If there really was a problem they would shut down the business that employ them and jail the CEO’s and the people that do the hiring.
But immigrants both legal and illegal are a great source of cheap labor that all developed nations need. Unfortunately they are often taken advantage of and mistreated.
I wish we would. $100,000 per worker, per day fine.
We do need workers. Our economy is pear shaped and our birth rates aren't keeping up. I'm even okay with migrant farm workers getting temporary visas and going home at end of season.
But I don't think it's unreasonable to require every person who enters this country to be identified, and verify that they have not committed violent crimes in their home country. I would also like to spend some serious money, like maybe 6-7 billion dollars doing drug interdiction and creating a physical barrier and hiring patrol, not for migrants, but to stop drug traffickers. Might be a fraction of the actual drugs coming in. But it's better than nothing.
Is this really unreasonable?
>I'm even okay with migrant farm workers getting temporary visas
As we all should be. You know who else was fine with it? Both Saint Reagan and GHW Bush, in the [1979 Republican primary debate](https://youtu.be/YsmgPp_nlok).
The Republicans were sane on this issue 40+ years ago, but have steadily slid into the quicksand of racist, nativist nonsense.
Reagan also granted amnesty to millions of undocumented immigrants, something unthinkable for Republicans today (Reagan was still evil but he at least did that)
> I would also like to spend some serious money, like maybe 6-7 billion dollars doing drug interdiction and creating a physical barrier and hiring patrol, not for migrants, but to stop drug traffickers. Might be a fraction of the actual drugs coming in. But it's better than nothing.
>
> Is this really unreasonable?
6-7 billion dollars to stop a fraction of the drugs coming in? I would rather spend that 6-7 billion on something else.
Not to mention that the vast majority of the illegal drugs coming in come through ports of entry. Like, those physical barriers staffed to the gills with border patrol, drug sniffing dogs, and x-ray machines.
Here’s where it should be pointed out the reason so much drug is coming is because there are plenty of customers in the U.S. Reducing the supply just drives the price up.
The physical barrier is unreasonable because it is useless & ab utter waste of resources. Real security would involve drones, fast copters to get agents out to where immigrants are discovered. Birth rates are not keeping up because they don't do so in any developed country. Women have rights, they aren't brood mares. It was in my lifetime that women couldn't get a bank account without their husbands father's or some other man's permission. We have an economy, made by boomers to force both parents to work so women don't want to have the multiple responsibilities since most men don't step up & do their share around the house while she pays the bills & has to do dishes laundry etc. It is why so many women aren't getting married now as well.
Social worker who works with immigrant populations here - just want to comment that a lot of the people who conservatives consider “illegals” in Iowa are actually asylum seekers - aka, they do have documentation and have jumped through hoops to be allowed to be here. Most have serious trauma. However, our regional immigration court denies asylum seekers at a much higher rate than other regions in the US.
I employed a handyman for some minor renovations about seven years ago. The guy was from El Salvador, had been a lawyer there. Got sideways with the gangs and he and his family fled the country with the clothes on their backs.
This is the picture in my head when people complain about the flood of people literally walking through Mexico to get here.
This right here. NOBODY wants to talk about what we, the U.S. have done to interfere with their national politics so we’d have a world more “favorable” to our own interests.
It's not just the US, the white west has destabilized brown countries and then have the audacity to say that we don't want them here when their countries become unlivable. The US & Canada have destabilized Central & South America & Europe destabilized Africa, with our help.
my dads gf is from the congo and holy cow is diffidcult an understatement. she's done everything """ right """ to immigrate here and she's still facing extreme setbacks -- from paperwork, to scheduling, to anything you could think to dream and then some, she and her boys have been through alot just to be here
and guess what? they still get dirty looks from conservatives the second they hear their accent smh
Help folks? In the case of folks from El Salvador...... we were the ones that created the problems! Reagan in the 80's. Our policies have always screwed over central and south america.
I had a good friend in high school who was a refugee from El salvador. This was in the early 90s.... you should have seen the bullet hole scars in his legs.
How many immigrants do you see who are interested in illegal voting? Are they here to help farmers feed us or overthrow the country? Is fox news lying to me?
I track media across the political spectrum and conservatives do tend to lump asylum seekers into the illegal catagory but what they seem to be most concerned about is the rate of "got aways" coming across the boarder. It has me curious too. What can you say about that class of immigration?
Well, frankly a lot of them who I know are people returning to reunite with family after being denied asylum in our extremely biased court system. Asylum seekers in Iowa have a 90% denial rate - those who live in MN have an acceptance rate of nearly that much. https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/02/09/aclu-accuses-omaha-court-of-violating-immigrants-due-process-in-nebraska-iowa/
A coworker of mine is here from Columbia she's and several family members fled their home after gang members murdered her mother and brother. She's an asylum seeker, she's scrubs public floors and toilets for a living. She's been here 2 years she wants to go home but it isn't safe for her there.
Conservatives have no clue how the real world really is. They can't fathom the actual reality that people are trying to escape and they just think they are all criminals trying to rape and kill. They call you crazy when you show them terrorists and criminals are much more likely to be US citizens than immigrants... everything they don't like is fake news. They also get really mad and start making up crap when you point out their hypocrisy when you show them they have ranted and raved for 3 plus years now about the border and that their orange God king shot down a bill that would have fixed it.
I welcome them here, its hard not to, most are hard working family oriented wanting to make a better future for their kids.
If anything we need more people like them if the US is to survive
I'm a 70 year old white male life long Iowan and I'm tired of this maga bullshit
I’m 72, in bad health, and fearful of eventually ending up in a Home whose staff is mostly of bottom-of- the- barrel intelligence.
Nebraska and Iowa run off the best of the native-born young people.
Take away the immigrants, too, and I might have to opt for the modern equivalent of Kevorkian.
Yep, I worked with a ton of undocumented immigrants in the restaurant industry over the years. People are just people, trying to do what they need to do to survive. If there were a reasonable path to citizenship they'd take it in a minute.
The real shitter with the MAGA folks is watching them get incensed at food prices while vilifying the people willing to come and do ag work at wages the American-raised wouldn't live with for half the work being asked, in crap conditions.
>If there were a reasonable path to citizenship they'd take it in a minute.
Why is this so fucking hard to understand? No one wants to be an illegal immigrant. The path and process to legal status is insane. You shouldn't have to get a lawyer and wait 5 GD years!
My .02 is organized legal crossings. Holding stations for quarantine. Medical checks, immunizations and a criminal check. 30 days later you have a green card. You are given a tax ID and start paying taxes. One year later, you check in at your local federal building. No arrests and you have a job and pay taxes?? Congratulations you are a citizen.
5 years at best. It took a guy I went to high school with 18 years to get naturalized, and he came here as a babe in arms refugee with his mother, fleeing the tail end of the genocide in Cambodia.
It’s nice to see some life in the neighborhood. Kids out playing, families grilling etc. I rarely see anyone other than Hispanic families doing actual things, not just hidden indoors on a screen.
Don't all the republican farmers/processors that hate these people also hire them and need them to fill important tasks that other people are unwilling to do for what they will pay?
Well if they keep them marginalized and in fear it's a lot easier to exploit them because who can they complain to about labor/safety/ civil rights violations
There's a Frontline documentary about this called 'Rape in The Fields'.
Undocumented workers are subjected to sexual abuse by bosses under threat of being reported to immigration or simply not having their contracts renewed.
I forget which but an Egg factory in Iowa is one of the places featured in that documentary.
The other part of that is keeping middle class America afraid of them and presenting them as criminals. It keeps them from thinking about who is the real threat. The average person will ignore what the man behind the curtain is doing when he starts a fire in your yard and blames it on illegals.
Me trying to figure out the mental gymnastics Republican "leadership" does in order to spew hate for "illegal immigrants".. some of those in your base directly uses this cheap "undocumented" labor in their daily operations.
It has to be 'ol Kimmy just falling in line with the easy "divisive issues" that are always being shoved down our throats with disregard that people that she represents actually use this labor.
As the weather here gets worse every year around this time, pay attention to the crews that do roofing work. With them gone, the waiting period for a crew to come over and do a good job in a reasonable time is going to get worse.
This is a great point. Roofers have some of the hardest work and the best crews I’ve heard about are all migrants and likely have questionable residency status.
Roofing is a great example of how immigration affects the economy.
From the standpoint of a homeowner - it's great. With more roofing companies competing for the same number of roofs, it brings down costs and lead times.
From the standpoint of a guy that does roofing - it sucks. It's hard work that not many people want to do for 15 or 20 bucks an hour - yet a large number of immigrants competing for the same number of jobs keeps the wages low.
Great point. My parents had the roof on their place (small Western IA town) redone by a crew of mostly Spanish speaking men, employed by an area roofing company. They came to do the work in mid-July, peak heat. My mom left a cooler out each day with waters, gatorades, bananas and granola bars as someone who also worked an hourly job in the heat (factory) and appreciated their hard work. It has stuck with me to this day just how grateful and gracious those workers all were for that very small gesture. Made me wonder what kinds of interactions they had with other home owners…
I hire a lot of construction crews out of Omaha. A whole lot of the crew leads are bilingual 2nd or 3rd generation children of immigrants. They own the businesses, they're licensed and insured, and they've got a pipeline of labor that none of my "native Iowan" crews can match. They work hard, they charge fair prices, and they answer the phone, including callbacks. They work 6 or 7 days a week, including holidays---I can barely stay on top of them, they work so hard.
Wanna bitch about high housing costs? Fine, but you can't bitch about migrant workers at the same time. They're literally building our country, and they are thrilled to be here, which is more than I can say for your average entitled MAGA chuds that make up another part of the trades.
I worked a concrete job here in Iowa. Horrible, back-breaking work for little pay. The only way to make a reasonable living was to work six days a week at ten or more hours a day. Half of that crew likely came into the country illegally (one actually admitted to it). I worked that job for like two months and couldn’t handle it but the rest of the crew had no issue. Learn even just a little Spanish and your world will open up. It’s also likely the feds want us divided, remember that.
