16 ms·

You might want to take a step outside the academic setting every once in a while. Chat with a cop, ambulance driver, or immigration officer from a sanctuary ci

You might want to take a step outside the academic setting every once in a while. Chat with a cop, ambulance driver, or immigration officer from a sanctuary city if you really want to "get" it. It's the illegal immigrants that suck the system dry, not the smart, diligent, legitimate ones working in academia and top companies.

vineetch 10y ago
The Trump administration has stated it might cap H1B visas further. This move will directly impact academia and the Tech industry and the influx of top talent. By combining the issue of illegal immigration with legal high value H1B visas, the Trump administration and its supporters are not helping their own argument. There is a nuance there which the parent comment was correctly mentioning. You want the best of another country to come to the US as they have been or risk the slow spiral of insignificance that Germany faced.
- sremani 10y ago
  H1B is currently randomized lottery, benefiting sweatshops cluttering the pipeline, Current administration is not eliminating it but at least from their talk its about restoring their original intent, to bring in extra-ordinary talent. Which might actually be good news for SV, depending on how it is implemented?
  - vineetch 10y ago
    Google, Microsoft, Netflix & Facebook benefit directly from H1B visas and are most certainly not "sweatshops". Even when you consider companies that pay less than the top tech companies, no one would consider them sweatshops. So hyperbole aside, and keeping in mind that H1B also brings academic talent to universities, the hate towards the H1B program seems more rooted in a hate of immigration than a worry of the program not realizing its "original intent". If you don't want 85,000 of the best talent in the world per year to power US companies' and academia's growth, that's fine. Go ahead and limit the visa program and risk that talent going elsewhere.
    - sremani 10y ago
      I will be upfront, this argument is bogus. #1. Academia and non-profits do get H1-Bs that are cap exempt #2. There are people who got jobs in FB et al. who did not win lotteries and went home. #3. A significant portion of the 85K are people working for "sweatshops", there are enough charts out there So, yes, its actually a good thing to return to the original intent of extra-ordinary talent.
      - vineetch 10y ago
        If you know where to find these H1B "sweatshops" on US soil, please take those charts and company names to the Department of Labor and report the wage crime or occupational hazards you are implying with your hyperbole. Otherwise, your statements are deeply exaggerated. Here's a link to get you started: https://www.dol.gov/whd/howtofilecomplaint.htm https://www.dol.gov/whd/howtofilecomplaint.htm
        sremani 10y ago
        apparently, according to you unless one is rapped they cannot voice against sexual violence.. In the mean time, some conflation to chew on.. http://www.epi.org/blog/new-data-infosys-tata-abuse-h-1b-program/ http://www.epi.org/blog/new-data-infosys-tata-abuse-h-1b-pro...
        selimthegrim 10y ago
        I will happily report the New Jersey based one that rang me up just because I had an Indian sounding last name.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
oculusthrift 10y ago
the racism that is bred from one applies to the other. See: the Garmin engineers and Sikhs that have become victims of hate crimes.
thebokehwokeh2 10y ago
> It's the illegal immigrants that suck the system dry, not the smart, diligent, legitimate ones working in academia and top companies. So let's therefore demonize the majority smart diligent legitimate immigrants by lumping them in with the less than stellar ones! That's the sentiment that is persisting with this trumpkin mess of epic proportions.
trcollinson 10y ago
You make an interesting appeal. I am not sure what you are trying to prove by saying that the poster will "get" it if they just talk to cops, ambulance drivers, and immigration officers. I would assume that you are trying to say they will find that immigrants commit crime (the original poster is speaking to a cop), they get hurt more often (the original poster is speaking to an ambulance driver), and they, now I am really stretching, deal with immigration officers more (the original poster is speaking to an immigration officer?). These will all be true regardless of the immigrants status and background. You haven't made any point at all. The original poster said that immigrants pay taxes. Do you not agree? He said they contribute to US companies. Do you not agree? He said they make the US more powerful. Do you not agree? He said they don't contribute these same things to their home country. Do you not agree? If you are going to make an argument, make one.
- throw_away_777 10y ago
  US citizens pay taxes, contribute to US companies and make the US more powerful. US citizens also contribute a higher percentage of their income to local communities than immigrants do. It is a myth that their is an infinite supply of jobs, and that supply/demand somehow doesn't apply to immigration. You aren't really making an argument either.
  - trcollinson 10y ago
    Economically speaking everyone pays taxes. Also economically speaking no one pays taxes equally. I would love to see actual statics that show that immigrants do not contribute to local economies at a rate similar to others in a community at a similar pay bracket. As for supply and demand. I believe the supply and demand of the job market as a whole is exactly what is causing immigration. I believe those market forces will continue to pull in immigration, legally or not. Market forces have a hard time understanding law.
