Looking for jobs Americans don’t want
The study, “At the Cross Roads: U.S./Mexico Border Counties in Transition,” was prepared for the U.S./Mexico Border Counties Coalition. The two-year study takes a unique approach by grouping the 24 counties along the border of Mexico as a “51st state” and comparing it to the rest of the country.
Among the findings:
–Border counties would rank No. 1 in federal crime as a 51st state, primarily because of drug and immigration arrests.
–If San Diego County is not included, border counties would rank last in per capita income. With San Diego County, border counties would rank 39th.
–If considered a 51st state, the border counties would rank 50th in percent of residents above the age of 25 who have completed high school.
–As a 51st state, border counties would rank last in the number of health care professionals available for residents.
Coalition officials are using the study to illustrate the problems facing the border when they meet with members of Congress.
Phew!
The index for the whole report [each section is a separate .pdf] is here.
Wow. Doesn’t say too much good about the border states does it? I wonder how the outcome would be if it used the Provinces in Canada (Where I am)??
Who are those two clowns in the picture? I hope they’re not the prospective governor and state attorney general of this 51state.
Here in Pima County (5th largest by area in the US), Arizona, when you are outside of Tucson, most of the county is remote and rural. More than half of the county is Indian Reservation and Air Force testing grounds. So it somewhat makes sense that the numbers for median income high school graduation and health care availability. Outside of the big city, the populations are just so sparse. Crime is a problem in these areas because of border bandits and drug smuggling. A particular problem in Tucson is that most of the trama centers have closed down because the treatment of many illegal aliens who do not pay their bills have caused great financial burdens for the hospitals who operate them.
OK. We exahusted hating gay people like in 2004. Dropping approval ratings. Must find a new group to hate….. Mexicans!!
Just like the gay issues dropped like a rock after the election with no federal legislation enacted despite being promised some kind of admendment, this immigration issue will result in no new legislation. The status quo is best for the corporatists. They almost passed some legislation so it would get the issue in the media and then made sure to kill it before leaving Congress for the season.
Wake up conservatives. This issue is on parade so you get scared and use your hate to go to the polls in November. You are going to get used again. There will be nothing done on immigration. It is just a distraction so you can talk about something else besides corruption and Iraq.
“Must find a new group to hate….. Mexicans!!”
Wow, I was thinking you were being sarcastic, but you’re not. Do you even realize that the Mexicans of which people are complaining are in fact illegal aliens? They have absolutely no right to be here. None. Nada. Zero. And zip.
Of course you’ll argue that we’re a nation of immigrants. But who cares. All human life arose out of Africa. Thus all of Europe, Asia, South America, North America, Australia are also nations of immigrants.
Do you honestly believe that a country has no right to protect its borders?! Of course countries have a right to protect their borders.
You think we’re xenophobic?! In Japan there are Koreans who have lived solely in Japan for three and four generations. Their great grandparents were brought to Japan by the Japanese military. They had children, who had children, who had children, etc, and all of those people are considered aliens in Japan. Even though they’ve lived their entire lives in Japan they have to carry alien cards. It’s legal for the people and businesses to discriminate against them.
Right now places in Europe such as Denmark took the opposite approach and allowed free immigration. And now they’re paying price.
We need to stop thinking about the guy next to us in the Janitor job interview line – if you’re really worried about that, then you’ll probably have the Xenophobic remarks that you may have read previously.
What needs to happen is Americans need to start concerning themselves with their neighbors. The EU has formed and is gaining strength. The Asian Tigers (japan, taiwan, etc.) have been ruling the tech world for years. No country completely likes another country, but these areas of the world have learned to work together. The US has missed crucial opportunities to strengthen their area of the world.
Let’s put it this way: if we took all the energy and money we have spent trying to increase physical military presence around the world, and just focused it (like Japan and China have) in our own area of the world, we would see the immigration issue disappear.
The more we get involved with Mexico’s internal problems, and lend assistance in terms of technology and investment to build it’s own infrastructure and a robust legal system, the more that drug enforcement and immigration would not be as much of an issue.
Ask any border patrol agent: it’s virtually impossible to “defend” a 1,800 mile border. What’s the answer? Solve the root problem of why people are leaving Mexico to come to the United States.