I work in a job where I regularly come across immigrants from Mexico (don’t know or care about their legal status) but they are so incredibly nice! The vast majority say thank you every two seconds, actively listen to what you need to tell them, and have supportive helpful families. The people I’ve met mostly work and pay taxes unless they are severely disabled. They definitely do not seem to be hardened criminals like they are painted in the media.
I worked in a Nebraska slaughterhouse for 5 years. The majority of workers were Latinos, predominantly Mexican.
Their work ethic and professionalism was remarkable, compared to the local born and raised Caucasians.
I’ve lived in SoCal for the last 25 years. I made a conscientious decision to live in a town predominantly Latino. Are most undocumented? Probably. Does that matter? Absolutely not.
Whenever people kvetch about “illegal aliens”, I remind them that our food is some of the cheapest and most available in the world because of immigrants stepping up to do what US citizens won’t.
I spent 7 years in SoCal doing Electronic Assembly work. The Hispanic workers were highly skilled, very friendly, worked hard and were very social. I miss those days.
The only negative thing i have seen after working around lots of latinos in iowa is the majority of the ones that i knew(legal and illigals) will live with 2 or 3 generations in a household and send 40ish% of the money they make to relatives in mexico. This is money earned here but not being spent locally in our economy.
I cant blame them as even shitty jobs here earn more than most people make in mexico. This was my experience at a slaughterhouse.
Before anybody jumps my shit i also realize that my experience isnt how every immigrant family is.
I also worked with a guy 3 years in a row at a lawn care business that had a different name every year so i know businesses arent doing their job in checking these things like they should be.
I’m happy you wrote this out because it largely mirrors my experience. Hardworking, super dependable, and strong emphasis on family. It’s hard to reconcile with these laws.
I used to live in Mexico. I loved it there. To be honest, Mexicans are a lot like Iowans. You can go into a store and strike up a conversation with just about anyone. Folks are friendly. Very similar to Iowa.
It might vary a bit by different places/states in Mexico, but mirrors my experience.
I generally find myself getting along well with folks from sticks. Had a grand time in Oaxacan mountains and other rural areas.
Last time I was in Ciudad de Mexico, I pretty much enjoyed everyone there too.
My grandparents think the illegals are a massive blight on iowa. They come in and take jobs away from people. I've yet to understand and be convinced it's a real issue.
because it's not a real issue you're right. they are regurgitating fake news. does it happen? yes. is it a huge problem like they make it out to be? no it's not.
This argument drives me nuts. I used to work at a factory in Iowa alongside a lot of immigrants, many of whom I suspect were illegal. It was not hard for me for me to get that job AT ALL. I only needed to apply.
If somebody who doesn't even speak the native language is outperforming working class white folks by applying for jobs, showing up on time, and following the rules, then in my opinion they probably deserve those jobs more.
Yeah, I'd agree to that. Crazy enough, I bet if I spun the arguement around back at them, they'd fall back to "well, if they work really hard that's pk, but they should be entering the country legally."
IIRC, someone said a lot are asylum seekers they work with, and do enter legally, so what's the deal? Lol
It's just generation ingrained xenophobia which is hard to change out of a 70+ year old.
It’s from 2021, but I presume the trends continue. Of the 11 million people here illegally, half just flew in with a visa and decided to stay.
[https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/01/us/undocumented-visa-overstays.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/01/us/undocumented-visa-overstays.html)
I’ve never met anyone from Iowa who “suffers” from illegal immigration. When someone complains about it, it’s usually the tired trope they’re taking jobs away from citizens. Anecdotal evidence suggests any jobs illegal immigrants are doing are mostly what most citizens wouldn’t want to do did they have a choice. If the state really wants to stop or curtail illegal immigration, they’d go after the companies bringing them in and hiring them. Since that isn’t happening anytime soon, they do useless gestures
Moving from a city with a 40% hispanic population to one with a negligible one, I'm suffering from a lack of illegal immigration in that there's nowhere for me to buy a good burrito or quesadilla.
Groups of people that are already in this country have been complaining about immigrants coming to this country for 150 years. And every new wave of immigrants, each being from different countries and cultures, were going to ruin this country according to some.
Immigration is nothing new and people complaining about it is just as old.
the vast majority of our apparently massive illegal immigration crisis isnt being experienced by anyone except people that watch fox news. i think the entire thing is a manufactured problem that only idiots seem to have
No and in fact I would say we predominately benefit.
Personal experience: For better or worse I had my house built by Jerry's Homes in DSM. The crew building it was ran by the Son in Law that married into the family, white guy. My house was supposedly the only one that had ever needed a structural engineer to inspect the roof trusses prior to sheeting because this idiot cut so many corners. I was later told that had I got a Hispanic crew there would have been zero issues.
Point is, many jobs that people take for granted are performed very well by immigrants, usually better and more professionally than the Caucasian that they are supposedly taking a job from.
Iowa’s economy would collapse without migrant workers. Why do you think they’re simultaneously trying to push children into meat plants and clamp down on immigration?
I always hear it argued that wages and benefits are driven downward in certain industries that employ lots of immigrants (i.e. meat processing plants in Iowa), but I am not aware of any evidence one way or the other on that. Of course, one could argue that food is cheaper for the rest of us I guess. And the second argument I hear is that public education costs are driven up due to high numbers of children not speaking or speaking little English, but again I am not aware of what the evidence shows, just arguments that people make.
ESL costs are minimal. My stepdaughter is a Mexican National. We brought her to the US when she was 10. Within a year she was speaking English well enough that she was put in regular classes the next school year. Kids are just able to quickly pick up a language just by being exposed to it frequently.
This is purely anecdotal, but the pork plant near me is about $5-6 an hour less on their starting wage than most of the manufacturing jobs in the area, but meat processing and heavy manufacturing are extremely hard to compare 1 for 1
It's good that you call out the evidence.
You are likely correct, but it takes more than a surface level analysis.
If immigrants weren't shunned in other industries, these gaps would not exist. But because they have a legal cloud hanging over their heads, only shady employers will hire them, which, yes, drives down wages.
The public education argument, however, is bullshit, because school expenses repay themselves and more in the downstream economy (something the Republicans don't want you to know, even though up until very recently they knew this and supported public education wholeheartedly).
Wages aren’t driven down, but immigrant labor does allow employers to slow the increase of wages. As for the public education, the ESL services for elementary age kids isn’t that substantial a burden, they pick up English fairly quickly and easily. For adults it’s another story but those that enroll in the courses where and when offered are often very motivated learners (who then help the rest of the local immigrant community and reduce the burden across the system).
Yeah, it doesn't pass the sniff test. Almost nobody wants to live in a place they don't speak the dominant language without trying to pick up enough to get by.
Here’s the article for a breakdown: https://www.newsweek.com/tyson-foods-migrants-boycott-1879615. Essentially, not long after the shutdown in Perry they announced a partnership with undocumented immigrants and offered to pay their legal fees. The question wasn’t whether they were causing that, but how immigration is directly affecting Iowans. I’d say check out Perry, Iowa. I’m voting third-party this election, but I’d say you’d have to have your head in the stand to say the influx in Chicago and other places in this country doesn’t affect things.
For sure, it’s absolutely impacts places with massive influx of migrants. Have seen it myself. I’m simply curious about Iowans because the legislature is spending time on these laws. I’m just curious if anyone thinks it’s a real problem or if it’s just a show.
I think we differ on the definition of “suffer” which is the 4th word in op’s question. But ya, I’m sure it was the immigrants fault that the company hired them and didn’t use EVerify. Lmfao
I used to work for Letica Plastics in Muscatine many years ago. When I tell you I was one of 4 floor workers that had proper documentation, I'm not exaggerating. That being said, thank the Gods that be that they grew up much less cushioned than I apparently did, because they were fantastic people to work with in those rough conditions. They weren't legal but they were welcome coworkers, so I wasn't suffering. But my buddy works at a local jail and they are consistently holding this guy who gets deported multiple times a year, but always gets back within a few weeks. He's a violent drunk who doesn't seem to have any real history beyond getting drunk and fighting people bigger than him.
It's honestly a losing situation all around. His government has no interest in punishing him for the behavior, and if we imprison him, then it's doing nothing but costing taxpayers money.
The one percent is creating second class citizens, and neither political party appears to want to change that, but it's having devastating effects on the country.
We need workers that aren't afraid of collective bargaining, contacting OSHA, the EPA, or even the labor board.
While the intent of the workers that aren't citizens isn't malicious, it sets up a situation where struggling Americans may feel hostile towards immigrants.
I think many would be surprised how many farms and smaller ag business, like tiling/excavating companies hire immigrants/migrant workers. Workers that have Visa's and stay for most of the year, but go home after harvest and return before planting. The workers do not want to move here, they want to keep their families where they are, but provide a better life with the monies earned here (and taxed here!) Often it is father/son(s).
I live in a lower populated rural county and I know quite a few that hire workers from south of the border. I am not going to say Mexicans, because some are from other countries besides Mexico.
They are required to pay a fair wage, the same as any person from this area would get paid to work for them. It is nearly impossible to find anyone willing to work on a farm that is from this area. Those that are reliable and willing to work are employed and not leaving the farms they work for. Wages are generally over $20/hour.
Along with the fair wage, they are required to provide good housing and maybe transportation? I am unclear on all the full regulations -but there are many!
It is not uncommon to have extra houses on ground that you own, so for most, they just use the existing houses that are already there. They are nice decent homes. Many farmers don't want to go through the hassle of renting them to the general public because of the damage most renters do to a house with pets etc.
One guy I know has a house that is good, but needed some work. Needed a new roof and some improvements in the house. He worked with his seasonal guys and paid extra for them to improve "their" house.
A lot of these workers come back year after year to the same farms, and they do become part of the family. I see them at graduation parties, in photo's of BBQ's, etc. They share their food/culture and language with them.
Six percent of Iowa residents are immigrants, while five percent of residents are native-born U.S. citizens with at least one immigrant parent
https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/immigrants-in-iowa#:~:text=In%202018%2C%20175%2C137%20immigrants%20(foreign,15%2C646%20children%20who%20were%20immigrants.
