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Nearly 1 in 10 California workers in U.S. illegally, study finds

September 4, 2014

immigrationIllegal immigrants comprise nearly 10 percent of California’s workforce, according to a study released Wednesday by USC researchers. [LA Times]

The study found that illegal immigrants account for 38 percent of workers in California’s agricultural industry and 14 percent of the state’s construction workforce. All together, workers who entered California illegally contribute $130 billion annually to the state’s gross domestic product.

“It’s a population deeply embedded in the labor market, neighborhoods and social fabric of the state,” said USC sociology professor Manuel Pastor, who worked on the report.

USC researchers conducted the study in conjunction with the California Immigrant Policy Center. They used census data and statistics from the Labor Department and the Department of Homeland Security.

The study also found that half of California’s illegal immigrants have lived in the state for at least 10 years, and nearly 75 percent live in households that include a U.S. citizen. Approximately 58 percent of illegal immigrant workers in California do not have health insurance.

In total, about 2.6 million immigrants are estimated to be living in California illegally.


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Why does the left supprot a $15 mimimum wage?

Easy…increased Payroll taxes baby.


Next.


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Quick question, is your name Rich or are you stating the fact that you are wealthy? Both?


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Proper nouns have a capital as in names “Rich”

adjatives like being wealty like “rich” are not capitalized.


Why someone’s financial background would matter anyway is only because some have been sucked into the Us vs Them class envy game….a losers game all the time.


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Lol, excellent grammar lesson for the ignorant!


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I disagree. I think their reasoning is exactly what they say it is: that is what it takes to live a basic decent lifestyle — particularly given the cost of housing for those who didn’t buy one 30+ years ago. Now there may be some unintended consequences of doing so which they refuse to acknowledge but this is not a case of disingenuous revenue-raising for most people on the left. (Some of the top party leadership may have that view but they don’t say so if they do.)


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Self Directed Deportation For Illegal Aliens:


1. Do not allow Illegal Aliens to work in USA without approved documentation.


2. Do not allow free public education.


3. Do not allow free health care.


4. Do not allow free food stamps.


5. Do not allow free housing assistance.


6. Do not allow free tuition waivers at Cuesta College.


Enforce the law and improve security not only at borders, but in our communities, public schools, and across the USA.


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In other words….use the very same rules Mexico has in place for their illegal Immigrants!


Na we can’t do that…we could be called Racists!


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You may recall that the California vote to block certain benefits to illegal aliens was suspended by US District Court Judge Marianna Pfaelzer who said she needed years to study it and thus invalidated the no-hate, common senses vote of millions of Californians. This goes on all the time.


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@falconbh You forgot the most important one:


7. If you ever enter the US illegally, you may never become an American citizen. (period – as the anointed one so often says).


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Hummm… another conclusion of this study must be that illegals have a much stronger work ethic than citizens and people who are here legally.


The article says there are “about 2.6 million” illegals in the state. That works out to 6.8% of the 38 million people in the state. In order for illegals to be 10% of the workforce, their workforce participation rate must be about 50% higher than the rest of us.


So much for the lazy Mexican stereotype!


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If the illegals were to leave, California’s water crisis would intantly disappear and so would the produce markets, resturants as well as the availability of employees for the labor intensive jobs.


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That’s the Lie Big Corporate Businesses have been telling us for years. In truth what would happen is that they would be forced to pay a wage that would bring people our of the welfare rolls and onto the work rolls. I’m sick and tied of subsidizing the farmers so they can pay slave wages to the Illegals and then I pick up the social tab. Charge me $0.50 more for a head of lettuce and stop your crying about the need for slave labor, what is this China?


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Well said!


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Give Common Core some time, and soon we will be like China! A neo-aristocrats dream come true! Remember, then end goal is to get us all working for them.


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Briefly. Wages would rise, as would benefits, and workers willing to do the work would apply. If we also cut out extensive social programs, reduced time on welfare, etc., that would motivate people to work.


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” said USC sociology professor Manuel Pastor,”


My Degree is in Sociology with a minor in Cultural Anthropology, therefore I’m at least to a certain extent informed about the subject. In addition I spent years in southern California being pushed out of resources by some of these illegal immigrants. I also worked Construction as many aspects of this field became dominated by immigrants legal or otherwise. There is a tendency when a certain numerical mass is achieved that many of these people are not so sweet as they may have once been.


I’m being serious when I say I’m not sure I’m in a sovereign United States of America anymore? But rest assured it was not me who sold out, it is no secret who has, lots of Americans have. Not only large Corporations but many smaller companies, individuals, etc have enabled and hired illegal immigrants.


I do have a grasp of the economics and politics driving this. My interests are more Cultural etc. That is why I have devoted myself perusing: Greek, Sanskrit, Avestan, etc. rather than Spanish. I for one will take my chances. It is class war, the preferred few vs the common class. That’s putting it mildly.