  - Swizec 10y ago
    > US citizens also contribute a higher percentage of their income to local communities than immigrants do I don't know, man. The state of California and the federal government take their rightful 38% share from my income. I'm not a citizen. My girlfriend also pays her rightful 38% share of income. She is a citizen. And my income is a bit higher so in absolute terms I contribute more as an immigrant than my girlfriend does as a citizen. Percentagewise it's the same because we're in the same tax bracket. Anecdata, yes, but my point is that everyone who is in X tax bracket pays Y% taxes. Want immigrants to contribute a higher percentage of their income to local communities? Give them higher salaries. ;)
mindcrime 10y ago
It's the illegal immigrants that suck the system dry, not the smart, diligent, legitimate ones working in academia and top companies. That sounds like a grossly inaccurate generalization to me. A lot of "illegal immigrants" are an absolutely essential part of the economy, performing jobs like picking oranges in the Florida heat/humidity, doing roofing work, washing dishes, etc. Interview farmers in the south and ask them how many American born workers are willing to even take many farm jobs. These people most definitely are not "sucking the system dry". And a system that can be "sucked dry" has a design flaw which should be rectified anyway.
- immigraway 10y ago
  It seems that each largish country has plenty of natives skilled enough and willing to do physical labor. It's the safety net at the base of the workforce. Forcing them to compete on a global labor market drives down wages and creates a bunch of social problems. There are a ton of countries we generally view as being more "progressive" than the USA (Canada! Australia!) that have much stricter immigration standards for low-skilled labor. Consequently, the wage that the bottom of the workforce gets in those places is much higher. Now, top intellectual talent is in scarce supply around the globe and I hope the US competes for that.
- drzaiusapelord 10y ago
  This is already happening: California Farmers Backed Trump, but Now Fear Losing Field Workers https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/09/us/california-farmers-backed-trump-but-now-fear-losing-field-workers.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/09/us/california-farmers-bac... I don't know why its so uncomfortable for conservatives to admit that illegals play a role in our economy[1]. If they didn't they wouldn't be here as the market would choose against them. This is why Democrats have been fighting for amnesty programs for long time illegals, to keep this labor and the work it does here. Native borns aren't fighting to pick oranges for 12 hours a day at minimum wage, but these guys will and do. On top of the moral argument that these people have kids here and are rooted in our culture and schools and dragging their parents off to Mexico and breaking up families is just inhumane. Thus far Trump has not addressed any of this. He has a "jail and deport 'em at high noon" attitude that does no one any good. Disregarding the labor they do is foolish just as Trump supporting California farmers are starting to learn. [1] The only people I know who are definitely employing illegals are a white wealthy couple with an illegal Mexican nanny. Funny how that works.
glibgil 10y ago
Oh, stereotypes are fun. Can I play too? Chat with an immigrate in a sanctuary city if you really want to "get" it. It's the feeder high schools (mostly Irish Catholic) that make police and fire departments fraternal, recalcitrant, racist and corrupt.
malchow 10y ago
Yes. Of course, there are native born citizens who suck the system dry, too. But a sovereign nation can dispense with illegal aliens. (And should.) Then we must turn to, you know, growing the economy fast enough to support this massive welfare state for the people who are constitutionally entitled to it -- both native born and legally immigrated. Or we could eviscerate the welfare state and be richer, freer, happier, and healthier! [1] [1] Gratuitous Milton Friedman plug: https://www.amazon.com/Free-Choose-Statement-Milton-Friedman-ebook/dp/B004MYFLBS/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1489087033&sr=1-1&keywords=milton+friedman+welfare https://www.amazon.com/Free-Choose-Statement-Milton-Friedman...
- arcticbull 10y ago
  Richer, freer, happier and healthier than the Norwegians, Swedes, Finns and Danes? Those are among the most extensive welfare states in the world, proividing: "[A] national system of free health care and education for everyone, job training, subsidized child care, a generous pension system and fuel subsidies and rent allowances for the elderly." [1] And on top of that, better healthcare (#11, 14, 23 are Norics, 30 is Canada, 31 is USA [3]), low wealth inequality, low income inequality, low gender inequality and high happiness (#1, 3, 4, 5 are Nordics [2]). By all metrics, those people in the welfare states are happier, freer, richer and healthier than your average American -- some of the most in the world -- and they live longer too (#15, 18, 20, 30 vs. US at 43rd [4]). Americans in my experience tend to equate socialism with Venezuela not Canada and the Nordics, etc. Sounds like based on empirical evidence the way to improve these metrics is to expand the welfare state not cut it back. There's a reason nobody in Canada is itching to repeal single-payer. [1] http://business.financialpost.com/news/economy/how-denmarks-welfare-program-has-narrowed-its-wealth-gap-to-one-of-the-smallest-in-the-world http://business.financialpost.com/news/economy/how-denmarks-... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Happiness_Report https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Happiness_Report [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization_ranking_of_health_systems_in_2000 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization_rank... [4] http://www.infoplease.com/world/statistics/life-expectancy-country.html http://www.infoplease.com/world/statistics/life-expectancy-c...