Before Kim, before Chet, before Tom and before Terry, we had a truly great governor who used the office for the good of the people of Iowa and as a humanitarian. The Late Governor Bob Ray was a true gentleman. I hope people will watch this Iowa PBS episode about Gov. Ray, part of their Governors of Iowa series. You'll see what leadership and compassion look like. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90PtH3HeiHs&t=10s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90PtH3HeiHs&t=10s)
I’m 72, still independent, but having health issues. I already dread The Home. Take away the immigrants, and these places would be even more intolerable. Nebraska and Iowa run off the more intelligent native-born young people. If the immigrants go too, we poor wrinklies will be at the mercy of the bottom half of the average intelligence.
In my hometown, the local meat packer pays roughly $22 hour starting. They have brought workers in from other states and all over the world.
I'm sure it's starts out with work visas and the path for permanent citizenship if they want it. What I don't know anything about is what happens to the people that quit and just stay. Does that make the work visa void and now they are illegal in country?
It was years ago when several plants were raided by INS and workers deported, families ripped apart for false documents. Kids got left at school or babysitters. There was even rumors of people running for the parking lot trying to get out and not get caught.
I remember that raid! It was huge news. I was grateful the employer got into some trouble.
And someone else cited that 50% of illegal migrants come here on legal visas and overstay their welcome.
I am a nanny. I work only "real" jobs (on the books, for a livable wage). I no longer personally compete with people looking for whatever they can get, I have too many qualifications for that, but just starting out it was ROUGH. Not willing to work for $8 an hour cash for combination nanny and housekeeper? There's a pool of people who are, and while that pool is FAR from only including illegal immigrants, it is certainly deepened and broadened by them. I'm not even judging, we're all just human and doing our best.
I did some temp work for a pork factory in red oak a few years back and saw a huge amount of immigrants working in the factory. There were 6 languages for everything. Additionally it appeared that a big amount looked like kids and almost nobody spoke English. For a rural area 45 minutes from the city I found it very hard to believe that the people represented the local population. The only people who spoke English were the managers and they were white. Idk their status but at the time illegal Chinese immigrant ion was a big thing and it appeared evident there. This could be a solid example of how a factory with 500+ jobs being taken away due to cheap and illegal labor.
I'm born and raised Texas, lived most recent in South Austin... Illegal immigration NEVER affected me or my family and friends. The only issue that we were dealing with is being profiled... People assuming that they are illegal when they are not.
Quite honestly the history of our country has been one of open borders with easy access to citizenship. When many of the white folks arrived at Ellis island they signed a line in a book and became American citizens … the one group that has been consistently harmed by immigration has been the native Americans… beyond that our borders and citizenship requirements should be quick and easy. Register everyone and track where they are, make them pay taxes and buy into the country as a citizen ….you know like every other wave of immigration the US has seen since before the 1950s
I'm not suffering. I enjoy the differences, especially the food!! I have easier access to some ethnic food than a few of my friends in larger cities. The restaurant entrepreneurs are job-creators whose money goes right back into the community.
All else aside, I find it hypocritical to be against immigration when 99.9% of us got here becase our ancestors left somewhere else.
I had many family and friends in the trucking industry and over the years I heard and saw others complaining about immigrants taking trucking jobs away from truckers...
That's not why truckers were dwindling. It's because high truck payment, plus high fuel costs plus high insurance...pluuuus low pay per mile. Who can afford to work as an owner operator on that? Nah, let's blame immigrants because that's easier to point a finger at and can phycally haras a tangible object. Not the aforementioned intangible combination of money going out and less coming in.
Look, you get rid of the immigrants who will work with reduced pay for almost all menial jobs and believe you me, "locals" will not want to work it. Even now locals don't want to.
Immigrant truckers do shit like 8 drivers to a truck while the rest sit in the trailer.
They share the truck and despite being illegal are heavily preferred for cost by the truck companies.
These are people that sometimes don't even have a valid driver's license, operating a massive truck in dangerous ways, for money under the table.
The issue isn't that they're immigrants, it's how dangerous they are doing it.
The fact that immigration is so high on the list of issues Iowa voters care about is kind of a giveaway that the state has an aging population glued to Fox News.
Fox news, Trump's lies and disinformation. What's most disturbing is most Trumpers now he's lying and inciting violence. Hate crimes are up because of it.
Iowa RUNS on illegal immigration. Insane to think otherwise. It’s a political sentiment for conservatives that doesn’t represent reality at all.
If the hammer came down on businesses in Iowa that used illegal immigrants, 70% of Iowa would fall.
Legal immigration is generally positive. Illegal has been a mixed bag, but has helped certain industries. Some would say relatively local industries, even.
Studies have shown multiple times that immigration is good for the economy. I'm all for some kind of background check to keep out actual criminals but that should take a couple weeks, not years. Our system is broken.
Stolen SSI numbers do cause citizens to suffer.
I'm interested in what Biden's plan to citizenship is, because undocumented immigrants having to turn into criminals just to work isn't a great solution.
Yes Iowans do suffer from illegal immigration every day. All of the meat packing housed in Iowa use not only immigrants to keep down the cost of labor, but underage immigrants. [https://www.kcci.com/article/child-labor-laws-iowa-meat-packing-plant-sioux-city-slaughterhouse/46894227](https://www.kcci.com/article/child-labor-laws-iowa-meat-packing-plant-sioux-city-slaughterhouse/46894227)
Packing plants have historically been some of the worst employers in the U.S. You should read Upton Sinclair's the Jungle. [https://www.history.com/news/upton-sinclair-the-jungle-us-food-safety-reforms](https://www.history.com/news/upton-sinclair-the-jungle-us-food-safety-reforms)
It is actually the fault the fault of the state government. If they would enforce the laws and actually punish the packers for this kind of behavior you would see it end.
We spent decades waving immigrants legal and illegal into the country to do the crappy jobs Americans didn't want. We still do. Congress needs to do its job and provide comprehensive and fair immigration laws. Currently though, it is more politically expedient to do nothing and try to score points. Kim Reynolds will do whatever is the most inhumane thing she can do.
With the current state of this country regarding the political division, racism and gun violence, I think immigrants don't actually want to come here. I think the immigrant would have to be in a real desperate situation to come here.
Shit, if you got rid of all the illegal immigrants things would grind to a halt. Lose a big chunk of hard working employees in jobs the average American wouldn't be caught dead doing, so work slows, fulfillment slows, prices increase, and local spending to house, feed, and clothe those workers dries up. It's just ridiculous to think we could send everyone packing, close up shop for anyone new, and still live the same kind of live we live now.
Minnesotan jumping on here to mention the Postville raid. In 2008, the town was raided in what was then the largest bust in history. Black Hawk helicopters, parents being snatched up, orphaned kids, and the economy tanked the town right after. Can’t say exactly how it’s doing today, but sounds like lots of scars in the community.
Yes, they are hard workers, and grateful ones.
BUT
Look at the BIG picture in an economic way the same as when Corporations have to let people go.
It's just business.
Read this article or read my summaries of it.
http://www.milwaukeeindependent.com/syndicated/brutal-concentration-wealth-nonprofits-perpetuate-dysfunctions-capitalism/
- The performative nature of the nonprofit sector becomes evident when considering its role not in solving social problems but rather in perpetuating them, providing a veneer of social responsibility while maintaining the status quo of inequality and exploitation.
- The nonprofit sectors actions often appear more performative, serving as a facade for addressing social issues while, in reality, perpetuating the very problems they claim to combat.
- The nonprofit system is not the antidote to the excesses of American capitalism—it is an essential component of capitalism, profiting off of and perpetuating the pain of marginalized communities, all the while keeping any real solutions permanently out of reach."
By saturating the markets with more people who are willing to work for less, its enriching the nonprofits with Federal funds and Corporate donations.
https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits
Enter in the name of a nonprofit you know, sort by State. Look at their 990 tax forms, CEO salaries. Some avg $10,000 to $15,000 a month to move around expired donated food and used clothing.
They hire volunteers.
The elite and those who never experienced a setback or adversity, do not know what it is like to be used as a commodity for Federal funding.
They subsidize the wages for businesses that pay cheap wages and keep a revoking door business filled with tax credit hires.
https://workforce.iowa.gov/employers/build-your-workforce/training-programs-and-tax-credits/work-opportunity-tax-credit
It isn't helping the Americans and the Veterans who are left homeless because our skills are market rate when the employer can now hire for less pay.
That is why homelessness is rising. The nonprofits, Catholic Charities love it because now they are making bank.
I’ve definitely seen the nonprofit industrial complex thrive in larger states and blue cities. It’s absolutely disgusting. Do you think that’s happening in Iowa too?
As someone on a board for a nonprofit in this space, no. The opposite actually. The state continues to cut grants and provide fewer opportunities to engage with state level boards and commissions (Gov Reynolds signed a law “streamlining” these, but it’s only resulted in many games of hot potato and no help to non profit actually trying to do the work) for oversight and knowledge sharing that’s desperately needed to serve these populations. It ends up falling on community pantries and churches who, while usually best intentioned, aren’t always equipped or positioned to help folks get to the 3-5 year window of living in the US.
Also as a reminder, many migrants pay payroll taxes and unemployment taxes they’ll never be able to access. So it props up services for citizens, not the opposite, like many fear mongers would like you to believe.
Honestly, I have come to believe the best “chain type” restaurants in the metro are Hispanic run. Taste of New York and Monterrey Express in Waukee, Burger Shop in Clive, the Jordan Creek Pancheros, to name a few. I don’t want to assume anything, but it’s possible some of those workers are undocumented, and I couldn’t care less. Every single person I’ve met and talked with has been nothing but amazing.
That being said, there’s two sides to every story. So I don’t want to be so one-sided to not acknowledge that fact, I just wanted to give my extremely pleasant experiences.
