Is an illegal immigrant who makes $17.50 an hour doing a job "Americans won't do?"?
"I don't ask for handouts, I start work at 5 a.m. and work until 8 p.m., no time to eat lunch," he said. "It is a hard decision to leave everything behind -- I drank the whole way while I crossed the border so I wouldn't think about what I was doing. I walked four days and three nights, I was crying."
In Guatemala, he may have made 50 cents an hour; here, his carpentry work earns him $17.50 an hour.
source: http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr...
Answer:
AMEN! He makes more than most people in America, to boot, especially in small, rural areas. I know of a small town in Texas where the unemployment rate is sky high and that's because the farm related businesses in the area have a work force that is about 90% illegal alien! No wonder the people in the town are having to move away! The economy of small communities are being underminded every single day because people hire illegals, who they pay less, than hiring the natural born citizens of the country! What a shame!
Well, I won't work for that!
I am sure there are lots of americans who would work for 17.50/hr.
Good for him. I could care less if he got here illegally, as long as he takes steps to become legal and doesn't break he law. He is a productive member of society, as opposed to the millions of welfare bum americans on the government dole 24-7-365.
Who cares? Just be happy that he's improved his life.
It does not matter how much or how little money you make, if your illegal, then your illegal and need to go back,,,plain and simple,,,,
i would not care if it was taxed the same as mine.
As an American I WILL BE VERY GLAD TO WORK for $17.50/hour. it beats 50 cents a hour. That will be the best pay I ever got working in my life!!!
Im not sure exactly what your question is... but leaving one's home country for any reason is NEVER easy, whether you do it legally or not... this guy says he doesn't want a hand out and that it was hard for him to leave his home, so are we just supposed say "oh well never mind our silly laws you have fun making money without paying taxes"... it's outrageous, I am a recent college grad and this guy is actually making more money than I am and doing it illegally (not to mention the fact that he doesn't pay taxes) how is that fair?
Great for him!!! Are these the big bad immigrants I'm suppose to believe are ruining America...ewwww I'm scared.
Yeah working from 5 a. m until 8 pm!
How many Americans want to work for that many hours with no overtime pay? I am not saying it is right.
You also have to think about how much he is producing during all that time, and if you can hear him whining about his work.
I don't want to do that job! I am not a carpenter either.
Thats a good question. One way to get rid of illegals would be to make it legal to hire them, but only if you pay them 1/2 of minimum wage.
In North Jersey, yes.
Ask some poor dupe in Wal-Mart that is making minimum wage if he or she would like 17.50 an hour. I bet they would jump for the chance. Does Mr. Calderon pay taxes? Does he send his kids to our schools? Does he use the medical system? If he has been here 16 years than why hasn't he tried to become a citizen? I do not feel compassion for a person that does not try to be a part of our society.
The biggest key is, Illegal Immigrants do not get the heavy Income Tax load that a legal citizen would get. So Immigrants can work at say, a department and make 12.50 w/o having to give any of it up vs. a citizen who would make 15.00 an hour and end up with 13.00 dollars persay.
No, but I bet he works harder than many Americans do. The constant fear, the segregation. what price is that? I work with many hispanics and they work hard. Why is it that we are okay when they are selling oranges or flowers on the street, or popsicles and corn... but heaven forbid they actually make a decent living. I do have native american blood in me but am African American, not too long ago I was the persecuted one ( and to some still am the one to hate). Let's not turn on those who are working but those who can't stop taking.
im sorry do u know how much carpenters make-doesnt seem like it. with all that education i would think u would know teh common pay for middle class jobs. it is fair pay and if he's willing to work then let him.
im thinking this is just another tirade of yours.
I don't think any immigrants want to leave their country, they do it bc they have to. They have families to feed and the US has jobs that MOST Americans won't take. Isn't it obvious? If Americans were willing to do these jobs (dishwasher, slaughter houses, picking fruit) why aren't they doing it? Instead they complain that these hard working ppl are taking their jobs! Boo-Boo! Like I've stated many times...Americans (some, not all) would rather be on welfare than get a decent job!