  - krrrh 10y ago
mmrezaie 10y ago
Well the recent passed executive rules are about "legal immigrants" not the un-documented immigrants. That yet to come, "officially".
zouhair 10y ago
It's mostly the highly rich that are paying little to no taxes that are sucking the system dry.
tn13 10y ago
> It's the illegal immigrants that suck the system dry, not the smart, diligent, legitimate ones working in academia and top companies. Vast majority of illegal immigrants perhaps just keep their head low and work hard. Also, they barely get anything from welfare and work below minimum wages. It is probably the criminal aspect that is sucking the system and good solution for that is to decriminalise drugs and help American companies sell drugs for a profit instead relying on Mexican cartels. I have never understood why Mexican citizens cant get a 30 day to 1 years temporary below-minimum wage job permit > not the smart, diligent, legitimate ones working in academia and top companies. I know founders who had employed 10+ American being rejected visa and sometimes entry for no good reason. I have seen cops, CBP officials and other government departments harassing these individuals all the time.
erispoe 10y ago
Undocumented immigrants do not "suck the system dry". They pay taxes, for the most part, and because they are undocumented, are unable to benefit from most of the services available to legal residents (citizens or immigrants).
stusmall 10y ago
I'd called my county sheriff's office with a similar question a while back. They wouldn't agree with you. These sanctuary policies don't come from nowhere. Often they originate from law enforcement, as was the cause with my county. If you want to talk about sucking dry, it's expensive for local law enforce to enforce federal law on otherwise contributing members of society. This isn't touching on how it erodes trust in immigrant communities.
imgabe 10y ago
It seems like we could solve the immigration problem very quickly if we started imposing harsh penalties on the people who employ illegal immigrants. Undocumented immigrants, by definition, are going to be hard to track down. Businesses on the other hand have to have an office, be reachable, file taxes, etc. They're also probably breaking a host of other employment laws as well (easy to do when your employees can't go to the authorities). If the availability of jobs dried up, people would have no incentive to come here illegally. Of course, that would involve arresting rich white people instead of poor brown people, so it will never happen.
psychometry 10y ago
Illegal immigrants are sucking the system dry Are you sure it's not the opiate-addled, unemployed, uneducated masses of white rural America?
- Hydraulix989 10y ago
  As someone who grew up in a rural small town in the midwest before attending a top 15 university and starting a company in Silicon Valley, I really don't appreciate the perceived stereotype of my hometown. BI just noted that the problem is a bit more widespread, it also affects the affluent "masses" in the Hamptons: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-hamptons-are-facing-an-opioid-epidemic-2017-3 http://www.businessinsider.com/the-hamptons-are-facing-an-op... (Unfortunately, yours seems to be the prevailing attitude towards my "roots" here in northern California with its conflicting culture that purportedly prides itself on being free of stereotypes.)
dragonwriter 10y ago
> Chat with a cop, ambulance driver, or immigration officer from a sanctuary city if you really want to "get" it. Cities don't have immigration officers (especially sanctuary cities, which are cities that refuse to have their law enforcement act as immigration enforcers for the federal government.) And local law enforcement is usually the biggest proponent of sanctuary city policies, because their job is made vastly more difficult when immigrant communities see them as immigration enforcers; cooperation with law enforcement in those communities (and not just by undocumented immigrants or even just non-citizens in those communities) drops radically when they are sending in that light.
mschuster91 10y ago
> You might want to take a step outside the academic setting every once in a while. > It's the illegal immigrants that suck the system dry And you apparently carry a user name that matches your posts, at least this one. Stuff like your last sentence is something that is heard (in Germany, at least) only on the right-to-fringe-right sphere. It's long since I have seen such outspoken racism here.
krisdol 10y ago
It's the police in my sanctuary city that want the "sanctuary" status. Our police should be free to prioritize using their limited resources on pursuing important threats to the safety of our community, and illegal immigration is just not the threat that flyover methlab-country is convinced it is. Our immigrants fearing using public services, fearing reporting crime to the police, that stuff hurts our city.