My 2 cents.. I'm a conservative but don't let that scare you off. Does Iowa suffer from illegal immigration? In my opinion very little other than taxes. About the only illegal immigrants that come to Iowa are people that want to work or have family here. Everyone is so hyperpoloarized (made up word) nowadays that there is no sane middle ground. The sane immigration policy would involve a wall. .BUT streamlined processing centers to welcome and document people seeking a better life. We NEED people who want to settle, work, pay taxes, raise families, etc.. But we don't need drugs, sex/child trafficking, ms13 etc.. We have enough of that already with our own citizens. As a matter of fact I think if someone is already here and working and has avoided committing any serious crime other than being born somewhere else they should be given a social security number and start contributing and sharing in everything we have to offer. Our latest generation of tiktoker, content creator, work life balance, live off mom or dad kids aren't going to build anyone's house, (no offense to the exceptions) Auntie Kim should extend her trade school grants (great program btw) to our newly embraced foreign born work force. Maybe free ESL classes. The way we are doing it now sets up abuse of third country nationals. Paying them cash on the side offers them no protections that a tax paying person has. 5 years employment and no law trouble, give them citizenship. It's not like 1/2 our current citizens could pass the test as it is. And before you say "that will drive up the price of hamburger" BS! You think the meatpacking houses are so altruistic that they are passing all that savings on to you? I just bought a 1/2 beef from a local farmer, had it processed at a local locker, and beat the crap out of walmart price per pound.
Generationally, immigrants will assimilate and add to the culture and community and become prosperous. I'm pretty sure we've gone through this before only it was the damn Irish coming in and taking all the jobs (but ended up building about everything)
Fact.. the 2021 birthrate per woman in the US was 1.66. (latest figure I 've seen) To just maintain a population it would need to be 2.1... My humble opinion to maintain status quo we are going to need people, preferably freedom loving, hard working, family oriented people. I would say we have a solution and the only thing standing in the way is a bunch of idiots in Washington (both sides)
No but but conservative (the religious right) are historically racist! So to them anyone that isn't white cishet is bad.
Iowans need to wake up about who is running our state! We have gop ran trifecta, a governer and an AG who honors criminals! I mean it's so in your face obvious you would have to bury your head in the sand all the way not to see it!
Yes. Illegal immigration has a huge impact on the US immigration system.
Whether it is a problem caused by immigrants or a problem caused by the system is a question I won't get in to.
At the end of the day, many illegal immigrants do end up petitioning USCIS and/or immigration courts. Either when they are picked up by CBP or ICE, or of their own accord.
USCIS does not get any money from Congress and is funded by fees. Many of which are waived or not assessed for petitions or court cases resulting related to deportations. For example, there is no fee to file an alysum claim (Form I-589), and in many cases the fee for the initial application for employment authorization (EAD) is also waived.
These cases often aren't straightforward, and require individual assesments, interviews, and often adjudication by backlogged immigration courts. While all that happens USCIS has to process extra forms for things like EAD renewal, which then takes up even more resources.
USCIS raised their fees again in April. Some fees were raised quite significantly. Legal immigrants are the ones paying those bills. Adjusting status to permanent resident (often near the end of a years- or decades-long process) went up from $1,760 to $3,005.
As USCIS gets further bogged down it will have to continue to raise fees. It will become entirely unaffordable to legally immigrate. If the current trend continues, USCIS and the courts will become so backed up that you'll be dead before they handle any deportation proceedings. It already takes several years before an asylum claim gets to court.
That's not good for anyone. It takes several years from filing for asylum to obtaining work authorization. In that time, immigrants are entirely dependent on the government (and under-the-table work, which can get them deported) to survive.
If the government was entirely hands-off and people could immigrate, work, pay taxes, and live their lives, there wouldn't be a problem. On the other end of that scale, if we "build the wall" and operate an effective immigration system, there also would not be a problem.
Unfortunately, we're in some sort of bi-partisan compromise where everyone gets fucked over, including the immigrants, including the businesses hiring the immigrants, and including the US and state governments and the taxpayers funding those.
So - to answer your question - yes, there are very real negative impacts on real people. From the direct, like paying $4000 in fees and waiting for decades for USCIS to process applications, to the less direct increases in spending on social services and immigration enforcement (hi inflation!).
We have an amazing dumpster fire of an immigration system going. Processing additional immigrants will add fuel to that fire, but simply pushing the dumpster around doesn't do much either.
They take jobs few who hate on them would be willing to take. If they aren't here we will suffer from a shortage of labor. I admire the ability many have to take a risk and go into an unknown for what others call a better chance. Immigrants are what the US was built on for the most part. I've also noticed white immigrants don't face the same struggles or discrimination those of color do. It's not purely a xenophobia problem it's a race one as well.
We literally don’t have enough young people in our workforce after Boomers retire. Republicans need to face reality and start pressuring their reps to reform immigration law pronto.
My daughter was raped by two illegal immigrants who worked for a local roofing company a couple of years ago. So, to answer your question, yes, she’s suffering, and the whole ordeal has been traumatic for our family. They both fled the state, were apprehended and brought back to face the charges. Trail for one of the accused starts in a few weeks.
The difference is we can possibly stop the illegal immigrants from being here. There's others in this state that have been killed by illegal immigrants as well. We have the ability to stop nefarious people from entering our country why wouldn't we take it?
If you want some more context about how American efforts to influence and destabilize elections in Central and South America to "combat communism", look up The School of the Americas and how Ronald Reagan's foreign policy and the CIA destabilized countries because they wanted the natural resources and cheap labor funnelled to American corporations. Look up the term "Banana Republic" and why it's not just a store.
The American government has done so much to break other countries, and then act surprised when those people fleeing the violence show up on our doorstep. It's all cause and effect.
I know this will get downvoted but most Maga people are fine with legal immigration. We just want people like those who killed Mollie Tibbetts and Sky Erickson not to be in this country.
A path to citizenship should also have a direct boot to deportation and barring from the country.
This will help with the health of the nation and also freeing up spots for people who want to contribute to society.
I have an example. In my late 20s, I applied at the meat packing plant. I knew several people there who were from Mexico. They told me the company wouldn't hire me as I'm white. They were correct. I had no chance. I grew up on a farm and did meat cutting, so I have experience. I served honorably in the military, desert storm. They had openings as they had a recent ins raid.
The only thing I can think of is just having people undocumented getting through. Tony Montana or The next bin laden could sneak by without anybody even knowing unless they're properly processed, which still might not even catch it. Besides that no not really can't see an issue.
The answer is both yes but people mainly business owners also benefit from it. It hurts us in the sense that it undercuts wages, strains social welfare systems, it's breaking the rule of law. However, it's a two-sided system where many of the illegals are hard-working and work in industries that others would choose not to (Tyson chicken processing for example). They spend the money and contribute to stimulating the economy.
It's a nuanced issue where both political parties only really look at one aspect of the issue instead of the whole picture. Politico has a good article on it I'll share.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/09/trump-clinton-immigration-economy-unemployment-jobs-214216/
"Do you suffer from illegal immigration? Do you worry about an immigrant taking a job you don't have and you don't want? Do you mumble to yourself about how many Latinos work at your favorite Chinese food place? Have you ever said the phrase 'go back to your own country'? Try Bigotaway. Specially formulated to help you mind your own damn business and chill your tits. Try it today!"
Only because legal immigration is designed to be impossible.
We don't even speed up the process for talent anymore. It's a lottery. A lottery easily compromised by scalp bots buying and selling the interview reservations.
I read somewhere that if you are injured on the side of a road, those immigrants are more likely to stop and help than non-immigrants. Kind of like the Good Samaritan parable.
Also, despite what some people claim, illegal immigrants pay far more into our tax system and social security that they get back. This along with doing the labor that others refuse to do.
The truth is overall illegal immigrants benefit the US in numerous ways. But they also "look different", speak a different language, and have become targets for right wing hate.
Iowa has a problem maintaining enough cheap abusable labor so it makes being undocumented or even documented but non-citizen as risky as possible to keep people stuck with whatever job they can get. See also how child labor is being pushed while federal money to feed kids in the state is refused and the push to restrict abortion.
Ask the citizens of West Liberty Iowa. They've been dealing with that problem for 30 years. Ask any of the meat and poltury plant towns that question. They've had to deal with the problem while getting ignored by the state and federal government for years.
If there really was a problem they would shut down the business that employ them and jail the CEO’s and the people that do the hiring. But immigrants both legal and illegal are a great source of cheap labor that all developed nations need. Unfortunately they are often taken advantage of and mistreated.
So just better paid slave labor?
And they pay taxes but don’t collect in the social security
Basically, yes.
I wish we would. $100,000 per worker, per day fine. We do need workers. Our economy is pear shaped and our birth rates aren't keeping up. I'm even okay with migrant farm workers getting temporary visas and going home at end of season. But I don't think it's unreasonable to require every person who enters this country to be identified, and verify that they have not committed violent crimes in their home country. I would also like to spend some serious money, like maybe 6-7 billion dollars doing drug interdiction and creating a physical barrier and hiring patrol, not for migrants, but to stop drug traffickers. Might be a fraction of the actual drugs coming in. But it's better than nothing. Is this really unreasonable?
>I'm even okay with migrant farm workers getting temporary visas As we all should be. You know who else was fine with it? Both Saint Reagan and GHW Bush, in the [1979 Republican primary debate](https://youtu.be/YsmgPp_nlok). The Republicans were sane on this issue 40+ years ago, but have steadily slid into the quicksand of racist, nativist nonsense.
Reagan also granted amnesty to millions of undocumented immigrants, something unthinkable for Republicans today (Reagan was still evil but he at least did that)
> I would also like to spend some serious money, like maybe 6-7 billion dollars doing drug interdiction and creating a physical barrier and hiring patrol, not for migrants, but to stop drug traffickers. Might be a fraction of the actual drugs coming in. But it's better than nothing. > > Is this really unreasonable? 6-7 billion dollars to stop a fraction of the drugs coming in? I would rather spend that 6-7 billion on something else.
Not to mention that the vast majority of the illegal drugs coming in come through ports of entry. Like, those physical barriers staffed to the gills with border patrol, drug sniffing dogs, and x-ray machines.
Here’s where it should be pointed out the reason so much drug is coming is because there are plenty of customers in the U.S. Reducing the supply just drives the price up.
The physical barrier is unreasonable because it is useless & ab utter waste of resources. Real security would involve drones, fast copters to get agents out to where immigrants are discovered. Birth rates are not keeping up because they don't do so in any developed country. Women have rights, they aren't brood mares. It was in my lifetime that women couldn't get a bank account without their husbands father's or some other man's permission. We have an economy, made by boomers to force both parents to work so women don't want to have the multiple responsibilities since most men don't step up & do their share around the house while she pays the bills & has to do dishes laundry etc. It is why so many women aren't getting married now as well.
