RightSideNews.com
By: Dallas Kelly
With current unemployment in the US climbing and the flood tides of illegal aliens pouring across our southern border to join those already here, there would seem to be little hope of stopping the flow, much less reversing the devastating effects. The pro-amnesty groups continue to protest that the illegals are not taking any jobs from Americans, because they only "work at the jobs Americans won't take". This has been proven false.
The facts are:
* There are 55,436,000 million Americans,
ages 16-64, who are not in the labor force.
- U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau
of Labor Statistics (BLS). Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population
Survey; July, 2007
* Real wages in the US are falling at their fastest
rate in 14 years.
- Financial Times; May 10, 2005
* 14 million Americans are unable to find full-time
jobs in the current economy.
- BLS
* The unemployment rate among the 12 million
American adults who do not have a high school diploma is almost 9 percent.
- BLS
9% of 12 million = 1,080,000. Well over 90% of the illegal aliens who come to this country do not have a high school education. That means that there are 1,080,000 unemployed Americans who are exactly the ones against whom the illegal alien competes for those same jobs.
* Forty percent of working-age African-American
men are unemployed.
- BLS
* 78.4 percent of the 24 million workers in service
jobs are native-born Americans. -BLS
78.4% of 24 million = 18,816,000. Subtract that number from 24 million workers in service jobs and you get 5,184,000. Over 5 million service jobs held by non Americans. I have to believe that there must be some unemployed Americans who would be willing and able to work some of those jobs. While there is no direct evidence that all the over 5 million service jobs are held by illegal aliens, any that are contribute directly to the dire situation of the unemployed American.
* 71.8 percent of the 9.6 million workers in construction jobs are native-born Americans. -BLS
71.8% of 9.6 million = 6,892,800. Subtract that number from the 9.6 million workers in construction jobs and you have 2,707,200. 2.7 million construction jobs held by non Americans. Again, this was once the training ground for our young Americans, learning the craftsmanship of building, journeymen on their way to master craftsmen to construct, not only buildings for America, but a lifetime profession upon which to build their lives and the lives of their families. I am certain there are unemployed Americans in the construction industry who are displaced because of the illegal aliens who have usurped their jobs.
* 77.5 percent of the 9.4 million workers in manufacturing jobs are native-born Americans. -BLS
77.5% of 9.4 million = 7,285,000. Subtract that number from the 9.4 million workers in manufacturing jobs and you have 2,115,000. 2.1 million manufacturing jobs held by non Americans. Manufacturing jobs that for decades were done by the "working man", the American "working class", the American "middle class".
Now, this invasion of the illegal alien, appears to be an undeclared war on America's less educated, youth, African-American and middle class. Just the above catagories account for about 11,086,200 jobs taken from the 14 million Americans who are currently earnestly seeking employment. They look every day, they have families depending on them, and there are over 11 million jobs that should be open to them.
This country is not responsible for the woes and hardships of any other country. America is not to blame for other corrupt governments - we have our own government corruption to deal with. America is not responsible for the lack of opportunity in other countries - we have our own challenges of opportunity. America is certainly not responsible for the poverty in any other country - in point of fact America is the most generous nation in the world when it comes to charity, aid, support, donations and outright gifts to the poverty stricken countries of the world, even loans to those countries that America knew would likely never be repaid, so the debt was forgiven. America may be a lot of things but selfish and stingy are certainly not two of them.
America should not be called to task for wanting, needing to take
care of our own! Americans are not racist, or bigots or intolerant
for demanding that the American government take care of Americans first!
We have never turned our backs on the truly needy of other countries, but
the time has come to make sure that we protect and provide for America's
sons and daughters now.
There are currently some pieces of legislation in Washington, D.C. which could go a long way to helping this country get a handle on the illegal alien problem. One is the CLEAR Act (H.R. 3137). The more you know about this bill, the better able you will be to determine an action you can take. You will be able to make an informed decision as to whether you call, write or fax your State Representative and/or Senator and urge them to support this bill.
The following summary is provided by NumbersUSA.com. This is an excellent website with resources and information on the critical issue of Immigration in America. RightSideNews.com urges you to make your voice heard, contact Washington, D.C. and keep contacting them until they do the right thing!
Summary of the CLEAR Act (H.R. 3137)
1. Clarifies that states have the authority to enforce immigration law. The bill clarifies the inherent authority of states to arrest and detain, and also to transport to federal custody, aliens who are suspected of having violated federal immigration law - and declares that this authority has never been preempted by a federal law.