vineetch 10y ago

The Trump administration has stated it might cap H1B visas further. This move will directly impact academia and the Tech industry and the influx of top talent. By combining the issue of illegal immigration with legal high value H1B visas, the Trump administration and its supporters are not helping their own argument. There is a nuance there which the parent comment was correctly mentioning. You want the best of another country to come to the US as they have been or risk the slow spiral of insignificance that Germany faced.

sremani 10y ago
H1B is currently randomized lottery, benefiting sweatshops cluttering the pipeline, Current administration is not eliminating it but at least from their talk its about restoring their original intent, to bring in extra-ordinary talent. Which might actually be good news for SV, depending on how it is implemented?
- vineetch 10y ago
  Google, Microsoft, Netflix & Facebook benefit directly from H1B visas and are most certainly not "sweatshops". Even when you consider companies that pay less than the top tech companies, no one would consider them sweatshops. So hyperbole aside, and keeping in mind that H1B also brings academic talent to universities, the hate towards the H1B program seems more rooted in a hate of immigration than a worry of the program not realizing its "original intent". If you don't want 85,000 of the best talent in the world per year to power US companies' and academia's growth, that's fine. Go ahead and limit the visa program and risk that talent going elsewhere.
  - sremani 10y ago
    I will be upfront, this argument is bogus. #1. Academia and non-profits do get H1-Bs that are cap exempt #2. There are people who got jobs in FB et al. who did not win lotteries and went home. #3. A significant portion of the 85K are people working for "sweatshops", there are enough charts out there So, yes, its actually a good thing to return to the original intent of extra-ordinary talent.
    - vineetch 10y ago
      If you know where to find these H1B "sweatshops" on US soil, please take those charts and company names to the Department of Labor and report the wage crime or occupational hazards you are implying with your hyperbole. Otherwise, your statements are deeply exaggerated. Here's a link to get you started: https://www.dol.gov/whd/howtofilecomplaint.htm https://www.dol.gov/whd/howtofilecomplaint.htm
      - sremani 10y ago
        apparently, according to you unless one is rapped they cannot voice against sexual violence.. In the mean time, some conflation to chew on.. http://www.epi.org/blog/new-data-infosys-tata-abuse-h-1b-program/ http://www.epi.org/blog/new-data-infosys-tata-abuse-h-1b-pro...
      - selimthegrim 10y ago
        I will happily report the New Jersey based one that rang me up just because I had an Indian sounding last name.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