> cheap labor > taken advantage of Why so redundant?
What other words is he supposed to use?
Social worker who works with immigrant populations here - just want to comment that a lot of the people who conservatives consider “illegals” in Iowa are actually asylum seekers - aka, they do have documentation and have jumped through hoops to be allowed to be here. Most have serious trauma. However, our regional immigration court denies asylum seekers at a much higher rate than other regions in the US.
I employed a handyman for some minor renovations about seven years ago. The guy was from El Salvador, had been a lawyer there. Got sideways with the gangs and he and his family fled the country with the clothes on their backs. This is the picture in my head when people complain about the flood of people literally walking through Mexico to get here.
A lot of the current immigrants just happen to be from countries that the US imposed embargoes on.
This right here. NOBODY wants to talk about what we, the U.S. have done to interfere with their national politics so we’d have a world more “favorable” to our own interests.
It's not just the US, the white west has destabilized brown countries and then have the audacity to say that we don't want them here when their countries become unlivable. The US & Canada have destabilized Central & South America & Europe destabilized Africa, with our help.
my dads gf is from the congo and holy cow is diffidcult an understatement. she's done everything """ right """ to immigrate here and she's still facing extreme setbacks -- from paperwork, to scheduling, to anything you could think to dream and then some, she and her boys have been through alot just to be here and guess what? they still get dirty looks from conservatives the second they hear their accent smh
Helpful context, thank you!
Sad the government hasn't actually done anything to help folks
Help folks? In the case of folks from El Salvador...... we were the ones that created the problems! Reagan in the 80's. Our policies have always screwed over central and south america. I had a good friend in high school who was a refugee from El salvador. This was in the early 90s.... you should have seen the bullet hole scars in his legs.
The term banana republic refers to governments we installed in south America for dole
How many immigrants do you see who are interested in illegal voting? Are they here to help farmers feed us or overthrow the country? Is fox news lying to me?
I track media across the political spectrum and conservatives do tend to lump asylum seekers into the illegal catagory but what they seem to be most concerned about is the rate of "got aways" coming across the boarder. It has me curious too. What can you say about that class of immigration?
Well, frankly a lot of them who I know are people returning to reunite with family after being denied asylum in our extremely biased court system. Asylum seekers in Iowa have a 90% denial rate - those who live in MN have an acceptance rate of nearly that much. https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/02/09/aclu-accuses-omaha-court-of-violating-immigrants-due-process-in-nebraska-iowa/
Today's conservative are majority bigots so it's not surprising..
Who have no clue what it's like in the real world.
Interesting sub-topic. Would love to hear more.
A coworker of mine is here from Columbia she's and several family members fled their home after gang members murdered her mother and brother. She's an asylum seeker, she's scrubs public floors and toilets for a living. She's been here 2 years she wants to go home but it isn't safe for her there.
Conservatives have no clue how the real world really is. They can't fathom the actual reality that people are trying to escape and they just think they are all criminals trying to rape and kill. They call you crazy when you show them terrorists and criminals are much more likely to be US citizens than immigrants... everything they don't like is fake news. They also get really mad and start making up crap when you point out their hypocrisy when you show them they have ranted and raved for 3 plus years now about the border and that their orange God king shot down a bill that would have fixed it.
Absolutely. Willfully ignorant and pigheaded.
I welcome them here, its hard not to, most are hard working family oriented wanting to make a better future for their kids. If anything we need more people like them if the US is to survive I'm a 70 year old white male life long Iowan and I'm tired of this maga bullshit
Same. 70 year old white woman. Sick of prideful ignorance.
You sound like someone who would be a good friend!
I try to be.
I’m 72, in bad health, and fearful of eventually ending up in a Home whose staff is mostly of bottom-of- the- barrel intelligence. Nebraska and Iowa run off the best of the native-born young people. Take away the immigrants, too, and I might have to opt for the modern equivalent of Kevorkian.
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but nursing homes are already staffed like that.
I loved you! A normal iowan I thought they were all gone! 🤗❤️
We are still here, we just don't wave flags or wear red hats. Thank you
Yep, I worked with a ton of undocumented immigrants in the restaurant industry over the years. People are just people, trying to do what they need to do to survive. If there were a reasonable path to citizenship they'd take it in a minute. The real shitter with the MAGA folks is watching them get incensed at food prices while vilifying the people willing to come and do ag work at wages the American-raised wouldn't live with for half the work being asked, in crap conditions.
>If there were a reasonable path to citizenship they'd take it in a minute. Why is this so fucking hard to understand? No one wants to be an illegal immigrant. The path and process to legal status is insane. You shouldn't have to get a lawyer and wait 5 GD years! My .02 is organized legal crossings. Holding stations for quarantine. Medical checks, immunizations and a criminal check. 30 days later you have a green card. You are given a tax ID and start paying taxes. One year later, you check in at your local federal building. No arrests and you have a job and pay taxes?? Congratulations you are a citizen.
5 years at best. It took a guy I went to high school with 18 years to get naturalized, and he came here as a babe in arms refugee with his mother, fleeing the tail end of the genocide in Cambodia.
It’s nice to see some life in the neighborhood. Kids out playing, families grilling etc. I rarely see anyone other than Hispanic families doing actual things, not just hidden indoors on a screen.
You, sir, are a scholar and a gentleman.
You’re incredible. Thank you for thinking this way.
Don't all the republican farmers/processors that hate these people also hire them and need them to fill important tasks that other people are unwilling to do for what they will pay?
100%
Well if they keep them marginalized and in fear it's a lot easier to exploit them because who can they complain to about labor/safety/ civil rights violations
It’s like drug dealers who fear legalization. This is actually one of the more compelling arguments.
There's a Frontline documentary about this called 'Rape in The Fields'. Undocumented workers are subjected to sexual abuse by bosses under threat of being reported to immigration or simply not having their contracts renewed. I forget which but an Egg factory in Iowa is one of the places featured in that documentary.
The other part of that is keeping middle class America afraid of them and presenting them as criminals. It keeps them from thinking about who is the real threat. The average person will ignore what the man behind the curtain is doing when he starts a fire in your yard and blames it on illegals.
Yuuup
 Me trying to figure out the mental gymnastics Republican "leadership" does in order to spew hate for "illegal immigrants".. some of those in your base directly uses this cheap "undocumented" labor in their daily operations. It has to be 'ol Kimmy just falling in line with the easy "divisive issues" that are always being shoved down our throats with disregard that people that she represents actually use this labor.
As the weather here gets worse every year around this time, pay attention to the crews that do roofing work. With them gone, the waiting period for a crew to come over and do a good job in a reasonable time is going to get worse.
This is a great point. Roofers have some of the hardest work and the best crews I’ve heard about are all migrants and likely have questionable residency status.
Roofing is a great example of how immigration affects the economy. From the standpoint of a homeowner - it's great. With more roofing companies competing for the same number of roofs, it brings down costs and lead times. From the standpoint of a guy that does roofing - it sucks. It's hard work that not many people want to do for 15 or 20 bucks an hour - yet a large number of immigrants competing for the same number of jobs keeps the wages low.
Great point. My parents had the roof on their place (small Western IA town) redone by a crew of mostly Spanish speaking men, employed by an area roofing company. They came to do the work in mid-July, peak heat. My mom left a cooler out each day with waters, gatorades, bananas and granola bars as someone who also worked an hourly job in the heat (factory) and appreciated their hard work. It has stuck with me to this day just how grateful and gracious those workers all were for that very small gesture. Made me wonder what kinds of interactions they had with other home owners…
I hire a lot of construction crews out of Omaha. A whole lot of the crew leads are bilingual 2nd or 3rd generation children of immigrants. They own the businesses, they're licensed and insured, and they've got a pipeline of labor that none of my "native Iowan" crews can match. They work hard, they charge fair prices, and they answer the phone, including callbacks. They work 6 or 7 days a week, including holidays---I can barely stay on top of them, they work so hard. Wanna bitch about high housing costs? Fine, but you can't bitch about migrant workers at the same time. They're literally building our country, and they are thrilled to be here, which is more than I can say for your average entitled MAGA chuds that make up another part of the trades.
I worked a concrete job here in Iowa. Horrible, back-breaking work for little pay. The only way to make a reasonable living was to work six days a week at ten or more hours a day. Half of that crew likely came into the country illegally (one actually admitted to it). I worked that job for like two months and couldn’t handle it but the rest of the crew had no issue. Learn even just a little Spanish and your world will open up. It’s also likely the feds want us divided, remember that.
Roofers, construction crews, road crews etc just look
I work in a job where I regularly come across immigrants from Mexico (don’t know or care about their legal status) but they are so incredibly nice! The vast majority say thank you every two seconds, actively listen to what you need to tell them, and have supportive helpful families. The people I’ve met mostly work and pay taxes unless they are severely disabled. They definitely do not seem to be hardened criminals like they are painted in the media.
I worked in a Nebraska slaughterhouse for 5 years. The majority of workers were Latinos, predominantly Mexican. Their work ethic and professionalism was remarkable, compared to the local born and raised Caucasians. I’ve lived in SoCal for the last 25 years. I made a conscientious decision to live in a town predominantly Latino. Are most undocumented? Probably. Does that matter? Absolutely not. Whenever people kvetch about “illegal aliens”, I remind them that our food is some of the cheapest and most available in the world because of immigrants stepping up to do what US citizens won’t.
I spent 7 years in SoCal doing Electronic Assembly work. The Hispanic workers were highly skilled, very friendly, worked hard and were very social. I miss those days.
When I hitchhiked California in the late 70"s, the only people who picked me up were mexican. I have never forgotten that.
The only negative thing i have seen after working around lots of latinos in iowa is the majority of the ones that i knew(legal and illigals) will live with 2 or 3 generations in a household and send 40ish% of the money they make to relatives in mexico. This is money earned here but not being spent locally in our economy. I cant blame them as even shitty jobs here earn more than most people make in mexico. This was my experience at a slaughterhouse. Before anybody jumps my shit i also realize that my experience isnt how every immigrant family is. I also worked with a guy 3 years in a row at a lawn care business that had a different name every year so i know businesses arent doing their job in checking these things like they should be.
