May 20, 2008

Mary Sanchez/KC Star tries downplaying attrition; questionable race comments?

Mary Sanchez of the Kansas City Star offers a rather interesting column called "Are immigration raids really doing what backers claim?" She attempts to claim that the recent ICE raids haven't had much of an impact vis-a-vis reducing the level of illegal immigration. But, she seems to go a bit further. Unfortunately, I'm out of my depth concerning that questionable part, and it's too bad that "liberals" like those from ThinkProgress would give her a pass because I get the feeling that if, say, Pat Buchanan wrote something like this they'd be all over it quicker than you could feign outrage:

People in Greeley say many of the illegal immigrants have simply returned or been replaced by newer, also illegal workers. Others report that the raid created an anti-Latino mood, causing some legally resident Latinos to leave town, lest they be targeted, too.

And there is a new influx to Greeley: hundreds of Somali refugees, who are legally allowed to live and work in the United States. The same situation is playing out in Grand Island, Neb., also the scene of a 2006 Swift raid. Hundreds of Somalis, many from Minnesota, are arriving to take the jobs once held by the Latino immigrants. But officials there also do not believe the illegal or legal Latino population has changed much.

Some argue that undocumented Latinos are taking jobs that could be filled by native-born workers. In the case of slaughterhouses — where wages start at $12 an hour — this seems not to be true. If it were, why are they now being filled by Somalis, who have crossed the world, and then the nation, to resettle in mid-sized American cities?

Somalis and other refugees are hardly the answer to this nation’s low-wage labor needs, however one may feel about their appearance in Greeley and Grand Island. Those needs can only be solved by Congress — which, by failing to alter immigration laws so that Latino immigrant workers could arrive and be hired legally, laid the path for these federal raids.

If she weren't a "liberal" and a supporter of illegal activity, I'm sure they'd be all over it.

Posted to Immigration2008a at May 20, 2008 03:59 PM