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Rich in MB what you say is true however let’s not forget the ‘Big Businesses’ who have legally shipped the semi-skilled work overseas. So the people in those countries don’t even need to come here to take away American jobs. All those customer service jobs, remember when you could call a company customer service line and speak to someone whose accent wasn’t so thick you could understand what they were saying. Also remember, although they are here illegally at least the majority of them are paying taxes. The jobs shipped overseas no one is paying taxes on them, especially not the corporations.


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“although they are here illegally at least the majority of them are paying taxes”


Rocky, put down the medical marry jane and wake up. The minimal amounts of payrol and sales taxes paid by illigal immigrants in no way even comes close to the costs they place on California Taxpayers. Public education, healthcare, WIC, and every other free handout California gives the illegals. You can live like a KING being a poor Govnt hand out illegal immigrant in California compared to being poor in Mexico. I know, I’ve lived in Mexico for 4yrs and know what real povery is, not the USA cable-tv and smart phone povery we have here!


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Rich you totally miss the point…I didn’t say they pay enough taxes to make up what the government gives in welfare to the big corporations, I said they at least pay taxes! Whereas those in other countries don’t pay any taxes to our rolls including the corporations!


Seeing as how you’re “Rich” you probably don’t pay half the taxes the middle class pay, if there is even such a population anymore. Because yes, they are the ones paying the taxes to support all the welfare given out for all those costs you rant about.


As for the mary jane comment; and it is ‘mary’ not ‘marry’, what in the world would lead you to believe I indulge! Perhaps it’s your perception being from the “Rich” neighborhood!


Bully for you…you don’t need to live in Mexico to comprehend what real poverty is like, it’s here too. I bet you don’t realize how many young children go to bed each night hungry.


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Mary vs Marry….the proper noun Rich vs the adjative and lower case rich. Hope that helps. Talk about assumptions, Rocky how many of them did you make in your post? Agian…why…why go after ME and not the issue? Bingo…you can’t handle the truth so you would rather go after the messanger. We see it all the time…sad when we do…but here we go again.


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“Approximately 58 percent of illegal immigrant workers in California do not have health insurance.”


Why would they? They still can get free healthcare. Add education, drivers license, no trash service or dump fees, ………… not surprised the percentage isn’t higher.


Heck…got a life threating illness or want a sex change…….just come on up and join the California penal system. Problem solved.


However, I do give it up to them. Amazing job of a bloodless coup to get California back. Good for them – they deserve it by taking advantage of what Sacramento offers.


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Did they have tp spend who knows what to conduct this study.Doesn’t everybody already know this?


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In other words, if you don’t have a Job and you are a lower skilled worker, it’s because your Country has sold out your Job/oportunity to an Illegal Immigrant.


Big Business LOVES the illegal work force for cheaper labor and the Democrats love them as future voters and to supply the permenant underclass they need for the class warefare game.


Open Border Policies have destroyed the middle class who have to now compete with people (good hard working people I might add from Mexico and Central America) but still people that were making $15/day in their home Country that are happy to work for low wages and NEVER complain because it is so much more than they could have made back home.


Mr Low Skilled Worker…this is your job competition…and they will work you under the table for much less than will motivate you to get out of bed in the morning.


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“Big Business LOVES the illegal work force for cheaper labor and the Democrats love them as future voters and to supply the permanent underclass they need for the class warfare game.”


Well, I think you got about 1/3 of that right; yes, big business loves to hire illegal immigrants, but don’t forget that some small businesses do as well, and then look at the wealthy individuals hiring nannies and housekeepers also.


As for “future voters”; I’m sure that more and more people would register as Republicans if they could find any positive accomplishments elected Republicans have enacted that benefit something other than the corporations (and I do realize that far too many elected Democrats also kneel down before the altar of big money and do their bidding), but last time I checked I could not find anything the Republicans have done that helps the average citizen. Jobs bills? Extending unemployment benefits? Attempting to control healthcare costs? If it isn’t a “tax break” you usually won’t find any Republican names signed on as sponsors.


As for class warfare (or was that a Freudian slip? Class welfare? Isn’t that what all the tax breaks for the wealthy are, welfare for the rich?) Which party really perpetuates the reality of pitting the haves against the have less and the have nots? Which party is best at manipulating the media into reporting on “attacks on the wealthy”? Don’t forget that the media is a serious cheerleader for the rich since the media is mostly in the hands of some 5 or 6 large corporations, and most of the talking heads on TV and radio networks are very wealthy as well. Any mention of class warfare is usually brought up by those on the side of the wealthy.


One consideration to fix the illegal immigration problem is restructure our tax code to NOT give breaks to those companies that export jobs; better paying jobs here in America will put Americans back to work.


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Ha ha ha…we have a party hack here I see that actually THINKS the DEMS are not the party of Big Business every bit as much as the Repubs…ha ha ha. Sorry bobfromsanluis, that talking point is as dead as Amnesty. Until you realize that BOTH parties are equally bad…then you are trapped and played the fool.


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Yeah: Rich, meet bobfromsanluis, our resident DCC hack. His responses all boil down to: “hate bush / hate republicans” then his head goes back into the sand until his masters’ tug pulls it out once more.


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