I recently read an excellent book titled How to Ruin the United States of America by Ben Stein and Phil DeMuth. One issue they discuss is the problem of illegal immigration in this country and I want to give you all an idea of just how bad the situation is (btw, this is my first post). U.S. figures estimate that there might be between 8-12 million illegal immigrants, with this number potentially being twice as high . Because many of these immigrants have very little education, they often make little wages and are entitled to all sorts of welfare programs and benefits that are meant for US citizens. Because so many of them are working at low-paying jobs, the costs of these welfare programs outweigh an illegal's contribution to the economy: “An immigrant with less than a high school degree will use $89,000 more in taxes and services in the course of his lifetime than he pays in taxes.” The authors also state: “...the total net fiscal cost of immigration could be reasonably estimated between $80 and $110 billion annually.” You may wonder how it's so easy to fool the government into getting these entitlements when not being a US citizen, but the following fact makes you realize the sheer incompetence of the Federal government: “Meanwhile, more than a half-million workers report having the following social security number: 000-00-0000.” These 500,000 workers were not caught!

The thing that I hate is that many people will argue these these jobs are jobs that “Americans won't do!” How can anyone makes this statement? Where does this assertion come from exactly? Americans will do these jobs, especially now considering that so many Americans are having trouble paying the bills. The worst thing is that the illegals bring wages down for everyone because there is someone out there willing to do the work off the books (illegally) and thus for less. Worst of all is that many of the Arab terrorists that have come into this country came through illegal immigration: Mahmoud Abu Halima and Ghazi Irbahim Abu Mezer to name a couple. Not only is illegal immigration sapping our welfare dollars, it is thus also a security threat. Furthermore, many illegals that come through the border do not assimilate into American culture – unlike our white and black ancestors. Instead, they force American culture to assimilate. One need only to travel to the ghettos of California to see this fact in action. Congress and the president have done practically nothing to stop the onslaught. Only 4% of the American/Mexican border is fenced. The American government only punished 3 companies in 2005 for hiring illegals. And the Democratic party loves it! If amnesty is granted again to illegals, the Democratic party has just assimilated a few million voters into their party, voters that would love nothing more than to collect more welfare benefits. Maybe this is why good ole' Obama suggested our children should all learn Spanish.

Note: Figures derived from How to Ruin the United States of America (2008)