are going hungry and are without jobs. More and more people are
questioning foreign relief programs because of this, while countries
across the world remain concerned about their internal affairs in the
face of mounting crises.
The midterm election is being seen as a response from Americans to tend
the home fires and to tighten belts because of economic concerns.
Many Americans can’t get jobs because of the recession, some are
questioning giving jobs to illegal immigrants. These folks ask, as
people do in other countries also, is it moral to give illegal
immigrants jobs when Americans are vastly unemployed?
Frosty Wooldrige poses
that question as are other writers. He says this is a serious time for
the nation and the question about illegal immigrants is reasonable in
the face of economic strife.
People are asking what can be done about this if the president doesn't
enforce immigration laws, as is claimed former President Bush didn't do.
While the border states of Texas, California and Arizona are in
critical financial shape, Mexico receives $25 billion in cash transfers
when illegal immigrants send money back to Mexico from the United
States.
Wooldridge observes that while illegal immigrations comprise about 50
percent of the annual U.S. immigration, other minorities are pushed to
the bottom as a consequence. Black workers, as an example, get job cuts
from competition of immigrant workers who compete for jobs for far less
pay. He cites janitorial work as an example, where African American
janitors paid $15/hour lost their jobs to Mexican immigrants who would
work for $10/hour. In addition to the problems of job competition,
Edwin Rubenstein, an economist, is quoted by Wooldridge as saying
American taxpayers give $346 billion annually for medication, education
and incarceration of illegal immigrants and their children. This is a
drain on the economy.
The same problems are occurring in France, as Muslim immigration has put
tight constraints on social problems. As a result there is increasing
unrest concerning immigration.
An editorial of the Stratfor Global Intelligence online
journal last year pointed out how xenophia is present all the time in
Europe, but increases significantly during economic downturns. Gypsies
were forced out of France. The French President, Nicholas Sarkozy has
taken a hard line regarding immigration and minorities. Some of these
minorities can be fired without cause.
The same issues confront the United Kingdom. Countries like Spain will
likely experience similar problems, according to Woodridge.
Woodridge maintains that "In spite of the problems, Europe needs
immigration to fuel economic growth by providing both low skilled and
high skilled labor. Countries like Austria and Switzerland would be
severely harmed if they lost their migrant workers in low skilled and
high skilled areas. Germany is losing money due to a shortage of
information technology experts and engineers and other professionals.
Demographics, specifically the low birth rate of Europeans versus
immigrants is also an issue where immigration can help balance
population. The author maintains that countries in Europe, if they
reverse immigration policies, could lose highly skilled workers to the
benefit of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States if
violence against immigrants becomes widely publicized. In the meantime, news from Europe reveals conservatives won elections in many of Europe's largest economies.
Right-leaning governments are now in control or poised to take over in
Germany, France, Italy and Belgium while conservative opposition parties
are now leading in Britain and Spain. Republicans won new majorities
in the United States during midterm elections.
Most of the right-wing movement is seen by experts as a response to the
growing global economic crisis. With the pressure of immigration the
political response is moving countries to the right, which means in an
inward direction, protecting one's territory from foreign settlement and
trying to take care instead of what folks consider one's own.
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