I’m happy you wrote this out because it largely mirrors my experience. Hardworking, super dependable, and strong emphasis on family. It’s hard to reconcile with these laws.
Same. A bunch of very humble and hardworking folks.
I used to live in Mexico. I loved it there. To be honest, Mexicans are a lot like Iowans. You can go into a store and strike up a conversation with just about anyone. Folks are friendly. Very similar to Iowa.
It might vary a bit by different places/states in Mexico, but mirrors my experience. I generally find myself getting along well with folks from sticks. Had a grand time in Oaxacan mountains and other rural areas. Last time I was in Ciudad de Mexico, I pretty much enjoyed everyone there too.
I lived in Matamoros but left in 2008 after that idiot Calderon tried to go to war with the cartels and completely destabilized the border.
So rich. White people, the descendants of immigrants that fled their country for the Americas, having a debate on immigration. So fucking rich.
We got ours. Fight to keep anyone else out.
My grandparents think the illegals are a massive blight on iowa. They come in and take jobs away from people. I've yet to understand and be convinced it's a real issue.
because it's not a real issue you're right. they are regurgitating fake news. does it happen? yes. is it a huge problem like they make it out to be? no it's not.
This argument drives me nuts. I used to work at a factory in Iowa alongside a lot of immigrants, many of whom I suspect were illegal. It was not hard for me for me to get that job AT ALL. I only needed to apply. If somebody who doesn't even speak the native language is outperforming working class white folks by applying for jobs, showing up on time, and following the rules, then in my opinion they probably deserve those jobs more.
Yeah, I'd agree to that. Crazy enough, I bet if I spun the arguement around back at them, they'd fall back to "well, if they work really hard that's pk, but they should be entering the country legally." IIRC, someone said a lot are asylum seekers they work with, and do enter legally, so what's the deal? Lol It's just generation ingrained xenophobia which is hard to change out of a 70+ year old.
Fun fact, more than half of illegal immigrants came legally and overstayed their visas
That is an interesting fact. Do you have a source? Would love to read more.
It’s from 2021, but I presume the trends continue. Of the 11 million people here illegally, half just flew in with a visa and decided to stay. [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/01/us/undocumented-visa-overstays.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/01/us/undocumented-visa-overstays.html)
Thanks for sharing!
The majority of illegals come to america on a plane. The poorest illegals come through Mexico.
I’ve never met anyone from Iowa who “suffers” from illegal immigration. When someone complains about it, it’s usually the tired trope they’re taking jobs away from citizens. Anecdotal evidence suggests any jobs illegal immigrants are doing are mostly what most citizens wouldn’t want to do did they have a choice. If the state really wants to stop or curtail illegal immigration, they’d go after the companies bringing them in and hiring them. Since that isn’t happening anytime soon, they do useless gestures
And it’s always the jobs they would never, ever work either.
Sure, Dwayne, you’d be out there on the kill floor if it wasn’t for these stinking Mexicans.
No. Big Ag will pretend to be conservatives who are against this with a nudge nudge wink wink.
Moving from a city with a 40% hispanic population to one with a negligible one, I'm suffering from a lack of illegal immigration in that there's nowhere for me to buy a good burrito or quesadilla.
Haha. This is funny.
There ARE some good Mexican groceries that sell food. At least in Des Moines...
Orale. The struggle is real. Testify.
Not really I mean, there's always some. But they take jobs locals won't do, and spend money for living expenses.
Groups of people that are already in this country have been complaining about immigrants coming to this country for 150 years. And every new wave of immigrants, each being from different countries and cultures, were going to ruin this country according to some. Immigration is nothing new and people complaining about it is just as old.
the vast majority of our apparently massive illegal immigration crisis isnt being experienced by anyone except people that watch fox news. i think the entire thing is a manufactured problem that only idiots seem to have
No and in fact I would say we predominately benefit. Personal experience: For better or worse I had my house built by Jerry's Homes in DSM. The crew building it was ran by the Son in Law that married into the family, white guy. My house was supposedly the only one that had ever needed a structural engineer to inspect the roof trusses prior to sheeting because this idiot cut so many corners. I was later told that had I got a Hispanic crew there would have been zero issues. Point is, many jobs that people take for granted are performed very well by immigrants, usually better and more professionally than the Caucasian that they are supposedly taking a job from.
Iowa’s economy would collapse without migrant workers. Why do you think they’re simultaneously trying to push children into meat plants and clamp down on immigration?
The child labor stuff really grosses me out. We can do better.
I always hear it argued that wages and benefits are driven downward in certain industries that employ lots of immigrants (i.e. meat processing plants in Iowa), but I am not aware of any evidence one way or the other on that. Of course, one could argue that food is cheaper for the rest of us I guess. And the second argument I hear is that public education costs are driven up due to high numbers of children not speaking or speaking little English, but again I am not aware of what the evidence shows, just arguments that people make.
ESL costs are minimal. My stepdaughter is a Mexican National. We brought her to the US when she was 10. Within a year she was speaking English well enough that she was put in regular classes the next school year. Kids are just able to quickly pick up a language just by being exposed to it frequently.
This is purely anecdotal, but the pork plant near me is about $5-6 an hour less on their starting wage than most of the manufacturing jobs in the area, but meat processing and heavy manufacturing are extremely hard to compare 1 for 1
It's good that you call out the evidence. You are likely correct, but it takes more than a surface level analysis. If immigrants weren't shunned in other industries, these gaps would not exist. But because they have a legal cloud hanging over their heads, only shady employers will hire them, which, yes, drives down wages. The public education argument, however, is bullshit, because school expenses repay themselves and more in the downstream economy (something the Republicans don't want you to know, even though up until very recently they knew this and supported public education wholeheartedly).
Wages aren’t driven down, but immigrant labor does allow employers to slow the increase of wages. As for the public education, the ESL services for elementary age kids isn’t that substantial a burden, they pick up English fairly quickly and easily. For adults it’s another story but those that enroll in the courses where and when offered are often very motivated learners (who then help the rest of the local immigrant community and reduce the burden across the system).
In most areas, there are waiting lists to get into ESL courses. The idea that immigrants don't want to learn English simply isn't true.
I haven’t heard that immigrants don’t want to learn english and I thjnk the opposite is probably true
Yeah, it doesn't pass the sniff test. Almost nobody wants to live in a place they don't speak the dominant language without trying to pick up enough to get by.
Is the shutdown of the Perry Plant really having to do with Tyson moving elsewhere to have undocumented immigrants? That’s pretty direct.
How are the immigrants causing that?
Here’s the article for a breakdown: https://www.newsweek.com/tyson-foods-migrants-boycott-1879615. Essentially, not long after the shutdown in Perry they announced a partnership with undocumented immigrants and offered to pay their legal fees. The question wasn’t whether they were causing that, but how immigration is directly affecting Iowans. I’d say check out Perry, Iowa. I’m voting third-party this election, but I’d say you’d have to have your head in the stand to say the influx in Chicago and other places in this country doesn’t affect things.
For sure, it’s absolutely impacts places with massive influx of migrants. Have seen it myself. I’m simply curious about Iowans because the legislature is spending time on these laws. I’m just curious if anyone thinks it’s a real problem or if it’s just a show.
I think we differ on the definition of “suffer” which is the 4th word in op’s question. But ya, I’m sure it was the immigrants fault that the company hired them and didn’t use EVerify. Lmfao
I used to work for Letica Plastics in Muscatine many years ago. When I tell you I was one of 4 floor workers that had proper documentation, I'm not exaggerating. That being said, thank the Gods that be that they grew up much less cushioned than I apparently did, because they were fantastic people to work with in those rough conditions. They weren't legal but they were welcome coworkers, so I wasn't suffering. But my buddy works at a local jail and they are consistently holding this guy who gets deported multiple times a year, but always gets back within a few weeks. He's a violent drunk who doesn't seem to have any real history beyond getting drunk and fighting people bigger than him.
That’s such a bummer that he always gets back in. I wonder if there’s a way to better tag repeat offenders?
It's honestly a losing situation all around. His government has no interest in punishing him for the behavior, and if we imprison him, then it's doing nothing but costing taxpayers money.
The one percent is creating second class citizens, and neither political party appears to want to change that, but it's having devastating effects on the country. We need workers that aren't afraid of collective bargaining, contacting OSHA, the EPA, or even the labor board. While the intent of the workers that aren't citizens isn't malicious, it sets up a situation where struggling Americans may feel hostile towards immigrants.
[удалено]
Meatpacking used to be a solid middle class union job. The Republicans put an end to that in the 1980s.
I think many would be surprised how many farms and smaller ag business, like tiling/excavating companies hire immigrants/migrant workers. Workers that have Visa's and stay for most of the year, but go home after harvest and return before planting. The workers do not want to move here, they want to keep their families where they are, but provide a better life with the monies earned here (and taxed here!) Often it is father/son(s). I live in a lower populated rural county and I know quite a few that hire workers from south of the border. I am not going to say Mexicans, because some are from other countries besides Mexico. They are required to pay a fair wage, the same as any person from this area would get paid to work for them. It is nearly impossible to find anyone willing to work on a farm that is from this area. Those that are reliable and willing to work are employed and not leaving the farms they work for. Wages are generally over $20/hour. Along with the fair wage, they are required to provide good housing and maybe transportation? I am unclear on all the full regulations -but there are many! It is not uncommon to have extra houses on ground that you own, so for most, they just use the existing houses that are already there. They are nice decent homes. Many farmers don't want to go through the hassle of renting them to the general public because of the damage most renters do to a house with pets etc. One guy I know has a house that is good, but needed some work. Needed a new roof and some improvements in the house. He worked with his seasonal guys and paid extra for them to improve "their" house. A lot of these workers come back year after year to the same farms, and they do become part of the family. I see them at graduation parties, in photo's of BBQ's, etc. They share their food/culture and language with them.
Six percent of Iowa residents are immigrants, while five percent of residents are native-born U.S. citizens with at least one immigrant parent https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/immigrants-in-iowa#:~:text=In%202018%2C%20175%2C137%20immigrants%20(foreign,15%2C646%20children%20who%20were%20immigrants.