I read the site that you posted here and I say...That not all illegals in the US are criminals...Don't matter where they are from...Not everybody some like the one from Guatemala he lack of legal entrance...And I say The US and the country where this people come from should get together to a solution for legal entrance even is just a work permit and then we will know who entrance here etc. And pay taxes etc. So doing the legal way it will decrease crime but I say is not even the illegal immigrants that much of a fault to come here illegally if company don't hire illegal workers then nobody will come here looking for job.
So I say good for him that he is doing good and his wish come truth...
This is not a question as to whether or not an American would work for 17.50. He is breaking the law. Period! Unfortunately there are a lot of people that want to come to the US for the "American Dream" But, breaking the law (Federal Law) to do so is not the answer. If he came to work for me, perhaps i would take advantage of him like so many of them get taken advantage of, because they don't belong here.
In California, illegal immigrants are turning down $10 an hour jobs. Thats well above our minimum wage and its at or above the living wages, especially in the farmlands. THe reason I believe employers hire them is not to pay them less, but to avoid paying for insurance, workers comp and provide reasonable work environment. Also employers do not have to worry being sued by illegal immigrants. I'm sure an American will work for those wages. I don't think they are willing to work in those conditions. I had a friend who's brother cut his hand in construction. Workers comp paid for his time off and medical bills. If an illegal immigrant cuts his hand, they are sent to ER and get substandard care, and can't work for some time. I don't support illegal immigration, but the greater blame is on the employer who hires them
I can understand why he would want to come to the U.S. If I lived in country where I faced a life of poverty I would probably do the same thing but we do have laws and we can't ignore the law for one person because we like him and then apply it to the next person.
According to the study, approximately 16.7 million U.S. workers born in Latin America had a combined gross income of $450 billion last year, of which 93 percent was spent locally.
Luis Gutierrez
And let us not forget the Social Security system. Recent studies show that undocumented workers sustain the Social Security system with a subsidy as much as $7 billion a year. Let me repeat that: $7 billion a year.
Luis Gutierrez
And they do those jobs not because they want to take away anything from America, but because they want to give their skills, their sweat, their labor, for a better life and to help build a better America, just as those who came before them.
Luis Gutierrez
Are we going to go out and arrest and detain and deport 11 million people? Nobody would argue that that is what we are going to do, because we have never demonstrated the political will to do that, nor have we ever committed the requisite resources to do that.
Luis Gutierrez
As far as income tax payments go, sources vary in their accounts, but a range of studies find that immigrants pay between $90 billion and $140 billion in Federal, State, and local taxes.
Luis Gutierrez
Because the truth is, today's immigrants, as they have for generation after generation, work the longest hours at the hardest jobs for the lowest pay, jobs that are just about impossible to fill.
Luis Gutierrez
I think, Tucker, you and I both know that we have tens of thousands of permanent residents serving in our armed forces.
Luis Gutierrez
I would just like to have one day where instead of seeing people cross the border over fences and through the rivers and through the deserts, we could see them picking oranges and picking the apples in Washington state, and our grapes in California. Seeing them do all of the hard work.
Luis Gutierrez
It is not better for America to do nothing about an immigration system that hurts families, hampers businesses, and harms communities.
Luis Gutierrez
It is not new or unusual for the real Americans, meaning those immigrants who came to America a little bit longer ago, to fear the outsiders, the pretenders, the newcomers.
Luis Gutierrez
Let me respond with a few points, the first being that all immigrants pay taxes, income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, gasoline taxes, cigarette taxes, every tax when they make a purchase.
Luis Gutierrez
Mr. Speaker, Americans want, need, and rightfully expect Congress to protect them from the prying eyes of identity thieves and give them back control of their Social Security numbers and personal health information.
Luis Gutierrez
THANK YOU ! Carpentry is a job many Americans WILL do.That "song and dance" about jobs Americans won't do is just a crock of * !I know a guy form the country you mentioned who is a cook at one of the local Portuguese eateries and makes 800usd a week.He also is a mechanic on the side and makes plenty of money doing that.He sends most of the money back home,has already sent a car and two motorcycles back ,and just finished construction on his house back home.He only wears Tommy Hilfiger clothes and drives a nice car. What am I missing here ? I wish I knew.
Terry this is exactly why I support limited amnesty..Because what many people ignore or are NOT aware of is the human element.This is just a kid, escaping poverty wanting a better life...He is NOT a harden criminal here just to sell drugs, in a gang, trafficking humans or lives on the welfare system.