Think about why Puerto Rico, even though it’s a US Territory and everyone who is born there has US passports, is not an “incorporated” place, and does not have Utilities, Internet, etc. that even the most neglected suburbs have received. It’s because we raise Americans who don’t think outside the box.
How about we reverse things by invading the norht of Mexico. Then that would be the new border. We can even pay Mexico for it and use it as a buffer colony.
I think you guys are right on: Turn the entire boarder into an Air Force bombing range, and let them worry about it.
Make it through the mine field, become a resident. Makes sense to me.
Fried Turkey indeed!
#6
What about the US citizen who wants that janitor job? Should we deny him/her that opportunity? What’s Xenophobic about that?
Has the EU ratified their constitution yet? The French and the Dutch voted it down and probably had good reason to do so.
We have politicians who don’t think outside Washington, D.C., so I think we need to solve that problem first.
The US has helped with Mexico’s internal problems only to see the equipment we gave them cross back into the US and attack our law enforcement officers. As a taxpaying citizen I find that sickening to say the least.
Breaking the law is breaking the law. I believe that there’s a general agreement that LEGAL immigration is great and welcomed with open arms. However ILLEGAL immigration is…well, breaking the law. Yes, we are a country of immigrants…legal immigrants. Anyone remember Ellis Island?
As for the legislative body not passing anything…well, that comes from both sides, not just Republicans. I hope that you’re not so blind and judgmental to see that. However, with that said, thank goodness that there are individuals in this country to stand up for what they believe in and (if they deem it’s the most important issue to them…) then they stand on the border and call Border Patrol when they see people crossing.
Set off a bunch of really dirty nukes along the border. Even if someone wants to walk across after that, they’re not going to last long. Problem solved.
I like #8 too.
I actually appreciate the comments that say what this is really about. HATING MEXICANS. The comments about being against them simply because they are ILLEGAL are just a facade for hatred. I have a solution: We should increase the numbers of Mexicans that can become legal citizens. What?? You don’t like that?? You should just drop the mask and join the nuts that want to kill Mexicans on the border.
Fried, if you’re talking to me, then…um…no I don’t hate Mexicans, El Salvadorians, Canadians, Chinese, etc… I abhor people who think that’s it’s ok to break the law just because it’s “easier” than doing paperwork. Come in through the front door and I’ll hold the door open for you.
However, I’m glad that you’re political stance doesn’t get in the way with your opinions on this. (Note the sarcasm).
“The comments about being against them simply because they are ILLEGAL are just a facade for hatred.”
What a way to win an argument, dude. Claim that anyone who disagrees with you is a racist. I guess ad hominem attacks are the best you can do considering you have no other means of argument.
Ask yourself this: Does a country have a right to limit immigrants? If it does, then what are you complaining about?! Currently there are illegal aliens in our country. If you disagree with the law, move to have it changed. I personally think we should add Mexico as the 51st state. But to argue that illegal aliens have some right to be here before the law is changed is simply asinine.
Man, that would save Arkansas’ ass. They could get out of the basement. Let ’em in.
As I said in another post. Our Congress is getting ready to reward people for breaking the law. Just survive here for 20 years or so a an illegal and boom you’re a citizen.
Does this now mean if I rape a woman long enough, she’s my defacto wife? Or if I steal a persons stuff and hold onto it for a length of time, its now mine?
#13
I agree there maybe some people that hate Mexicans just like there were people who hated the Irish (or other group) when they came. This is not the issue here. A law was passed in 1986 to stop the flow of illegal immigration from occurring…again. The laws are not being enforced and people want it enforced.
Attach explosives to every 1 in 10 Americans living in the border states, timed to explode at random intervals.
Makes sense to me.
Yes it is illegal. So is downloading a song off of Bittorrent. Should we devote all these criminal resources to fighting illegal music downloads too? What?? No?? Want to just enforce the laws that persecute Mexicans? Oh Ok.
BTW – Yes DMCA made it illegal. I don’t like it either. Blah. Blah. Blah. Keep the tired old music piracy debate for Slashdot. Recycle the same crap from 1999 over there.
