Sunday, June 17, 2007

Amnesty - 12-20 million or many many more?

Nearly everywhere I go these days I see Hispanics. This is a dramatic change from just a few years ago when I saw almost none so I assume the majority are illegals. One fact that I've not yet seen pointed out is that the vast majority of illegals are men. So just what does this fact mean for the influx of new immigrants if the illegals are given amnesty? Assuming the lower number of 12 million is correct and that just 60% of that figure are men, I'm being conservative with my figures, that means that 7.2 million illegals are men. Now assume that 50% of that number are married and would be able to bring over their spouses. That puts the number at 12 million illegals + 3.6 million spouses, or 15.6 million new immigrants. Now let's assume that 50% of these couples have only one child, again being conservative. That's 1.8 million children. Add that to the 15.6 million and the total rises to 17.4 million new immigrants. If we use the higher figure of 20 million illegals as a base and run the same numbers the total possible influx increases to 20+6 million spouses+3 million children or 29 million new immigrants. My numbers are purposely conservative and the totals in both scenarios is likely to be higher.
So what is the REAL number of expected new "Americans"?

Amid all the posturing and name calling on both sides in this debate I've not heard some very important questions get answered:

1. Who's going to pay for the health care of these new immigrants? Their employers don't. The immigrants themselves likely won't. Will this lead to a bigger push for nationalized medicine funded by a stagnant middle class?
2. Most of these people are poor. Will their children qualify for free school lunches?
3. Will WIC be available to them?
4. Will these low earning illegals be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit in which we the taxpayers give them billions of dollars a year and for which the new citizens pay nothing?
5. We are importing poverty on an unimagined scale. What will this do to the "War on Poverty"?
6. Do we abandon all attempts to measure and improve poverty since this massive influx will distort the statistics heavily to the negative?
7. Who will pay for the new schools required to educate them? MeCHA, LULAC, MALDEF? Taxpayers!

We the People are subsidizing businesses now and will be forever if we let this bill pass. Taxpayers will pay for the savings and profits of employers that use illegal labor. There is no such thing as a free lunch.

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