebecca Jimenez, who charged that the patrols were meant to raise Arpaio’s profile for his re-election campaign this year.

OMG, a mayor of a town is upset that the sheriff is doing his job.  WTF?  So, she didn’t request them.  I guess that means she didn’t want to get rid of ILLEGAL ALIENS in her town.  Hey, bring in the cheap labor and keep citizens on welfare or other assistance.  Cheap for business, expensive for hardworking taxpayers.  Nice.

Racial profiling alleged
As for Phoenix, Mayor Phil Gordon said Arpaio should be concentrating on more pressing duties such as finding people with warrants against them, and he has asked for a federal civil rights investigation, complaining the sheriff is singling out people who are “driving with a broken taillight or have brown skin.” The U.S. Justice Department refused to comment.

Blah, blah, wah, wah.  The U.S. Department of Justice should comment, and comment on the side of Sheriff Joe.

He began pushing the boundaries on immigration three years ago when he set up a special unit to deal with people sneaking across the border. Since then, his office has arrested 900 illegal immigrants under a state human smuggling law and set up a hot line for reporting immigration violations.

Good for him!

Arpaio said the recent sweeps were prompted in part by business owners’ complaints about crime among illegal immigrants.

Well I guess some business people care more about thier communities than just the old mighty dollar.

He said the 150 people arrested were approached or pulled over in traffic stops because deputies had probable cause to believe they had committed crimes. It was only afterward that deputies found nearly half were illegal immigrants, the sheriff said.

Civil rights advocates said Arpaio is spreading fear among Hispanics, illegal or not. “You have cooks, landscapers, nannies afraid to drive,” said Hector Yturralde, president of the group Somos America.

If they are here legally, they have nothing to “fear.”

Some praise efforts
Still, many others in Arizona are frustrated over the flow of illegal immigrants across the border, and the sheriff has received hundreds of letters of support, along with a request from a group of state lawmakers to go into Mesa. (Arpaio said he is planning a sweep in Mesa but is reluctant to warn the police department there for fear the chief will tip off the community and stir up demonstrations.)

That’s pretty freakin sad when a police chief works against law and order.

Judith Bederka, a retired postal worker from Mesa, said Arpaio is the only local official doing something about illegal immigration. “He is doing what everybody wants him to do,” Bederka said.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said the sheriff has stayed within the bounds of an agreement that gave special immigration training and powers to 160 of his officers. The agency said it knows of no abuses by Arpaio’s office.

Weeks after the crackdown, 20 Spanish-speaking day laborers gathered at a dusty intersection to wait for people to offer them work. Ramon Arajon Contreras, a laborer from Mexico who has lived in Guadalupe for eight years, said the sweep frightened him so much that he hid out in his house until it was over. He said he is still afraid.

Well now, MSNBC was able to find this dude and interview him.  What has happened to him now?  Has he been sent back?  Probably not.  If he is hear legally, he has nothing to be afraid of.

Oh, and now the best for last. 

“If I see immigration officers,” he said, “it’s like I see the devil.”

If you are so afraid of Diablo, go back home and Diablo won’t bother you. 

Full Article Here

Hidden Cost of Illegal Immigration

h/t to ARRA News Service

by Phyllis Schlafly, Eagle Forum: Are you having a hard time paying your bills, making your mortgage payments, or putting your kids through college? You need to know how much of your hard-earned income the government is skimming off and diverting into handouts to immigrants and illegal immigrants. You can read the depressing details in the new 70-page document called “The Economic and Fiscal Impact of Immigration” by Edwin S. Rubenstein. . . . Big Brother hasn’t told you this bad news, perhaps because the government doesn’t want you to know why your paychecks are shortchanged . . .

The financial burden immigrants impose on education starts with the 3.8 million K-12 students enrolled in more-expensive classes for the non-English-speaking. . . the total amounts to an estimated $1,030 per pupil, or $3.9 billion. Of the 48.4 million public-school children, pre-K through 12th grade, 9.2 million or 19% are immigrants or the children of immigrants. In the next few years, immigration will account for virtually all the increase in public school spending.

. . . $1.5 billion cost of incarcerating 267,000 criminal aliens in federal prisons. That’s not the worst of it; prison capacity is limited, so 80,000 to 100,000 other criminal aliens have been prematurely released to prowl our streets. Criminals also impose heavy private costs on their victims. . . . the losses of income and property, hospital bills and emotional suffering at $1.6 million per assault- or property-crime offender.

. . . Earned Income Tax Credit . . . gives an average cash payment of $1,700 per year to 25% of immigrant households. The emergency medical treatment given free to illegal immigrants is another enormous cost, causing some hospitals and emergency rooms to close. Emergency means any complaint from hangovers to hangnails, gunshot wounds to AIDS. . . . 24.2% of immigrant households receive Medicaid, . . Hispanics account for 19.2% of Medicaid enrollment, while they are 13.7% of the U.S. population . . . [More Here]