Immigration law

[smc]

Originally Posted by randolph

Republicans take note.

Evidence Arizona Immigration Law May Be Fatal Mistake for GOP

The view expressed in the article you posted above is the conventional wisdom among political scientists across the political spectrum, but at the risk of seeming to defend the positions that have been expressed in this thread I would like to take exception with part of its premise.

The calculus is about electoral success, indeed electoral viability altogether. Those in this thread who agree with the Arizona law, and who have gone further to promote even more direct action against immigrants who are in this country without documentation, should be assumed to be expressing their principled position without regard for whether they are "popular" as measured at the ballot box, either directly in the form of referenda or indirectly in the form of the success of this or that candidate.

I find the views expressed here to be reactionary, in the classical definition of that word in political science, and a recipe for disaster. Nevertheless, I salute those who are willing to express their views with such passion and vigor. The reality of a changing world (not deliberate demographic reengineering, as one poster has suggested) will relegate them to permanent minority status soon enough.

[randolph]

Originally Posted by smc

The view expressed in the article you posted above is the conventional wisdom among political scientists across the political spectrum, but at the risk of seeming to defend the positions that have been expressed in this thread I would like to take exception with part of its premise.

The calculus is about electoral success, indeed electoral viability altogether. Those in this thread who agree with the Arizona law, and who have gone further to promote even more direct action against immigrants who are in this country without documentation, should be assumed to be expressing their principled position without regard for whether they are "popular" as measured at the ballot box, either directly in the form of referenda or indirectly in the form of the success of this or that candidate.

I find the views expressed here to be reactionary, in the classical definition of that word in political science, and a recipe for disaster. Nevertheless, I salute those who are willing to express their views with such passion and vigor. The reality of a changing world (not deliberate demographic reengineering, as one poster has suggested) will relegate them to permanent minority status soon enough.

The above is a very erudite comment on the article I posted.

Whether the article proves to be correct will depend on a lot of things.
First, the dynamic between the legal immigrants who can vote and the illegal immigrants who cant. Its possible considerable numbers of legals may support clamping down on illegals, after all they compete for jobs. Second the performance of the Obama administration. If Obama cannot articulate a positive solution and implement it, legals will not have a lot of motivation to vote Democratic. Third, I think legals will be just as outraged as the rest of us if Obama provides amnesty to the illegals.

[randolph]

This article puts it very well.



"SAN FRANCISCO ? In a tongue-in-cheek call for immigration reform, farm workers are teaming up with comedian Stephen Colbert to challenge unemployed Americans: Come on, take our jobs.
Farm workers are tired of being blamed by politicians and anti-immigrant activists for taking work that should go to Americans and dragging down the economy, said Arturo Rodriguez, the president of the United Farm Workers of America.
So the group is encouraging the unemployed ? and any Washington pundits or anti-immigrant activists who want to join them ? to apply for the some of thousands of agricultural jobs being posted with state agencies as harvest season begins.
All applicants need to do is fill out an online form under the banner "I want to be a farm worker" at , and experienced field hands will train them and connect them to farms. http://www.takeourjobs.org
According to the Labor Department, three out of four farm workers were born abroad, and more than half are illegal immigrants.
Proponents of tougher immigration laws have argued that farmers have become used to cheap labor and don't want to raise wages enough to draw in other workers.
Those who have done the job have some words of advice for applicants: First, dress appropriately.
During summer, when the harvest of fruits and vegetables is in full swing in California's Central Valley, temperatures hover in the triple digits. Heat exhaustion is one of the reasons farm labor consistently makes the Bureau of Labor Statistics' top ten list of the nation's most dangerous jobs.
Second, expect long days. Growers have a small window to pick fruit before it is overripe.
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And don't count on a big paycheck. Farm workers are excluded from federal overtime provisions, and small farms don't even have to pay the minimum wage. Fifteen states don't require farm labor to be covered by workers compensation laws.
Any takers?
"The reality is farmworkers who are here today aren't taking any American jobs away. They work in often unbearable situations," Rodriguez said. "I don't think there will be many takers, but the offer is being made. Let's see what happens."
To highlight how unlikely the prospect of Americans lining up to pick strawberries or grapes, Comedy Central's "Colbert Report" plans to feature the "Take Our Jobs" campaign on July 8.
The campaign is being played for jokes, but the need to secure the right to work for immigrants who are here is serious business, said Michael Rubio, supervisor in Kern County, one of the biggest ag producing counties in the nation.
"Our county, our economy, rely heavily on the work of immigrant and unauthorized workers," he said. "I would encourage all our national leaders to come visit Kern County and to spend one day, or even half a day, in the shoes of these farm workers."
Hopefully, the message will go down easier with some laughs, said Manuel Cunha, president of the California grower association Nisei Farmers League, who was not a part of the campaign.
"If you don't add some humor to this, it's enough to get you drinking, and I don't mean Pepsi," Cunha said, dismissing the idea that Americans would take up the farm workers' offer.
California's agriculture industry launched a similar campaign in 1998, hoping to recruit welfare recipients and unemployed workers to work on farms, he said. Three people showed up.
"Give us a legal, qualified work force. Right now, farmers don't know from day to day if they're going to get hammered by ICE," he said, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "What happens to my labor pool?"
His organization supports AgJobs, a bill currently in the Senate which would allow those who have worked in U.S. agriculture for at least 150 days in the previous two years to get legal status.
The bill has been proposed in various forms since the late 1990s, with backing from the United Farm Workers of America and other farming groups, but has never passed."
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