oculusthrift 10y ago

the racism that is bred from one applies to the other. See: the Garmin engineers and Sikhs that have become victims of hate crimes.

thebokehwokeh2 10y ago

> It's the illegal immigrants that suck the system dry, not the smart, diligent, legitimate ones working in academia and top companies. So let's therefore demonize the majority smart diligent legitimate immigrants by lumping them in with the less than stellar ones! That's the sentiment that is persisting with this trumpkin mess of epic proportions.

trcollinson 10y ago

You make an interesting appeal. I am not sure what you are trying to prove by saying that the poster will "get" it if they just talk to cops, ambulance drivers, and immigration officers. I would assume that you are trying to say they will find that immigrants commit crime (the original poster is speaking to a cop), they get hurt more often (the original poster is speaking to an ambulance driver), and they, now I am really stretching, deal with immigration officers more (the original poster is speaking to an immigration officer?). These will all be true regardless of the immigrants status and background. You haven't made any point at all. The original poster said that immigrants pay taxes. Do you not agree? He said they contribute to US companies. Do you not agree? He said they make the US more powerful. Do you not agree? He said they don't contribute these same things to their home country. Do you not agree? If you are going to make an argument, make one.

throw_away_777 10y ago
US citizens pay taxes, contribute to US companies and make the US more powerful. US citizens also contribute a higher percentage of their income to local communities than immigrants do. It is a myth that their is an infinite supply of jobs, and that supply/demand somehow doesn't apply to immigration. You aren't really making an argument either.
- trcollinson 10y ago
  Economically speaking everyone pays taxes. Also economically speaking no one pays taxes equally. I would love to see actual statics that show that immigrants do not contribute to local economies at a rate similar to others in a community at a similar pay bracket. As for supply and demand. I believe the supply and demand of the job market as a whole is exactly what is causing immigration. I believe those market forces will continue to pull in immigration, legally or not. Market forces have a hard time understanding law.
- Swizec 10y ago
  > US citizens also contribute a higher percentage of their income to local communities than immigrants do I don't know, man. The state of California and the federal government take their rightful 38% share from my income. I'm not a citizen. My girlfriend also pays her rightful 38% share of income. She is a citizen. And my income is a bit higher so in absolute terms I contribute more as an immigrant than my girlfriend does as a citizen. Percentagewise it's the same because we're in the same tax bracket. Anecdata, yes, but my point is that everyone who is in X tax bracket pays Y% taxes. Want immigrants to contribute a higher percentage of their income to local communities? Give them higher salaries. ;)

mindcrime 10y ago

It's the illegal immigrants that suck the system dry, not the smart, diligent, legitimate ones working in academia and top companies. That sounds like a grossly inaccurate generalization to me. A lot of "illegal immigrants" are an absolutely essential part of the economy, performing jobs like picking oranges in the Florida heat/humidity, doing roofing work, washing dishes, etc. Interview farmers in the south and ask them how many American born workers are willing to even take many farm jobs. These people most definitely are not "sucking the system dry". And a system that can be "sucked dry" has a design flaw which should be rectified anyway.