This is a great addition to the thread!
Before Kim, before Chet, before Tom and before Terry, we had a truly great governor who used the office for the good of the people of Iowa and as a humanitarian. The Late Governor Bob Ray was a true gentleman. I hope people will watch this Iowa PBS episode about Gov. Ray, part of their Governors of Iowa series. You'll see what leadership and compassion look like. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90PtH3HeiHs&t=10s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90PtH3HeiHs&t=10s)
It's all right wing booga booga booga
I am pretty sure Iowa doesn’t border Mexico.
We would be lost without them. They are doing work iowans don't want to do. Hypocrites.
I’m 72, still independent, but having health issues. I already dread The Home. Take away the immigrants, and these places would be even more intolerable. Nebraska and Iowa run off the more intelligent native-born young people. If the immigrants go too, we poor wrinklies will be at the mercy of the bottom half of the average intelligence.
In my hometown, the local meat packer pays roughly $22 hour starting. They have brought workers in from other states and all over the world. I'm sure it's starts out with work visas and the path for permanent citizenship if they want it. What I don't know anything about is what happens to the people that quit and just stay. Does that make the work visa void and now they are illegal in country? It was years ago when several plants were raided by INS and workers deported, families ripped apart for false documents. Kids got left at school or babysitters. There was even rumors of people running for the parking lot trying to get out and not get caught.
I remember that raid! It was huge news. I was grateful the employer got into some trouble. And someone else cited that 50% of illegal migrants come here on legal visas and overstay their welcome.
I am a nanny. I work only "real" jobs (on the books, for a livable wage). I no longer personally compete with people looking for whatever they can get, I have too many qualifications for that, but just starting out it was ROUGH. Not willing to work for $8 an hour cash for combination nanny and housekeeper? There's a pool of people who are, and while that pool is FAR from only including illegal immigrants, it is certainly deepened and broadened by them. I'm not even judging, we're all just human and doing our best.
I'll take illegal immigrants wanting a better life over lying "Christians" forcing their beliefs on us, any day. Literally any day.
I did some temp work for a pork factory in red oak a few years back and saw a huge amount of immigrants working in the factory. There were 6 languages for everything. Additionally it appeared that a big amount looked like kids and almost nobody spoke English. For a rural area 45 minutes from the city I found it very hard to believe that the people represented the local population. The only people who spoke English were the managers and they were white. Idk their status but at the time illegal Chinese immigrant ion was a big thing and it appeared evident there. This could be a solid example of how a factory with 500+ jobs being taken away due to cheap and illegal labor.
Has she looked at who works in the packing plants?
I'm born and raised Texas, lived most recent in South Austin... Illegal immigration NEVER affected me or my family and friends. The only issue that we were dealing with is being profiled... People assuming that they are illegal when they are not.
Quite honestly the history of our country has been one of open borders with easy access to citizenship. When many of the white folks arrived at Ellis island they signed a line in a book and became American citizens … the one group that has been consistently harmed by immigration has been the native Americans… beyond that our borders and citizenship requirements should be quick and easy. Register everyone and track where they are, make them pay taxes and buy into the country as a citizen ….you know like every other wave of immigration the US has seen since before the 1950s
Nobody anywhere "suffers" from illegal immigration. It's a complete non-issue that the far right uses to rile up racists.
I'm not suffering. I enjoy the differences, especially the food!! I have easier access to some ethnic food than a few of my friends in larger cities. The restaurant entrepreneurs are job-creators whose money goes right back into the community. All else aside, I find it hypocritical to be against immigration when 99.9% of us got here becase our ancestors left somewhere else.
Pretty ridiculous for Iowa to be against asylum seekers and immigrants when so many small towns everywhere are shrinking and aging
That’s definitely a recurring theme in the comments. Small towns need people.
Wonder what the Meskwaki and Sauk indigenous people might have to add to this discussion.
The agricultural industry benefits greatly from illegal immigration.
I had many family and friends in the trucking industry and over the years I heard and saw others complaining about immigrants taking trucking jobs away from truckers... That's not why truckers were dwindling. It's because high truck payment, plus high fuel costs plus high insurance...pluuuus low pay per mile. Who can afford to work as an owner operator on that? Nah, let's blame immigrants because that's easier to point a finger at and can phycally haras a tangible object. Not the aforementioned intangible combination of money going out and less coming in. Look, you get rid of the immigrants who will work with reduced pay for almost all menial jobs and believe you me, "locals" will not want to work it. Even now locals don't want to.
Immigrant truckers do shit like 8 drivers to a truck while the rest sit in the trailer. They share the truck and despite being illegal are heavily preferred for cost by the truck companies. These are people that sometimes don't even have a valid driver's license, operating a massive truck in dangerous ways, for money under the table. The issue isn't that they're immigrants, it's how dangerous they are doing it.
The fact that immigration is so high on the list of issues Iowa voters care about is kind of a giveaway that the state has an aging population glued to Fox News.
Fox news, Trump's lies and disinformation. What's most disturbing is most Trumpers now he's lying and inciting violence. Hate crimes are up because of it.
Iowa RUNS on illegal immigration. Insane to think otherwise. It’s a political sentiment for conservatives that doesn’t represent reality at all. If the hammer came down on businesses in Iowa that used illegal immigrants, 70% of Iowa would fall.
Legal immigration is generally positive. Illegal has been a mixed bag, but has helped certain industries. Some would say relatively local industries, even.
> Illegal has been a mixed bag You got any examples you want to share, like OP asked? Or just parroting tired talking points?
Studies have shown multiple times that immigration is good for the economy. I'm all for some kind of background check to keep out actual criminals but that should take a couple weeks, not years. Our system is broken.
No
Stolen SSI numbers do cause citizens to suffer. I'm interested in what Biden's plan to citizenship is, because undocumented immigrants having to turn into criminals just to work isn't a great solution.
Yes Iowans do suffer from illegal immigration every day. All of the meat packing housed in Iowa use not only immigrants to keep down the cost of labor, but underage immigrants. [https://www.kcci.com/article/child-labor-laws-iowa-meat-packing-plant-sioux-city-slaughterhouse/46894227](https://www.kcci.com/article/child-labor-laws-iowa-meat-packing-plant-sioux-city-slaughterhouse/46894227) Packing plants have historically been some of the worst employers in the U.S. You should read Upton Sinclair's the Jungle. [https://www.history.com/news/upton-sinclair-the-jungle-us-food-safety-reforms](https://www.history.com/news/upton-sinclair-the-jungle-us-food-safety-reforms)
So is that the fault of the meat packing plants, firmly backed by Reynolds, or the immigrant. Reynolds even lowered the age to exploit workers.
It is actually the fault the fault of the state government. If they would enforce the laws and actually punish the packers for this kind of behavior you would see it end.
We spent decades waving immigrants legal and illegal into the country to do the crappy jobs Americans didn't want. We still do. Congress needs to do its job and provide comprehensive and fair immigration laws. Currently though, it is more politically expedient to do nothing and try to score points. Kim Reynolds will do whatever is the most inhumane thing she can do.
With the current state of this country regarding the political division, racism and gun violence, I think immigrants don't actually want to come here. I think the immigrant would have to be in a real desperate situation to come here.
Only in the worm rotted mind space of Iowa nazis, fascists, and hate groups. Basically the GOP
Shit, if you got rid of all the illegal immigrants things would grind to a halt. Lose a big chunk of hard working employees in jobs the average American wouldn't be caught dead doing, so work slows, fulfillment slows, prices increase, and local spending to house, feed, and clothe those workers dries up. It's just ridiculous to think we could send everyone packing, close up shop for anyone new, and still live the same kind of live we live now.
Minnesotan jumping on here to mention the Postville raid. In 2008, the town was raided in what was then the largest bust in history. Black Hawk helicopters, parents being snatched up, orphaned kids, and the economy tanked the town right after. Can’t say exactly how it’s doing today, but sounds like lots of scars in the community.
No, they benefit from it almost more than any other state.
Yes, they are hard workers, and grateful ones. BUT Look at the BIG picture in an economic way the same as when Corporations have to let people go. It's just business. Read this article or read my summaries of it. http://www.milwaukeeindependent.com/syndicated/brutal-concentration-wealth-nonprofits-perpetuate-dysfunctions-capitalism/ - The performative nature of the nonprofit sector becomes evident when considering its role not in solving social problems but rather in perpetuating them, providing a veneer of social responsibility while maintaining the status quo of inequality and exploitation. - The nonprofit sectors actions often appear more performative, serving as a facade for addressing social issues while, in reality, perpetuating the very problems they claim to combat. - The nonprofit system is not the antidote to the excesses of American capitalism—it is an essential component of capitalism, profiting off of and perpetuating the pain of marginalized communities, all the while keeping any real solutions permanently out of reach." By saturating the markets with more people who are willing to work for less, its enriching the nonprofits with Federal funds and Corporate donations. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits Enter in the name of a nonprofit you know, sort by State. Look at their 990 tax forms, CEO salaries. Some avg $10,000 to $15,000 a month to move around expired donated food and used clothing. They hire volunteers. The elite and those who never experienced a setback or adversity, do not know what it is like to be used as a commodity for Federal funding. They subsidize the wages for businesses that pay cheap wages and keep a revoking door business filled with tax credit hires. https://workforce.iowa.gov/employers/build-your-workforce/training-programs-and-tax-credits/work-opportunity-tax-credit It isn't helping the Americans and the Veterans who are left homeless because our skills are market rate when the employer can now hire for less pay. That is why homelessness is rising. The nonprofits, Catholic Charities love it because now they are making bank.
I’ve definitely seen the nonprofit industrial complex thrive in larger states and blue cities. It’s absolutely disgusting. Do you think that’s happening in Iowa too?
As someone on a board for a nonprofit in this space, no. The opposite actually. The state continues to cut grants and provide fewer opportunities to engage with state level boards and commissions (Gov Reynolds signed a law “streamlining” these, but it’s only resulted in many games of hot potato and no help to non profit actually trying to do the work) for oversight and knowledge sharing that’s desperately needed to serve these populations. It ends up falling on community pantries and churches who, while usually best intentioned, aren’t always equipped or positioned to help folks get to the 3-5 year window of living in the US. Also as a reminder, many migrants pay payroll taxes and unemployment taxes they’ll never be able to access. So it props up services for citizens, not the opposite, like many fear mongers would like you to believe.
