Anyone living in Las Vegas for any extended period confronts the question: Am I benefiting from illegal immigration? Usually the answer is yes!
Here are examples from my life.
Several years ago, I was renovating a condo that I had purchased through a sheriff’s auction. The contractor I hired was excellent, but one day he called and said that a stucco job I requested was probably best done if we “hired from the corner,” meaning getting two or three day laborers hanging out in parking lots at Home Depot or Lowes. “It’s not only that they’re cheap, they also do a far better job at exterior stucco work than anyone I could hire legally.” The contractor was right. They did a great job and it cost $200 cash.
All my adult life, I have always had a maid or cleaning service to my home. I’m a pretty neat person. I don’t smoke (anything) and don’t have pets. I straighten up the house and the kitchen once a day and twice a year I declutter the house. If I haven’t played with something in a year — and it’s not a favorite book or heirloom — I either sell it, donate it, or as a last resort throw it out.
But every other week, I do appreciate someone going through the house to give everything a good cleaning, especially the kitchen and bathrooms. When I first moved back to Las Vegas four years ago, I hired a cleaning service. They sent a mother-daughter team (who obviously were originally from the southern US). They charged $130, but after some initial good months, I noticed that they were in and out of my apartment in less than 50 minutes and missed a lot of stuff.
I then hired the team that cleans my office (part of a larger office complex). According to my office landlord, this mother-daughter team has been working for them for several years and she’s been quite happy with them. She didn’t know if they were legal residents. I pay them $100 per visit. They’re in my apartment for about 2.5 hours and the place looks great. Although they say a payment by check is okay, they prefer cash — and the mother half of the team speaks almost no English.
I also appreciate a clean car. Every other Thursday, a service comes to my office parking lot and thoroughly cleans a car for $25 (cash only). I only use them once a month, but they do such a thorough job that I skipped my annual detailing job this year. Again, it appears that everyone working there (except the owner of the business) could be illegal labor.
Of course, I’m profiling based on nationality and language skills, but I’m also not pursuing the issue, because I’m personally benefiting from it. While I tell people that I’m concerned about illegal immigration and realize that the main attraction for crossing the border is illegal employment, I also realize that I get a much better service because if it.
’Tis a puzzlement!
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There are so many things wrong with this post, I won’t even begin to address all of them. If that worker hits your car on the way home, you might change your mind when you pay for everything as my buddy did. Or when this worker pays no taxes for the work. Meaning that all the services performed in our community, they pay for none of it, while money is sent to Mexico. Or displaces real companies that have to pay more to employ workers. The mentality that picking up people on the corner is better than paying extra for legit companies is sickening to me. Support legit citizens, immigrants, and businesses please. Sure it might be better and cheaper today, but just keep buying cheap stuff from China while you are at it.
PS: I have 2 friends and myself that after letting these “good workers” in their house, were either robbed by them later or stuff was missing. Insider jobs, 100%. Most are hard working and honest, but you never know.
I have saved money like this all my life, including buying stuff made in China from Walmart. Never had a single problem. In fact, it helped me retire early.
Ah the joys of cheap labor. Deport them all!!!
This is garbage. At the very least, it’s a very selfish viewpoint of someone (and I’m disappointed to read it’s Jeffrey Compton), who says illegal immigration is beneficial because he enjoys paying below-market rates exploiting people who need money to survive and who would charge far more if they were legal residents participating in the legal job market. Compton leaves out all the costs to society and the social support network of people here consuming resources and not paying federal or state taxes because they’re “invisible.” Not to mention those here illegally who commit crimes against U.S. citizens, most notably street gangs. Or, U.S. citizen Kate Steinle, shot to death by an illegal alien as another example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Kate_Steinle
I’m disappointed LVA’s editors did not use better judgement in screening article submissions and choosing to include Compton’s. I am all for freedom of speech and the First Amendment and not promoting censorship, but you do screen content–as all editors do–and censor certain ones. I’m disappointed you didn’t use better discretion and screen out Compton’s article as one to suggest we read.
Nevada Democrats are about to raise your taxes big time. One reason may be the over-6,000 illegal HOMELESS people on your streets. One reason for skyrocketing healthcare most people can no longer afford is out-of-control government spending. We are hundreds of trillions of dollars in unfunded liabilities and other debt. Yet, all you care about is a few dollars you’re saving on a few things. You don’t understand the incredibly high costs related to having allowed many tens of millions of people to invade our Southern border. Our hospitals, medical services, prisons, schools, Food Stamps, Medicaid, & many other services are much harder to get and much more expensive compared to our incomes compared with a just a couple of decades ago, not to mention 30 years ago. The net loss to this country for decades of allowing many tens of millions of poorly educated menial workers is astronomical. Instead of answering your headline question with a couple of selfish, short-sighted anecdotes, why don’t you do a slight bit of research into the costs in money, harm, & serious harm done to the people of this country, at least to play devil’s advocate for your opinion to add a drop of balance.