2. Requires that the federal government take custody of illegal aliens arrested by state or local law enforcement officials - and provide reimbursement for the costs of detaining and transporting the aliens. If a state or local law enforcement agency arrests an alien suspected of being illegal and asks the Department of
| Homeland Security (DHS) to take custody, the federal agency must
either
(A) the alien into federal custody and incarceration within 48 hours [Senate bill: 72 hours], or (B) request that the state temporarily incarcerate the alien or transport the alien to federal custody. DHS must reimburse the state or local government for its reasonable expenses in detaining or transporting the alien. The bill authorizes $500 million a year for that purpose. 3. Requires that all aliens who violate immigration law be entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database, greatly increasing the ability of state and local police to apprehend them. NCIC is an FBI-run computer database used millions of times a day by federal, state, and local authorities when they stop or arrest someone. It contains information about individuals who have a criminal record, or fit into a few other categories, including a limited group of immigration-law violators (felons convicted and deported for drug trafficking, firearms trafficking, or serious violent crimes; aliens who have violated the requirements of the National Security Entry Exit Registration System [NSEERS]; and aliens who have unlawfully remained in the country after being ordered removed) . Adding to NCIC all |
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4. Creates a new criminal offense and new civil penalties for unlawful
presence in this country. Also increases the criminal and civil penalties
for unlawful entry. These changes will provide additional incentives for
aliens to obey immigration laws, and the new criminal offense will provide
an additional ground on which to apprehend and detain aliens who do not
obey. The new offense is a felony in the House bill, punishable by imprisonment
for a minimum of one year and a day, a fine, or both (with a defense for
certain visa overstayers based on hardship or illness). In the Senate bill
it's a misdemeanor, with a maximum prison term of one year, but in addition
the alien's assets will be subject to forfeiture. The bills also increase
the maximum prison term for a first offense of illegal entry to one year
(it's now 6 months). In addition, the House bill increases the civil monetary
penalties on aliens apprehended while entering at an unauthorized time
or place; and provides the same penalties for aliens who enter the country
without inspection, or fail to depart within 30 days after the expiration
date of their visa or voluntary departure agreement or the date of a final
order of removal.
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5. Increases the number of federal detention facilities. DHS is
required to build or acquire 20 more detention facilities in the United
States, with a total of at least 10,000 beds, so that more aliens can be
detained pending their removal or a decision on their removal.
6. Additional provisions -
|
* provide that state and local police, acting
within the scope of their official duties, shall be immune, to the same
extent as federal officers, from personal liability for enforcing the immigration
laws;
• require DHS to train state and local police in immigration law enforcement;
* extend the institutional removal program to all states, and authorize funding through 2011. (Under this program, DHS takes custody of criminal aliens when their prison terms are completed, and removes them from the United States.)
For additional details, see the NumbersUSA Proposed Immigration Bills in the current Congress page, which links to the bill itself, and to other relevant information.
B. Summary of the Homeland Security Enhancement Act (S. 1362)
[Note: Except as stated, the details of S. 1362 are the same as in H.R. 3137, the CLEAR Act.]
1. Clarifies that states have the authority to enforce immigration law.
2. Requires that the federal government take custody of illegal aliens arrested by state or local law enforcement officials - and provide reimbursement for the costs of detaining and transporting the aliens. The time limit for DHS to take custody is 72 hours in S. 1362, rather than the 48 hours specified in the House bill.
3. Requires that all aliens who violate immigration law be entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database, greatly increasing the ability of state and local police to apprehend them.
4. Creates a new criminal offense for unlawful presence in this country. Also increases the criminal penalty for unlawful entry. The new offense is a misdemeanor in the Senate bill, with a maximum prison term of one year. [In H.R. 3137, the minimum term of imprisonment for the offense, a felony, is one year and a day.] S. 1362 also provides that the alien's assets will be subject to forfeiture. Unlike the House bill, S. 1362 does not provide for any change in civil penalties.
5. Increases the number of federal detention facilities.
6. Additional provisions -
* encourage state and local governments to provide
DHS with information on suspected illegal aliens (and reimburse them for
the costs of doing so); to otherwise assist in the enforcement of immigration
law (and provide grants to facilitate this assistance); and to change laws
or policies that prohibit their police from cooperating with federal agents
in immigration law enforcement [unlike the House bill, S. 1362 does not
require a cut-off of funds under the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program
[SCAAP] for a state that has such a law or policy.);
* provide that state and local police, acting
within the scope of their official duties, shall be immune, to the same
extent as federal officers, from personal liability for enforcing the immigration
laws;
* require DHS to train state and local police
in immigration law enforcement;
* extend the institutional removal program to
all states, and authorize funding through 2011.