“there are several other excellent columns on the immigration issue there as well,”
Oh god, I actually agree with Paul on something! I wanna change my answer. Let’s those Mexicans come in!
Seriously, Thomas Sowell is one of the few writers on the Right who gets the issue because he doesn’t have his head up corporate America’s ass. A free thinking right-winger?! After all these years of W it’s easy to forget that it’s even possible.
Hey Fried…I believe that ripping music off the web is wrong too. Wait a min…that’s just stealing…oh…um…Stealing is illegal.
Thanks Paul, I’ll be able to shove this up this local developer’s rear who is calling other business leaders to speak up. This is a conservative who says the employer shouldn’t be punished for a system that has failed.
fried turkey….you live up to the last of your name quite well.
I have posted on the cage match on a couple of occasions about my feelings on the illegal immigration problem, so I won’t go into all of it here.
Just say thaat people like fried turkey, who lash out at others with differeing opinions with the racist crap are fools. Of course there are people who hate Mexicans, and they usually also hate blacks, irish, jews etc. etc…..they are called bigots. But 90% of those who want stronger border controls and aren’t in favor of amnesty aren’t bigots. They are just good Americans who see 11 million illegals demanding to be able to do as they please in a country that for all intents and purposes they have invaded.
What turkey fails to see is the fact that wages in the southwest are kept artifically low because of the huge numbers of illegals there. That health care is almost a dream now for American citizens in those areas because of the fact illegals use the E.R.’s of hospitals and don’t pay for any service, causing hospitals to close trauma centers all over states like Arizona, California and New Mexico. You don’t see the hidden costs such as printing all goverment materials in several languages because the illegals can’t or won’t learn english, this includes ballots. The unreimbersed costs in California alone for providing education for 250,000 illegal children, lowering educational standards even more than they already were, runs into the billions of dollars.
The hypothectical of this study is actually a reality for the border states. What makes this an issue is the fact that it’s also becoming a reality for states all over the midwest and old south as well. They are finally finding that what the western states have been screaming about for 20 years is now hitting them to.
There will be a bill passed. Hopefully it will be a strong one. But with our congresses past to go by it won’t be and we will be having this debate again when I’m 43, in another 20 years.
#26 – Judging by the number of posts wanting to bomb Mexicans where do you get the 90% number? I am sure a lot worse comments were moderated from displaying.
“Judging by the number of posts wanting to bomb Mexicans where do you get the 90% number?”
Well, I think you’ve officially moved from idiot to flamebait. There was only one poster other than you who mentioned bombing and he was obviously being sarcastic.
If you have something to say, say it. But if you rely on attacking people and making stuff up, you won’t last long here.
Out of curiousity, how many of you actually live in a border state? And more specifically, near the border? I know that Thomas Sowell guy has never lived in a border state. Just reading his column I figured it out, and confirmed with his bio.
Personally, I feel if you have never lived in a border state your opinion means jack on this issue. I’ve lived in Texas my whole life and I have no problems with illegals being here. Many of the problems aren’t really problems at all. Just blown out of proportion by people who don’t know whats up. Maybe health costs are higher, but housing and food are cheaper. Everyone just picks the negatives and takes them aside and parades them around. Completely ignoring any and all positives. The positives atleast negate the negatives, and I don’t know anyone who has a problem with illegals.
“Personally, I feel if you have never lived in a border state your opinion means jack on this issue.”
Thanks for beating FriedTurkey for the title of the most asinine poster of this discussion.
Since it’s apparent you don’t know this (and have not been able to figure it out yourself) immigration affects all states, not just border states. My brother works construction on a border state to Canada and his company is mostly hiring Mexicans. If they’ve made it this far, I think it’s safe to say they’ve made it everywhere else in between.
“29 is an example of a common fallacy -“
Paul, this is the second time we’ve agreed with each other today. Are you afraid too?!
“There was only one poster other than you who mentioned bombing and he was obviously being sarcastic.”
You must be using “No Child Left Behind” counting:
#7, #8, #12, #19
Are these people joking about killing Mexicans? Probably. Jokes about killing Mexicans are so funny!!!
BTW – I never called anybody a racist.