PHOTOS HERE

The crimes of illegal immigration and illegal employment are not separate issues from…

JOBS, JOBS, JOBS FOR GEORGIANS AND THE BUDGET CRUNCH!

The official estimate from the federal government is that there are about 450,000 illegal aliens living in Georgia. Demographers tell us the real number is twice that census estimate. Former state Senator Sam Zamarripa, who is also Chairman of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO) put the number at “about a million” in 2006.

As reported by NPR, the Pew Hispanic Center estimates the illegal workforce nationwide to be 5%…most authorities recognize that figure to be higher in Georgia. In 2007, there were more than 8 million cases of employees with Social Security Numbers that did not match their names or official records. (“No-match”)

February, 2010 Bureau of Labor Statistics stats put unemployment at just under 10% for the nation as a whole, with 16% for African Americans, 13 percent for Latinos. The actual nationwide unemployment rate is estimated to be 17%.

In the most polite terms, to not consider illegal immigration and enforcement aimed at curtailing this crime while searching for solutions to the Georgia unemployment and budget crisis is quite unproductive. One job lost to lack of enforcement is too many.

Not only is the black-market labor taking jobs from Georgians, it is lowering wages for the poorest among us while the illegal workers and their dependents use an abundance of taxpayer services and benefits which are rapidly shrinking.

Much of the illegally earned wages are paid “under the table” by unscrupulous criminal employers and much of the wages paid to illegal aliens is sent out of the country. Illegal immigration is having a terrible effect on our quality of life.

Last year the Border Patrol was able to apprehend more than 550,000 illegal border crossers and hundreds of thousands of visa holders refused to leave the U.S. when their visas expired. Official estimates are that 1 in 3 are caught. Our borders are not secure.

In 1986, we tried to solve the illegal immigration problem with a legalization program for about 3 million illegals. We now have 12-20 million illegals who escaped capture at our borders clamoring for legalization, citizenship and the right to vote. Amnesty does not stop illegal immigration.

Where American immigration laws are enforced, illegals leave for more friendly areas in which to live. This creates jobs and reduces the drain on our budget.

Americans looking for a better life should be asking our elected officials and candidates what they are doing to protect the American worker by reducing the illegal alien population in the nation and in Georgia. If not now…when?

www.TheDustinInmanSociety.org