Is there an influx of illegal immigrants living in Dallas, Texas (Plano: apartment, insurance)

[js57]

it gets worse everyday, go to "google" type, dallas texas illegal immigration.
I have owned a contracting buisness here for 25 years & i can no longer
find any employees that can speak english ( nor do they have a desire to ).
having been around them for the last ten years on a daily basis, they make
no bones about it, they plan to take this country over. dont blame them,
it's the politicans fault, they are backed by big buisness. illegal immigration,
cheap labor. DUH ! do something about it, now. Numbers U.S.A. .com

[FarNorthDallas]

I see illegals in Dallas. The nanny across the street is illegal. The next door neighbor's housekeepers are illegal. At my former place of employment there are currently 30 illegals on staff. Usually there are more, but they are really making an effort to replace them, but it's tough when no one applies for the jobs. The SSA says they have to be gone in 30 days. These folks bought houses, participated in 401(k), but never took health insurance.

The cooks in my highrise building deli that I used to work at are illegal. We just had some work done on the house and I bet the helpers were all illegal - carpet installers, tree trimmers. I have legal Hispanic friends (former co-workers) who have relatives that I've met that are illegal.

It's hard to tell by looking. I know legal Latinos who don't speak English (they came in with the last amnesty program). And I can only assume lawn care guys are illegal, but I've never spoken with them to know for sure like I have all of the above folks.

I used to go to the Mexican markets with my Hispanic friend and get lunch. You really needed Spanish to go there or else you might end up eating cow tongue tacos and not know it, but you can eat lunch for super cheap there. I bet lots of the other customers were illegal.

[lukeache]

Illegal immigrants are everywhere and they are getting smarter. Many have moved out of the obvious areas like Arizona, Texas, California and have started moving here to the Upper Midwest. Here in Minneapolis, we have a lot of illegal immigrants(although they are concentrated in the low-middle income areas). Small towns in Nebraska are having problems with illegal immigration too, Lexington, Nebraska, a small town in the middle of the corn fields now is majority Hispanic, crime has gone up, gang activity, this town now is known as "Mexington". I dont hate these people because I realize that they come from pretty screwed up places and most are just trying to make a living. I would say, if you live in any middle-upper income neighborhood in this country, you will encounter very few illegal immigrants(they cant get good jobs and afford to live in nice places, obviously, because they are illegal). The only ones that truly bother me are the ones that are committing crimes, dealing drugs, I truly think those deserve to be arrested and deported. The immigration system is broken as is..so it is a complex problem!

[galore]

Originally Posted by js57

I have owned a contracting buisness here for 25 years & i can no longer find any employees that can speak english ( nor do they have a desire to ).

How much do you pay your workforce?

[galore]

I have been through this immigration process and am a legal immigrant. From my experience, American Citizens have very limited knowledge about the immigration system. Contrary to popular prejudice, it is _extremely_ difficult to become a citizen and it also takes a VERY long time (because of huge backlogs).

We, as a society, create a very enticing market for illegal immigrants and then some ***** about their presence.
There is a big demand for cheap labor because people want convenience without huge cost. Lawncare, Fastfood, Janitors, Nannys, home construction etc.
All those shiny new houses in the shiny new suburbs with the convenient life - not possible without cheap labor.

So we offer those low paying jobs that don't attract legal residents (which includes citizens) but attract illegal residents (mostly from Mex).
And the immigration law does NOT have a provision for letting in low skilled workers.

We all either have to pay A LOT MORE for our convenient lifestyle or change the immigration laws or stop bitching about illegal immigrants.

I, personally, can't stand people who enjoy the fruit of illegal immigrant's labor and then complain about their presence. This is a severe lack of morals and a big character flaw.

[south-to-west]

Originally Posted by galore

I have been through this immigration process and am a legal immigrant. From my experience, American Citizens have very limited knowledge about the immigration system. Contrary to popular prejudice, it is _extremely_ difficult to become a citizen and it also takes a VERY long time (because of huge backlogs).

We, as a society, create a very enticing market for illegal immigrants and then some ***** about their presence.
There is a big demand for cheap labor because people want convenience without huge cost. Lawncare, Fastfood, Janitors, Nannys, home construction etc.
All those shiny new houses in the shiny new suburbs with the convenient life - not possible without cheap labor.

