Make it difficult for illegals

I completely disagree with Michael Russo's assertion regarding illegal immigrants ("Why illegals must stay," March 2008). I am a siding contractor in business more than 30 years. I face this problem every day as I bid for work and try to stay busy. This country does not have to spend billions of dollars to hunt down illegal immigrants and their families and deport them. We simply have to enforce the existing laws. We need to make it possible for employers to verify whether a person is here legally.

The fear of a tax audit keeps most people honest. The fear of a large fine from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) helps to keep the workplace safer. Those that hire illegals knowingly and use them to underbid legitimate contractors should be hit hard. If it is difficult for the illegals to gain employment, they will return to the warmer climate from whence they came.

We spend billions of dollars to educate their children and offer free healthcare (mine gets more expensive all the time) and other social services. What little they put back in taxes does not make up for what is spent. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says it costs nearly $55,000 for every adult illegal alien who enters our country after taking into account what they contribute.

If I hired an employee for a very low wage and went to my neighbor and asked him to contribute to his paycheck, what would be his answer? This is not a free market when an illegal immigrant works for his wages and then comes home and takes or uses the system for all of the social service needs for him and his family. That is socialism. Free enterprise made this country great. I should not have to subsidize my competition. If the illegal immigrants left this country, there might be a temporary shortage of construction workers. But the free market would kick in and wages would rise. And when wages went up, people would move back into our industry instead of away from it. It would be nice for a father to hand his business down to his son instead of having to encourage him to do something else.

Jim and Barbara Larsen
Jim Larsen Inc., West Jordan, Utah

Mike Russo responds: Thank you for taking the time to speak your mind on a controversial issue. Until I walk a few miles in your shoes, my opinions are questionable. However, we did find Dr. Ford's analysis and conclusions on the latest U.S. government statistics to be intriguing and worth a look.