Who Does Your Dirty Work?

I've said most of this before, but, in light of recent developments, I've got riled up all over again, so I'm going to rant on a bit.

You think illegal immigrants are taking jobs from Americans? You're right. They are. They are taking the jobs that nobody else wants. They work for lower wages than you will even consider. They wash your car, do your dry cleaning, serve your children in the lunchroom at school. They launder your clean-room suits, mow your yard, tend the plants at the nursery. They care for your children at the day care. They pick up your trash, cook your fast food, clear tables in your favourite restaurant. They work in the factory that makes the plastic parts from which your phone is assembled. They probably assemble your phone. They clean up your blood and vomit in the emergency room. Heck, they even build your houses, apartments and businesses! They stock the shelves at the grocery store in the middle of the night, and then go on to their second job in the morning. Weekends will find them trolling the neighbourhoods for yard work and tree-trimming, sometimes with less than stellar success, eh, GrandmaBoo!?

Go ahead! Round "them" all up and throw them in jail. You are not going to like the results. Not only will you have to pay for their support with your taxes; every service I've mentioned above, and a whole lot more, will suddenly become a lot more expensive. Most illegals pay taxes. They may be working with false Social Security cards, but the Social Security is deducted from their paychecks just the same. They will never see one cent of that money--but they have paid it, in the millions of dollars. Some of them own houses and pay property taxes. All of them pay sales tax. Most don't make enough money to pay income tax, but they don't file for their refunds, either. Most of the illegal immigrants I've known will do nothing to draw attention to themselves, not even throw a cigarette butt out of a car window. An illegal who holds down only one job is considered a slacker within the community. Two is the norm, and many have three.

It's just that somebody, somewhere has told them that, if they can make it into the US, and are willing to work their tails off, they just might be able to build a life for their children.

Oh, I know there are criminals among them, and they need to be removed like anyone else who commits a crime. Gang wars, drugs, petty theft, even occasional unspeakably awful crimes are committed by aliens. I just don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Have we become so very frightened of a different culture, and a different language that we are willing to turn over eleven million people into felons at the stroke of a pen?

That's 11,000,000 people, people!

The first generation speaks Spanish. The second generation learns English, and teaches/translates for the first. The third generation speaks English, but learns Spanish so that they can talk to Abuela. That's Grandma, for the linguistically challenged among us. The fourth generation learns Spanish in school...maybe.

Unless you are a full-blooded Native American, your ancestors went through the same process.

So, how are "we" better than "them?"