Comments on: Illegal Aliens

By: Only In Florida

Only In Florida — Tue, 28 Jun 2005 14:33:29 +0000

I forgot to include in my earlier comments that another reason you see so many foreigners working in jobs that were once held by Americans is because the companies are hiring them [foreigners] because they work for minimum wage or below.

My husband used to work in an autoelectric plant in South Florida. This company had approximately 60 employees, 99% of which were Hatian.

After the company started hiring the Hatians they lost several of their clients because of the inferior products they were putting out. These products were inferior because the workers didn’t know what they were doing, and couldn’t be taught to do the job correctly because they didn’t speak or understand English. Of the few that did speak English, several of them told my husband that they were just there to collect a paycheck and didn’t care if the job was done right or not.

When my husband reported this to the management they told him that the reason they wouldn’t hire Americans is because the Hatians worked for cheap wages, and the clients they lost because of their inferior products equaled out because of the money they were saving by not having to pay a qualified American what the job was really worth.

After being an employee for 17 years, my husband quit that job because of the stress and illness it was causing him.

By: Only In Florida

Only In Florida — Tue, 28 Jun 2005 14:08:22 +0000

Living in Florida where we have a large population of aliens, both legal and illegal, I hear both sides of this issue often.

Yes, it is true that many aliens do the jobs that Americans won’t, but it is also true that the reason alot of Americans are not working in these jobs is because they are passed over for the job because the company is afraid of being accused of discrimination if they hire an American over an alien. My son experienced this when trying to get a job at a fast-food restraunt.

I have nothing against a foreigner working in the job-place, but dammit, if you are going to WORK in America, learn the language. Unless you’ve experienced it, you have no idea how frustrating it is to try and conduct your everyday life (shopping, banking, eating out, DMV, making a doctor’s appointment, etc.) when the person you’re dealing with does not speak OR have a good understanding of the English language. And it is not because they cannot afford to learn the language because almost every community in Florida provides free English classes.

And don’t even get me started on the Hatian drivers who are TAUGHT before coming to America that if they can cause an auto accident the American insurance companies will give them a new car. Is it any wonder that auto insurance rates in Florida have sky-rocketed in recent years?

It may sound like I’m prejudiced against foreigners. Let me assure you, I’m not, I have two son-in-laws and two grandchildren who are Hispanic that are cherished members of our family. It is those that come to this country and then expect to get everything for nothing that bothers me.

By: thordora

thordora — Fri, 17 Jun 2005 13:25:29 +0000

Besides which, I don’t see Americans lining up to do all the crap jobs that the aliens do EVERY DAY. And I don’t see anyone complaining when these people are cleaning your floors, cooking your food or picking your fruit. They contribute to you economy as well as you.

And they also happen to be human. How much has your president spent on a silly war so far? That could have been funnelled into your health care, instead of everyone getting knotted up over this dire issue of illegal workers.

By: Blueyes™

Blueyes™ — Thu, 16 Jun 2005 02:49:47 +0000

Just from the illegal aliens we’ve had to treat recently, one child came in tow with mother who had a valid visa but never bothered to get her children visas to come over here and I know for a fact they had free medical care where they were from.

Another child who is an illegal could be adopted by her aunt who is a valid citizen but the mother refuses and hence, no medical insurance. They even got their community to raise money for them and have now run out of that fund and the community is now blaming us because they have no funding for their medications that she needs. Any way you spin it we end up being the bad guy and loose money because there is no revenue coming in to replace the items/meds we have to give out for free.

We set up payment plans on everybody and anybody who needs them whether you have insurance or not.

By: Kate

Kate — Thu, 16 Jun 2005 00:10:57 +0000

I think you’re oversimplifying the isuue a bit. When illegal aliens “move here”, they don’t do it in the manner that an American might move to another country. They move here because where they come from, there are no jobs, no social programs for those that don’t have jobs, and basically no way to provide even basic necessities for their families. So they come here to work. And that’s what they do. How are they supposed to learn English? Should they absorb it through osmosois? If you were going to learn another language, you would probably take a class, but they have neither the time or the money to be taking classes. The only jobs they can get are minimum wage jobs, and they sometimes work 3 or more of them to support their families. If they come here, they have to come here illegally, since you can’t just decide you want to come here, fill out an application, and zap, you’re approved. 9 times out of 10, you won’t be. They don’t “expect free medical care”. If they could pay for it, most of them would. However, our medical system is not set up for poor people without insurance, even the ones in our own country. Not even taking into account the exorbitant price of medical care, most medical facilities will not set up a payment plan anymore with people of low income regardless of whether they’re a US citizen or not. These people are then forced to go to Emergency rooms or other places that will treat them regardless of their ability to pay.