Its great he makes $17.50 an hour and if that's what the market demands, why fault him? Do you want to keep a perpetual and permanent underclass and NOT allow these people to get ahead in life? Poverty keeps people oppressed and more likely to commit crimes.Its a good thing that Martin Luther King did NOT feel that why, where would civil rights be today?
I am reading allot of stupid, and some good answers here. In my opinion we should completely close all of our borders to new citizens. Then weed out all of the illegal immigrants, while they maybe paying some taxes (as someone has said previously). They are still draining the hell out of our economy. How long can the media hide what is really happening to our health care system? How many hospital bills will go unpaid because the benefactor has no real reason to pay? How many American citizens will die this year at the hands (or bumpers) of illegal immigrants? How many times will you have to press 2 for English before you get fed up? Someone earlier compared the new immigrant to the immigrants of old when there is no comparison. Our forefathers strived to be American, they left their language and most of their traditions in their old country. You have never heard of marches and demonstrations put on by German immigrants who want Americans to speak their language and give them free and easy citizenship. It never happened. The new immigrant does not want to be American, they want America to be just like their home. Republica Del Norte.
Tax Free also.
Unlawful Entry is a CRIME. Zero tolerance for immigration-law violators! No amnesty, no "stealth-amnesty." No "change of status," marriage fraud, "exceptional leave to remain," no "Temporary Protected Status." If you break the law, depart or be deported. Illegal aliens kill more US citizens each year than the war in Iraq has killed in four years. Apologists for illegal immigration like to paint it as a victimless crime. But in fact, illegal immigration causes substantial harm to American citizens and legal immigrants, particularly those in the most vulnerable sectors of our population--the poor, minorities, and children. Additionally, job competition by waves of illegal immigrants willing to work at substandard wages and working conditions depresses the wages of American workers, hitting hardest at minority workers and those without high school degrees. Illegal immigration also contributes to the dramatic population growth overwhelming communities across America--crowding school classrooms, consuming already limited affordable housing, and straining precious natural resources like water, energy, and forestland. Taxpayers are being forced to pay for the free health care, education, and other welfare programs being given to illegal aliens; Those tax dollars could be given back to U.S. taxpayers or used to keep our borders secure; They may be here illegally, but they sure know how to "work the system" to collect "free" medical care, "free" education, "free" food, Section 8 housing vouchers and other housing assistance, and hundreds of other social services. It costs citizens additional hundreds of billions of tax dollars at every level: local, state, and federal. It gobbles up billions of our charitable contributions. And much of that money ends up siphoned out of our economy and into offshore accounts. Illegal aliens, over half of whom work "under the table" with neither job nor income reported (nor taxed), are not counted as employed or unemployed. But some of those day-labor and off-the-books "job-lets" would be "real" jobs - available to American citizen job-seekers - if employment regulations were enforced. Illegal aliens can get away with tax evasion, et al., which citizens cannot. In short, we have too many workforce entrants and too few jobs created. The ratio works out to roughly 7-10 workforce entrants per job created. If all illegal aliens depart or are deported, all legal immigration halted, and all temporary employment visas abolished, we still have a problem with more US-born workforce entrants than new jobs created. Illegal immigration damages our country and our citizens every day at every level. And not even the attacks of 2/26 and 9/11 have awakened many Americans to the vast dangers illegal immigration poses to our selves, our families, our communities, our society, our values, our principles, our civilization. Zero Tolerance for Immigration-Law Violators! We must remember the lessons of 2/26, 9/11, and the costs we bear every single day. God Bless the U S A !
..as long as he is legal..
In the Bay Area in California(San Francisco,Santa Clara counties)A union carpenter makes $35.00 an hour.Making 17.50 ain't sh%t for a living wage.
I will probably get reported for this (and unjustly, as I am just expressing my opinion), but you of all people should show some sympathy.
Africans were first brought here to do jobs whites WOULD do, only they did it for free.
And you could say they were not here because of they're own will. Whatever they case might have been, the people who brought them certainly didn't have planned for them to become equal to white Americans and discuss in the same places that they would.
The medicine information post by website user , MyTend.com not guarantee correctness.