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August 18, 2024

No, illegal immigration does not help the U.S. economy

By Jack Hellner

The media and other Democrats have been working very hard to say that Kamala has not been responsible for the open border policy that allows millions of illegals, including terrorists and gang members, to flood our country.

Sanctuary cities and states have been whining continuously about Texas sending these illegals to them and begging Gov. Greg Abbott to stop.
 
They are complaining about how much these illegals are costing and how they are running out of room. They are begging the federal government for money. 
 
The voters aren't buying these lies so now the Los Angeles Times comes to the rescue with a fictional piece of trash describing how great these illegals have been for the country. Of course, they don't use the term 'illegal' in their article. 

Why California's surge in immigration is lifting our economy

Kamala Harris had no sooner replaced Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee than Donald Trump began bashing her over the number of immigrants coming into the United States, declaring that they had driven countless American workers from their jobs.

But the data on U.S. employment and the economy overwhelmingly suggest a reality far more beneficial when it comes to immigration than the nightmarish vision the former president has put forth.

The surge of international migrants since 2021 — including refugees, asylum-seekers and others entering legally and illegally — has lifted the U.S. and California economies by filling otherwise vacant jobs, helping to keep job creation strong, growing businesses and pumping millions of tax dollars into state, local and federal coffers.

Payroll taxes on immigrant workers have even helped relieve pressure on the nation's embattled Social Security system.

There are, of course, short-term public costs associated with acclimating so many new arrivals, plus government expenditures on education and health services for immigrants and their families, along with the political and social challenges. Many agree that the current immigration system is flawed and chaotic.

But from a budgetary perspective, the additional federal spending on immigrants is projected to pale next to the increase in revenues from the millions more people working, paying taxes and buying goods and services, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The premise of this entire article is that these illegals are beneficial because they work and pay taxes. It's as if we don't have U.S. citizens to take these jobs who would pay the same amount of taxes if they worked and wouldn't cause the damage.

The labor participation rate is only around 63% so there are plenty of people already here who should work if they weren't getting so many freebies.

The LA Times also doesn't address what percentage of illegals are getting handouts even though they are not supposed to. The answer is that in 2022, 54% of illegals were receiving handouts vs. 39% of U.S citizens.

Somehow, we never see a budget or budget request for taxpayers' involuntary generosity. 

According to the Center for Immigration Studies:

  • The 2022 SIPP indicates that 54 percent of households headed by immigrants — naturalized citizens, legal residents, and illegal immigrants — used one or more major welfare program. This compares to 39 percent for U.S.-born households.
  • The rate is 59 percent for non-citizen households (e.g. green card holders and illegal immigrants).
  • Compared to households headed by the U.S.-born, immigrant-headed households have especially high use of food programs (36 percent vs. 25 percent for the U.S.-born), Medicaid (37 percent vs. 25 percent for the U.S.-born), and the Earned Income Tax Credit (16 percent vs. 12 percent for the U.S.-born).
Incidentally, it is not only against the law for illegals to come into our country, it is also against the law for them to receive most of the handouts but laws don't seem to matter to Democrats nor to sanctuary cities and states. 
 
It is appalling to me that we are told we need these illegals because there are just some jobs U.S citizens won't do. Maybe they shouldn't be allowed to sit on their duffs and get handouts or steal without repercussions. It is a shame that Democrats routinely block requirements to work for those who are mentally and physically able. They clearly want more people to be dependent on the government because they think it buys them votes.  
 
Here are some of the jobs I have done growing up:
 
I delivered papers seven days a week, 365 days per year starting at age 9 until I was 14. The most I made was around $7 per week. 
 
At age 14, I did dishes at the fair and made $1 per hour. 
 
At age 14, I also detasseled corn for $1.10 per hour. It was a hot and miserable job. 
 
Starting at age 16, I did various jobs for around $1 to $1.25 per hour including being a busboy and dishwasher at a restaurant. 
 
I worked my way through college making as much as $1.75 per hour. at various jobs including at McDonald's and driving a Charles Chips truck during the summer.
 
Another summer I was a laborer at the state fair for $2 per hour including cleaning out cow and pig barns. 
 
So please don't tell me that there are just some jobs people won't do. Make them work. 
 
My brother also worked menial jobs because our parents wouldn't just give us handouts for dates, records or anything, and they couldn't afford to send us to college. 
 
He is a lawyer and I am a CPA and we both paid off our student loans without Democrats using other people's money to pay them off. 
 
The media and other Democrats teach people that because I am white, I am privileged and the only reason I succeeded was because of the color of my skin, instead of hard work. They teach other races that they are oppressed because of the color of their skin instead of teaching them that they can succeed if they work hard, too. 
 
I was privileged. Privileged to have parents, who didn't go to college and who never made much money, who taught us that we could succeed if we worked and studied hard. My parents never asked for government money nor did I hear them complain that other people were richer than we were. I was also taught not to steal anything.
 
Kamala is saying that her policies are all about lifting up people and giving them opportunities but that is not true. Most of her policies consist of big government and handouts. Democrat policies have led to generational poverty and permanent dependence on the government.  If she wanted to give everyone opportunities to move up, she and other democrats would demand that healthy people work and stop blocking poor and minority children from going to better schools.
 
Image: Screen shot from Sky News video, via YouTube
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