The study of illegal workers (“Illegal workers can prosper, study finds,” Metro, Feb. 7) lends itself to different interpretations. Although the reporter took a more upbeat view, I see serious downsides.
Illegal workers lower the conditions of work and compensation below a living wage. Such conditions force American workers to look elsewhere.
Furthermore, the illegals, because of their lower incomes, do not pay taxes sufficient to offset the social services that they so heavily use. In effect, employers pocket the savings and pass the hidden costs on to the general public.
Those illegal workers who enter the mainstream do displace American citizens who have long done such work.
It should not be our responsibility to solve the overpopulation, unemployment and failed social policies of other nations and neglect the well-being of our own citizens.