immigraway 10y ago
It seems that each largish country has plenty of natives skilled enough and willing to do physical labor. It's the safety net at the base of the workforce. Forcing them to compete on a global labor market drives down wages and creates a bunch of social problems. There are a ton of countries we generally view as being more "progressive" than the USA (Canada! Australia!) that have much stricter immigration standards for low-skilled labor. Consequently, the wage that the bottom of the workforce gets in those places is much higher. Now, top intellectual talent is in scarce supply around the globe and I hope the US competes for that.
drzaiusapelord 10y ago
This is already happening: California Farmers Backed Trump, but Now Fear Losing Field Workers https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/09/us/california-farmers-backed-trump-but-now-fear-losing-field-workers.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/09/us/california-farmers-bac... I don't know why its so uncomfortable for conservatives to admit that illegals play a role in our economy[1]. If they didn't they wouldn't be here as the market would choose against them. This is why Democrats have been fighting for amnesty programs for long time illegals, to keep this labor and the work it does here. Native borns aren't fighting to pick oranges for 12 hours a day at minimum wage, but these guys will and do. On top of the moral argument that these people have kids here and are rooted in our culture and schools and dragging their parents off to Mexico and breaking up families is just inhumane. Thus far Trump has not addressed any of this. He has a "jail and deport 'em at high noon" attitude that does no one any good. Disregarding the labor they do is foolish just as Trump supporting California farmers are starting to learn. [1] The only people I know who are definitely employing illegals are a white wealthy couple with an illegal Mexican nanny. Funny how that works.

glibgil 10y ago

Oh, stereotypes are fun. Can I play too? Chat with an immigrate in a sanctuary city if you really want to "get" it. It's the feeder high schools (mostly Irish Catholic) that make police and fire departments fraternal, recalcitrant, racist and corrupt.

malchow 10y ago

Yes. Of course, there are native born citizens who suck the system dry, too. But a sovereign nation can dispense with illegal aliens. (And should.) Then we must turn to, you know, growing the economy fast enough to support this massive welfare state for the people who are constitutionally entitled to it -- both native born and legally immigrated. Or we could eviscerate the welfare state and be richer, freer, happier, and healthier! [1] [1] Gratuitous Milton Friedman plug: https://www.amazon.com/Free-Choose-Statement-Milton-Friedman-ebook/dp/B004MYFLBS/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1489087033&sr=1-1&keywords=milton+friedman+welfare https://www.amazon.com/Free-Choose-Statement-Milton-Friedman...

arcticbull 10y ago
Richer, freer, happier and healthier than the Norwegians, Swedes, Finns and Danes? Those are among the most extensive welfare states in the world, proividing: "[A] national system of free health care and education for everyone, job training, subsidized child care, a generous pension system and fuel subsidies and rent allowances for the elderly." [1] And on top of that, better healthcare (#11, 14, 23 are Norics, 30 is Canada, 31 is USA [3]), low wealth inequality, low income inequality, low gender inequality and high happiness (#1, 3, 4, 5 are Nordics [2]). By all metrics, those people in the welfare states are happier, freer, richer and healthier than your average American -- some of the most in the world -- and they live longer too (#15, 18, 20, 30 vs. US at 43rd [4]). Americans in my experience tend to equate socialism with Venezuela not Canada and the Nordics, etc. Sounds like based on empirical evidence the way to improve these metrics is to expand the welfare state not cut it back. There's a reason nobody in Canada is itching to repeal single-payer. [1] http://business.financialpost.com/news/economy/how-denmarks-welfare-program-has-narrowed-its-wealth-gap-to-one-of-the-smallest-in-the-world http://business.financialpost.com/news/economy/how-denmarks-... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Happiness_Report https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Happiness_Report [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization_ranking_of_health_systems_in_2000 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization_rank... [4] http://www.infoplease.com/world/statistics/life-expectancy-country.html http://www.infoplease.com/world/statistics/life-expectancy-c...
- krrrh 10y ago

mmrezaie 10y ago

Well the recent passed executive rules are about "legal immigrants" not the un-documented immigrants. That yet to come, "officially".

