Exactly what horrible jobs are illegal immigrants sparing us from having to do?

i agree with william o . the other problem is that cheap labor stops companies from innovating their processes. Farmers need not develop a lettuce harvester when they have cheap human harvesters. that's the type of economic reality that actually keeps the price of a head of lettuce (or whatever) higher than if a modern harvesting device were employed. Modernization and Innovation is what creates wealth (real wealth) in this country. Its also what differentiates a "modern developed" country from a "third world" country. NECESSITY is the mother of invention. illegal immigration is suppressing the need for innovation.

Most respondents have cited agriculture as an example of jobs left unfilled by Americans. Agriculture has long depended on undocumented immigrant labor. That is not true for other fields. For example, when the Swift meatpacking plant in Colorado was raided, citizens and legal residents lined up to apply. While seasonal migrant jobs in agriculture have been filled largely by undocumented immigrants for decades, jobs in construction, meat processing, restaurants, and lodging used to be done by Americans and still are. 75% of construction workers are citizens or legal immigrants. Americans and legal immigrants won't pick lettuce for $5 an hour, but they will put up drywall for $20 an hour. All the stories about produce rotting in the fields indicate that as part of immigration reform, the number of H-2A seasonal agricultural worker visas will need to greatly increased. Heck, this can be done now without waiting for a comprehensive reform package that Obama says the country isn't ready for yet.

I am so glad to read the truth written for all to see. It's nothing but propaganda. President Bush threw that phrase out there and illegal supporters have used it to death.

It's not true, never was, never will be. Americans made this country what it is, and when our government gets rid of all the illegals we will make it great once again.

If illegals are so invaluable, and so hard working why are their countries such a mess that they are running from as fast as they can.

And if they are so invaluable why is it illegal for them to work, live and cross our borders.

It's a slap in the face to this country that, with such a high unemployment rate, somebody says that there are jobs we're too lazy to do. The fact of the matter is we won't do a back-breaking, dangerous, or any other kind of job for next to nothing. We can't be hired for less than minimum wage anyway, even if we're desperate enough to want a job that pays that. Americans did these jobs before the greasy Mexicans did and we'll do them after they're gone.

Its just a lie that the people that have a vested interest in illegals.The only ones that want illegals here are ones that either are sleeping with one or has a family member that is here illegally.But I also think if our employers would stop hiring them and we took away welfare we will not have this problem.There are not ANY JOB that americans wouldn't do it just that the employers can get these illegals cheap.

Murder? An illegal alien is 18 times more likely to murder you than an American citizen.

DUI KILLER? An illegal aliens is 17 times more likely to be involved in a DUI Fatality than an American.

Child molestation? rape? robbery? the list goes on and on! All sorts of crimes that illegals are more willing to do.

As far as keeping produce prices low:

According to Philip E. Martin, Professor of Immigration and farm labor at the University of California, Davis, consumers who pay $1 for a head of lettuce are giving 19 cents to the farmer and 6 cents to the farm worker. If we doubled the wages of farm workers, the cost of a head of lettuce would increase by 6 cents to $1.06. For labor costs to force lettuce to $5 per head, farmers would have to pay field workers $4.06 per head of lettuce. At that rate, it would be the kind of work "every American would want to do."

The problem American industries have is not that of the cost of labor. The problem is that if one company uses illegal labor, then other companies have to do the same to compete. For example, in the agri-business if one grower can outdo another by lowering the cost of a head of lettuce by just pennies using illegal labor, then his profits will increase. Inevitably, all growers must do the same thing to survive.

NOTE: rlstaehle- sorry I had it in my pictures file for years! yahoo won't let me use my old one (size restriction) so I dug this one up! As you can tell I had to crop it to meet yahoo size requirements!

That's just more propaganda designed to fool people who are incapable of rational thought - just like ' they just want a better life'. I sure never met anyone who wanted a worse life.

It is along the same lines as the slave owners used in the 19th century - saying slaves wouldn't be able to survive on their own. The rich will say anything so they can get richer.

In short, the whole pathetic argument that illegals do jobs others won't was fabricated by racist people who were looking for any and all excuses for their people to not have to obey our immigration laws. We will see what other excuses these pro-illegal La Raza members can come up with next to defend the systematic illegal invasion by their people into the U.S.

Construction, cleaning toilets, gardening, working in the fields

Happy now ?

Wait, I forgot to add that these jobs might have been done ONCE by legals, natives, citizens, etc, not anymore.

Today the legals, natives and citizens, might do these jobs. True.

But they DEMAND wages of $10/hour or more, vacations, health plan, retirement plan, and some other things. Otherwise, they rather stay at home collecting unemployment

If they were willing to work under the same conditions as the illegals, the fields would be full of legals, natives, and citizens and the unemployment offices would be practically empty

By the way, I am not ilegal, I was never ilegal, I am not sleeping with ilegals, I have no ilegal relatives, employees, neighbors, friends, etc

Just plain common sense and no prejudices. No redneck, no KKK, no nazis

Funny thing is, starting next Monday, I'm going back to one of those so called jobs that we wont do. 35% of illegals at last best guess are holding jobs in the construction trades.

Edit: HEY!! Willy O you stole my old avatar!!!

No sweat, use it in good health.

Edit: It did the same to me.