Cheap Labor Source
Big Business and Illegal Aliens
By Daniel Muniz

In the city I live in, San Antonio Texas, every homebuilder insists that they do not employ illegal aliens to build houses. On the surface, that rationalization seems correct because as general contractors, homebuilders do not build the houses; their subcontractors do. But in about every housing development in town, it is common knowledge that the subcontractors hire plenty of illegal aliens to do the work.

Consequently, the situation is very much the same for many cities across the country. As a result, these corporations can wash their hands of any guilt associated with the massive problem of illegal immigration since they can falsely assert that they are not doing anything wrong.

And it is not just homebuilders that do this. There are many other industries that employ the same tactics. That is, a parent company can claim that they are in no way involved in employing illegal aliens. And up to a certain point, that assertion is true but it is still patently misleading because it is the subcontractors that they hire who are the ones who recruit the illegal immigrants to do their work.

These big corporations know full well that the whole process is a sham and they also know full well that they are effectively shielded from any legal obligations as well as from any embarrassment since they can pin the blame on the companies that they have sourced out to. If their subcontractors are exposed, then they can easily find someone else.

And consumers, to a limited degree, are also involved in this scam. For instance, many of the neighbors in my new neighborhood agree that some sort of work on their houses has been done by illegal immigrants. But the cold reality is this. If I want to buy a new house, then I am going to have to accept the fact that at least part of it is going to be built by illegal labor.

The same goes for the food that we eat, the hotel rooms we stay in, the buildings where we shop and work at, and for many of the products and services in which low skilled, labor intensive jobs are in high demand.

Of course, not everybody is doing it. There are still a number of honest companies that play by the rules but they are at a significant competitive disadvantage because the practice of using illegal aliens is very widespread. This illicit workforce tremendously shaves costs and puts the payroll on a cash basis system that is under the table. And plus, the aliens can be exploited in so many different ways. They can be forced to work long hours for very little pay even in hazardous dirty conditions. And they can’t complain because they don’t have any rights.

Big Business Republicans want the illegal immigrants because they provide a cheap source of labor for many industries. In fact, certain experts estimate that at least a dozen industries, like homebuilding, would immediately collapse if all the illegal labor disappeared overnight. Dozens of other industries would also be severely impacted because of their indirect associations with companies that use such illicit labor.

In addition, there are also many corporations that want to serve illegal immigrants by offering them mortgages, credit cards, and a host of other products and services. This is a market of over 12 million under-served consumers and these companies don’t care if they are here legally or not because of there is a lot of money to be made off of them. And it doesn’t even matter if they are using false or stolen personal identities.

But this is a problem that also has the support and blessing of both political parties as well as current and previous presidential administrations. Both parties love illegal aliens and want more of them to enter this country.

Although Conservatives have always blamed Liberals for the illegal immigration, they need to start looking inside their own party.

Many elected Republicans, including the president, felt that nobody cared enough about the immigration problem and if anybody ever brought it up, it wouldn’t take much to sweep it back under the rug.

However, the Minute Men proved the Big Business Republicans wrong.

They helped focus national attention on illegal immigration which has put many Republicans politicians in an embarrassing situation. The corporations that are centered on labor intensive industries don’t want to lose their cheap labor. And after all, they are also big financial supporters for many GOP office holders. Likewise, many rank and file Republicans are now revolting against their own party members because of government inaction and acquiescence.

But will elected Republican officeholders choose their big dollar donors or will they choose principle?

Unfortunately, the answer has been obvious. That is, greed and breaking the law is more important than solving problems that hurt America. Many conservatives have now become furious with their elected officials and with their own party members especially when it is becoming apparent at how half-hearted the government’s plan is in dealing with the immigration problem.

Securing the border is only half of the problem. The other half of the problem has to be the businesses that hire the illegal aliens. Prosecution of these companies have been practically non-existent, thus there really is no deterrent involved to stop the employers from hiring them if no serious penalties are going to be levied.

Sadly, Conservatives are righteously indignant because our borders are insecure but they do not have the same vigor at going after the corporations that desire the illegal aliens.

Many right-wingers are often shocked to discover that Big Business Republicans would rather choose the fast buck over conservative values. Other right-wingers still have a Pollyanna view of the world that everything will work itself out because they feel that there has to be another reason, other than greed, to why elected Republicans continue to desire half-baked immigration plans instead of securing our borders and punishing corporations who hire illegal aliens.

And then there are others who still wonder why it is happening in the first place even though there are already millions of illegal aliens being hired by thousands of companies and that big corporations are offering them mortgages, car loans, bank accounts, and credit cards.

The harsh reality is that many Republican office holders think that the almighty dollar is far more important than conservative values and playing by the rules. Besides, they also have friends that can sell you a nice cheap house to move into.

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