Are "illegals" ruining the American economy?

Yes, they do, but the point is irrelevant. Both liberal and conservative wings of the Oligarchic Plutocracy Party wish to do nothing to close said borders.  Both have something to gain by leaving them wide open!

And they will REMAIN wide open no matter who the dumba$$ masses choose to be their president.

You would know as one of the front runners. Have a nice day.

I doubt it very seriously, but It's hard to tell.  Immigration has become a political football to be used to avoid discussion about real problems. The real truth is that American business has always needed and wanted    uneducated, easily exploited workers willing to work for substandard wages. Industry providing jobs for illegals is the problem.    Ever hear of a candidate for POTUS  announcing a total crackdown on businesses hiring illegals ?....LMAO !

BINGO....Ever hear a politician threatening a crackdown on industry hiring illegals..???

Start with the report I linked to.

That's true. Businesses who hire illegals should also be punished.

I don't think so. I think govt. is ruining the American economy and I think Americans are the ones allowing it. In the end, we'll have no one but ourselves to blame.

Hello R:

Nahhh...  They find where they FIT into the economy, and then they WORK it.  Look..  I'm old.  I don't wanna lift heavy things.  So, when I have heavy things that need lifting, I do what EVERY red blooded American does.  I go to Home Depot and hire somebody hanging around their parking lot.  Do I ask to see their papers???  Does it make me a bad citizen if I don't?

Now, if WHITE Americans offered to DO that work, I'd hire THEM..  But, they don't, and I HAVE heavy things to lift. 

excon

That's correct.  Ultimately, the illegals are not the problem. 

Corporations are ruining the American economy through their failure to pay their share of taxes, excessive salaries for corporate executives, paying low wages for all others, and politicians who bow to the golden calf. 

Is illegal immigration really wrecking the economy though, or just making life harder for the semi-skilled workers? And is that really a result of illegal immigration? It seems to me that there are many other more important factors, like the rise of the mega-corporations, and the sub-prime lending crisis. 

Where is your data on the under-the-table dealings of illegal immigrants? Where is your data on their alleged misuse of the healthcare system? What is your source of the 14% of all crimes commited by them? How do you know that most of them "refuse" to learn English? Where is your data on government subsidies collected by them? Where is your data on their education level?

Yes, businesses use them for cheap labour, and whose fault is that exactly?

Exactly, they are used as a scapegoat, something the average American can latch onto, a boogeyman created by the right, and exploited by Daddy Trump as the root of all problems that he will easily fix, instantly, if only they will elect him. It's the kind of con only a child would fall for.

Decades ago, Mexicans were granted seasonal, temporary work visas all the time. They came to do their gardening and whatever other odd jobs, supported their families legally and proudly with good honest hard work, and Americans had a source of cheap labour. Everybody was happy. Then the visa program was canned, and now we have the current mess.

Fair enough. I would agree that most of the problems are coming from the top. Some of it is beyond anyone's control. To blame it on immigration and by extension the immigrants themselves, is just the laziest kind of peddling of easy answers there is.

Pretty much. I can't understand how Americans are so far up their own asses that they can't see that they bear much of the responsibility. Americans buy the cheap labour. Americans buy the cheap drugs. Americans are the johns who treat Mexico like a prostitute. So lets lay the resposibility for the problems at the feet of the johns for a change.

Sure they are "taking jobs" - because employers give them. If you want to solve the problem, go after the employers, don't demonize the people who are so desperate they are willing to risk breaking the law. 

The study shows that they do compensate the US economy for the services they use, although not equally on every level. You have to realize that 2.4 billion is a tiny drop in the US economy. 

Much easier to blame the little people that you can push around easily though, right?

Yeah, right. But thanks for stopping by.

I never said that either.

You seem to be the one abusing drugs.

So illegals aren't a problem in Canada? Who cares?

Ah, typical "liberal" rebuttal. Demanding someone to prove a negative.

Cheap drugs? As in cheap ethical medications? What are you smoking?

Doesn't that come back to Congress and their writing of the tax laws?