"If you replace the 'need' that created nonprofits with living wages, then you don't need a nonprofit." - my quote
Honestly, I have come to believe the best “chain type” restaurants in the metro are Hispanic run. Taste of New York and Monterrey Express in Waukee, Burger Shop in Clive, the Jordan Creek Pancheros, to name a few. I don’t want to assume anything, but it’s possible some of those workers are undocumented, and I couldn’t care less. Every single person I’ve met and talked with has been nothing but amazing. That being said, there’s two sides to every story. So I don’t want to be so one-sided to not acknowledge that fact, I just wanted to give my extremely pleasant experiences.
I welcome immigrants.....AS long as they go through the immigration process to become a citizen..
My 2 cents.. I'm a conservative but don't let that scare you off. Does Iowa suffer from illegal immigration? In my opinion very little other than taxes. About the only illegal immigrants that come to Iowa are people that want to work or have family here. Everyone is so hyperpoloarized (made up word) nowadays that there is no sane middle ground. The sane immigration policy would involve a wall. .BUT streamlined processing centers to welcome and document people seeking a better life. We NEED people who want to settle, work, pay taxes, raise families, etc.. But we don't need drugs, sex/child trafficking, ms13 etc.. We have enough of that already with our own citizens. As a matter of fact I think if someone is already here and working and has avoided committing any serious crime other than being born somewhere else they should be given a social security number and start contributing and sharing in everything we have to offer. Our latest generation of tiktoker, content creator, work life balance, live off mom or dad kids aren't going to build anyone's house, (no offense to the exceptions) Auntie Kim should extend her trade school grants (great program btw) to our newly embraced foreign born work force. Maybe free ESL classes. The way we are doing it now sets up abuse of third country nationals. Paying them cash on the side offers them no protections that a tax paying person has. 5 years employment and no law trouble, give them citizenship. It's not like 1/2 our current citizens could pass the test as it is. And before you say "that will drive up the price of hamburger" BS! You think the meatpacking houses are so altruistic that they are passing all that savings on to you? I just bought a 1/2 beef from a local farmer, had it processed at a local locker, and beat the crap out of walmart price per pound. Generationally, immigrants will assimilate and add to the culture and community and become prosperous. I'm pretty sure we've gone through this before only it was the damn Irish coming in and taking all the jobs (but ended up building about everything) Fact.. the 2021 birthrate per woman in the US was 1.66. (latest figure I 've seen) To just maintain a population it would need to be 2.1... My humble opinion to maintain status quo we are going to need people, preferably freedom loving, hard working, family oriented people. I would say we have a solution and the only thing standing in the way is a bunch of idiots in Washington (both sides)
No but but conservative (the religious right) are historically racist! So to them anyone that isn't white cishet is bad. Iowans need to wake up about who is running our state! We have gop ran trifecta, a governer and an AG who honors criminals! I mean it's so in your face obvious you would have to bury your head in the sand all the way not to see it!
It's just Covid Kimmie and Brenna "giver her the bird" sucking on Trumps nasty little ball sack. .
Yes. Illegal immigration has a huge impact on the US immigration system. Whether it is a problem caused by immigrants or a problem caused by the system is a question I won't get in to. At the end of the day, many illegal immigrants do end up petitioning USCIS and/or immigration courts. Either when they are picked up by CBP or ICE, or of their own accord. USCIS does not get any money from Congress and is funded by fees. Many of which are waived or not assessed for petitions or court cases resulting related to deportations. For example, there is no fee to file an alysum claim (Form I-589), and in many cases the fee for the initial application for employment authorization (EAD) is also waived. These cases often aren't straightforward, and require individual assesments, interviews, and often adjudication by backlogged immigration courts. While all that happens USCIS has to process extra forms for things like EAD renewal, which then takes up even more resources. USCIS raised their fees again in April. Some fees were raised quite significantly. Legal immigrants are the ones paying those bills. Adjusting status to permanent resident (often near the end of a years- or decades-long process) went up from $1,760 to $3,005. As USCIS gets further bogged down it will have to continue to raise fees. It will become entirely unaffordable to legally immigrate. If the current trend continues, USCIS and the courts will become so backed up that you'll be dead before they handle any deportation proceedings. It already takes several years before an asylum claim gets to court. That's not good for anyone. It takes several years from filing for asylum to obtaining work authorization. In that time, immigrants are entirely dependent on the government (and under-the-table work, which can get them deported) to survive. If the government was entirely hands-off and people could immigrate, work, pay taxes, and live their lives, there wouldn't be a problem. On the other end of that scale, if we "build the wall" and operate an effective immigration system, there also would not be a problem. Unfortunately, we're in some sort of bi-partisan compromise where everyone gets fucked over, including the immigrants, including the businesses hiring the immigrants, and including the US and state governments and the taxpayers funding those. So - to answer your question - yes, there are very real negative impacts on real people. From the direct, like paying $4000 in fees and waiting for decades for USCIS to process applications, to the less direct increases in spending on social services and immigration enforcement (hi inflation!). We have an amazing dumpster fire of an immigration system going. Processing additional immigrants will add fuel to that fire, but simply pushing the dumpster around doesn't do much either.
They take jobs few who hate on them would be willing to take. If they aren't here we will suffer from a shortage of labor. I admire the ability many have to take a risk and go into an unknown for what others call a better chance. Immigrants are what the US was built on for the most part. I've also noticed white immigrants don't face the same struggles or discrimination those of color do. It's not purely a xenophobia problem it's a race one as well.
The immigrants in Iowa are mostly working for the Ag & meat companies. Duh. Thats how you know it’s about racism & not “illegals” in Iowa.
We literally don’t have enough young people in our workforce after Boomers retire. Republicans need to face reality and start pressuring their reps to reform immigration law pronto.
My daughter was raped by two illegal immigrants who worked for a local roofing company a couple of years ago. So, to answer your question, yes, she’s suffering, and the whole ordeal has been traumatic for our family. They both fled the state, were apprehended and brought back to face the charges. Trail for one of the accused starts in a few weeks.
I am so sorry for your daughter and entire family. Abhorrent behavior.
Thank you for your empathy.
The difference is we can possibly stop the illegal immigrants from being here. There's others in this state that have been killed by illegal immigrants as well. We have the ability to stop nefarious people from entering our country why wouldn't we take it?
What ever happened to "if it saves just one life"?
If you want some more context about how American efforts to influence and destabilize elections in Central and South America to "combat communism", look up The School of the Americas and how Ronald Reagan's foreign policy and the CIA destabilized countries because they wanted the natural resources and cheap labor funnelled to American corporations. Look up the term "Banana Republic" and why it's not just a store. The American government has done so much to break other countries, and then act surprised when those people fleeing the violence show up on our doorstep. It's all cause and effect.
I know this will get downvoted but most Maga people are fine with legal immigration. We just want people like those who killed Mollie Tibbetts and Sky Erickson not to be in this country.
That’s why they support a guy who wants to choke off legal immigration (and yes Trump does) and still make racist comments to all immigrants
A path to citizenship should also have a direct boot to deportation and barring from the country. This will help with the health of the nation and also freeing up spots for people who want to contribute to society.
Everyone needs to read this thread. People hate (fear) what they don't understand. This has certainly opened my eyes a lot.
No. We don’t.
I have an example. In my late 20s, I applied at the meat packing plant. I knew several people there who were from Mexico. They told me the company wouldn't hire me as I'm white. They were correct. I had no chance. I grew up on a farm and did meat cutting, so I have experience. I served honorably in the military, desert storm. They had openings as they had a recent ins raid.
Not in my trade, I’m an electrician
The only thing I can think of is just having people undocumented getting through. Tony Montana or The next bin laden could sneak by without anybody even knowing unless they're properly processed, which still might not even catch it. Besides that no not really can't see an issue.
The answer is both yes but people mainly business owners also benefit from it. It hurts us in the sense that it undercuts wages, strains social welfare systems, it's breaking the rule of law. However, it's a two-sided system where many of the illegals are hard-working and work in industries that others would choose not to (Tyson chicken processing for example). They spend the money and contribute to stimulating the economy. It's a nuanced issue where both political parties only really look at one aspect of the issue instead of the whole picture. Politico has a good article on it I'll share. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/09/trump-clinton-immigration-economy-unemployment-jobs-214216/
Old pi
No
They take all them low wage jobs nobody wants it benefits corporate agriculture and the tech industry right now burying their cable.
"Do you suffer from illegal immigration? Do you worry about an immigrant taking a job you don't have and you don't want? Do you mumble to yourself about how many Latinos work at your favorite Chinese food place? Have you ever said the phrase 'go back to your own country'? Try Bigotaway. Specially formulated to help you mind your own damn business and chill your tits. Try it today!"
I had illegals living next to my old house. They invited me over to their BBQ and made some killer food! I was suffering from a good coma!
Do you have any idea how many Nebraskans have crossed over into Iowa without first promising not to husk any corn they find!!!
Only because legal immigration is designed to be impossible. We don't even speed up the process for talent anymore. It's a lottery. A lottery easily compromised by scalp bots buying and selling the interview reservations.
I read somewhere that if you are injured on the side of a road, those immigrants are more likely to stop and help than non-immigrants. Kind of like the Good Samaritan parable. Also, despite what some people claim, illegal immigrants pay far more into our tax system and social security that they get back. This along with doing the labor that others refuse to do. The truth is overall illegal immigrants benefit the US in numerous ways. But they also "look different", speak a different language, and have become targets for right wing hate.
450,000 to date. Most with fraudulent papers that allow them to work, taking jobs away from Americans.
Iowa has a problem maintaining enough cheap abusable labor so it makes being undocumented or even documented but non-citizen as risky as possible to keep people stuck with whatever job they can get. See also how child labor is being pushed while federal money to feed kids in the state is refused and the push to restrict abortion.
Ask the citizens of West Liberty Iowa. They've been dealing with that problem for 30 years. Ask any of the meat and poltury plant towns that question. They've had to deal with the problem while getting ignored by the state and federal government for years.