So we offer those low paying jobs that don't attract legal residents (which includes citizens) but attract illegal residents (mostly from Mex).
And the immigration law does NOT have a provision for letting in low skilled workers.

We all either have to pay A LOT MORE for our convenient lifestyle or change the immigration laws or stop bitching about illegal immigrants.

I, personally, can't stand people who enjoy the fruit of illegal immigrant's labor and then complain about their presence. This is a severe lack of morals and a big character flaw.

Amen and hallelujah, galore!!!

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by galore

I have been through this immigration process and am a legal immigrant. From my experience, American Citizens have very limited knowledge about the immigration system. Contrary to popular prejudice, it is _extremely_ difficult to become a citizen and it also takes a VERY long time (because of huge backlogs).

We, as a society, create a very enticing market for illegal immigrants and then some ***** about their presence.
There is a big demand for cheap labor because people want convenience without huge cost. Lawncare, Fastfood, Janitors, Nannys, home construction etc.
All those shiny new houses in the shiny new suburbs with the convenient life - not possible without cheap labor.

So we offer those low paying jobs that don't attract legal residents (which includes citizens) but attract illegal residents (mostly from Mex).
And the immigration law does NOT have a provision for letting in low skilled workers.

We all either have to pay A LOT MORE for our convenient lifestyle or change the immigration laws or stop bitching about illegal immigrants.

I, personally, can't stand people who enjoy the fruit of illegal immigrant's labor and then complain about their presence. This is a severe lack of morals and a big character flaw.

I wholeheartedly agree.

We want cheap, cheap, cheap but then when something happens like the recent product recalls they get all up in arms. Well don't buy stuff at the cheapest price you can find. If there is no market or demand for the product no matter how cheap the price is then the retailer is NOT going to keep it on their shelves. I'm actually one of those that is more than willing to pay for quality and service and have witnessed firsthand in our own business how our trade relations have hurt our own industries. It makes me appreciate things like quality and customer service a lot more along w/ showing me what places to NOT spend my money.

[FarNorthDallas]

At my former job the illegals are working in positions paying $10-15/hour. There is not a lower pay for illegals and a higher pay for legals. They all make the same. There are simply NO legals applying to work these jobs.

[USA_Mom]

Originally Posted by FarNorthDallas

At my former job the illegals are working in positions paying $10-15/hour. There is not a lower pay for illegals and a higher pay for legals. They all make the same. There are simply NO legals applying to work these jobs.

It's not just in Dallas either. My family (mom's side and inlaws) are outside of New Orleans SINCE ABOUT 6 MONTHS AFTER KATRINA there are MULTIPLE fast food places that have signs that pay $10 per hour and if you work 40 hours you get benefits. Katrina is almost 2 years and the signs are still up as of end of July/beginning of August. I asked a manager when we were eating and he said "no one WANTS to work a 40 hour week." I dunno $1600 a month PLUS a $250-500 a month bonus (depending on the restaurant) seems like pretty decent money for a high school education than no money. But I'm naive that way and work. My sisters-in-law (except for one) don't. They won't do "jobs that are beneath them" and hence unfortunately my inlaws were (recently MIL got a bug up her behind and is finally tearing down the older house on the property that needs too much and kicking out her daughters and stuff) supporting them financially IN ALL WAYS. I mean I simply can't imagine being 45 years old, never having a job for more than a few months, and relying on mommy for my transportation and food.

[galore]

Originally Posted by FarNorthDallas

At my former job the illegals are working in positions paying $10-15/hour. There is not a lower pay for illegals and a higher pay for legals. They all make the same. There are simply NO legals applying to work these jobs.

I don't doubt that at all.

If no legal residents apply, but you get illegal applicants, and given that there are millions of legal residents (this label of course includes citizens), the logical conclusion is that the pay and the type of work isn't attractive to legal residents.

I am sure, if you offer $50/hour, you'll get legal resident applicants. Of course, I assume this wage is way too high for the service/product this job is about. So the service charge or the product price must go up. Which means, if there are no people other than illegal immigrants willing to do the job for the wage, you'll either have to hire illegal immigrants or jack up the price you charge for the customer. But because your competition will hire illegal immigrants, you won't be competitive and therefore you also have to hire illegals, become more productive or close shop.

It really boils down to what people are willing to pay.