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Adam Davidson at The New York Times has a story debunking the myth of the job-stealing immigrant:
When I was growing up in the 1980s, I watched my grandfather — my dad’s stepdad — struggle with his own prejudice. He was a blue-collar World War II veteran who loved his family above all things and was constantly afraid for them. He carried a gun and, like many men of his generation, saw threats in people he didn’t understand: African-Americans, independent women, gays. By the time he died, 10 years ago, he had softened. He stopped using racist and homophobic slurs; he even hugged my gay cousin. But there was one view he wasn’t going to change. He had no time for Hispanics, he told us, and he wasn’t backing down. After all, this wasn’t a matter of bigotry. It was plain economics. These immigrants were stealing jobs from “Americans.”
I’ve been thinking about my grandfather lately, because there are signs that 2015 could bring about the beginning of a truce — or at least a reconfiguration — in the politics of immigration. Several of the potential Republican presidential candidates, most notably Jeb Bush, have expressed pro-immigration views. Even self-identified Tea Party Republicans respond three to two in favor of a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Every other group — Republicans in general, independents and especially Democrats — is largely pro-immigrant. According to Pew, roughly as many people (18 percent of Americans) believed in 2010 that President Obama was a Muslim as believe today that undocumented immigrants should be expelled from the United States. Of course, that 18 percent can make a lot of noise. But for everyone else, immigration seems to be going the way of same-sex marriage, marijuana and the mohawk — it’s something that a handful of people freak out about but that the rest of us have long since come to accept.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Saturday March 28 2015, @05:46AM
And part of the money leaves the country so it won't benefit the country where they are earned.
The size of that problem is enormous. 21 Billion to Mexico alone [toprightnews.com], and Migrants working in the United States sent a staggering $120 billion back to their families last year [dailymail.co.uk]
One in 10 mexican households relies on money sent home
All of it leaves the country Tax Free, very often with zero payroll withholding taxes, by people who don't pay income taxes.
The US official foreign aid budget for 2016 is scheduled to be 22.3 billion. [usaid.gov] This isn't aid in the form of fighter jets and tanks to dictators, but rather USAID delivered directly to the poorest of the poor, in addition to food aid.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 28 2015, @06:04AM
> The size of that problem is enormous
Compared to a trade deficit of over half a trillion.
>All of it leaves the country Tax Free, very often with zero payroll withholding taxes, by people who don't pay income taxes.
66% of illegal immigrants pay payroll taxes [reason.org] with no hope of ever collecting on it.
> The US official foreign aid budget
Bad comparison. Foreign aid is nearly all handouts to US companies. They don't send cash overseas, they buy goods and services from american companies for delivery to the poor. Its a good job if you can get it.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Immerman on Saturday March 28 2015, @02:48PM
Just to put that in proper perspective, half a trillion = 500 billion, so that $120 billion money export is a wealth-flow imbalance roughly 1/4 the size of the trade deficit.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 28 2015, @03:08PM
Just to put that in perspective, the Fed printed that much every couple months for a few years.
And its still a drop in the bucket for a 16 Trillion dollar economy.
$120 billion is about 6 months interest on the national debt.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Saturday March 28 2015, @06:50PM
Bad comparison. Foreign aid is nearly all handouts to US companies.
Nope. You are thinking of military aid. Follow the links I posted to USAID.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 28 2015, @09:11PM
> Nope. You are thinking of military aid. Follow the links I posted to USAID.
Nope. Try this for example. [usatoday.com]
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Saturday March 28 2015, @08:09AM
Yeah, same thing with the Gringos! My cousin turned around an entire Aircraft carrier fleet just so he could get his re-enlistment bonus as during combat duty? If it wasn't for both money sent home and the VA benefits for my otherwise totally disabled and useless relatives, my family would be just as bad off as those Mexicans you mention. But, you know, we are not Mexicans, we are Americans. Notice the only difference is the first four or five letters.