zouhair 10y ago

It's mostly the highly rich that are paying little to no taxes that are sucking the system dry.

tn13 10y ago

> It's the illegal immigrants that suck the system dry, not the smart, diligent, legitimate ones working in academia and top companies. Vast majority of illegal immigrants perhaps just keep their head low and work hard. Also, they barely get anything from welfare and work below minimum wages. It is probably the criminal aspect that is sucking the system and good solution for that is to decriminalise drugs and help American companies sell drugs for a profit instead relying on Mexican cartels. I have never understood why Mexican citizens cant get a 30 day to 1 years temporary below-minimum wage job permit > not the smart, diligent, legitimate ones working in academia and top companies. I know founders who had employed 10+ American being rejected visa and sometimes entry for no good reason. I have seen cops, CBP officials and other government departments harassing these individuals all the time.

erispoe 10y ago

Undocumented immigrants do not "suck the system dry". They pay taxes, for the most part, and because they are undocumented, are unable to benefit from most of the services available to legal residents (citizens or immigrants).

stusmall 10y ago

I'd called my county sheriff's office with a similar question a while back. They wouldn't agree with you. These sanctuary policies don't come from nowhere. Often they originate from law enforcement, as was the cause with my county. If you want to talk about sucking dry, it's expensive for local law enforce to enforce federal law on otherwise contributing members of society. This isn't touching on how it erodes trust in immigrant communities.

imgabe 10y ago

It seems like we could solve the immigration problem very quickly if we started imposing harsh penalties on the people who employ illegal immigrants. Undocumented immigrants, by definition, are going to be hard to track down. Businesses on the other hand have to have an office, be reachable, file taxes, etc. They're also probably breaking a host of other employment laws as well (easy to do when your employees can't go to the authorities). If the availability of jobs dried up, people would have no incentive to come here illegally. Of course, that would involve arresting rich white people instead of poor brown people, so it will never happen.

psychometry 10y ago

Illegal immigrants are sucking the system dry Are you sure it's not the opiate-addled, unemployed, uneducated masses of white rural America?

Hydraulix989 10y ago
As someone who grew up in a rural small town in the midwest before attending a top 15 university and starting a company in Silicon Valley, I really don't appreciate the perceived stereotype of my hometown. BI just noted that the problem is a bit more widespread, it also affects the affluent "masses" in the Hamptons: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-hamptons-are-facing-an-opioid-epidemic-2017-3 http://www.businessinsider.com/the-hamptons-are-facing-an-op... (Unfortunately, yours seems to be the prevailing attitude towards my "roots" here in northern California with its conflicting culture that purportedly prides itself on being free of stereotypes.)

dragonwriter 10y ago

> Chat with a cop, ambulance driver, or immigration officer from a sanctuary city if you really want to "get" it. Cities don't have immigration officers (especially sanctuary cities, which are cities that refuse to have their law enforcement act as immigration enforcers for the federal government.) And local law enforcement is usually the biggest proponent of sanctuary city policies, because their job is made vastly more difficult when immigrant communities see them as immigration enforcers; cooperation with law enforcement in those communities (and not just by undocumented immigrants or even just non-citizens in those communities) drops radically when they are sending in that light.

mschuster91 10y ago

> You might want to take a step outside the academic setting every once in a while. > It's the illegal immigrants that suck the system dry And you apparently carry a user name that matches your posts, at least this one. Stuff like your last sentence is something that is heard (in Germany, at least) only on the right-to-fringe-right sphere. It's long since I have seen such outspoken racism here.

krisdol 10y ago

It's the police in my sanctuary city that want the "sanctuary" status. Our police should be free to prioritize using their limited resources on pursuing important threats to the safety of our community, and illegal immigration is just not the threat that flyover methlab-country is convinced it is. Our immigrants fearing using public services, fearing reporting crime to the police, that stuff hurts our city.