Illegal immigration: More at stake than you think

The writer below makes a reasonable case based on what he knows. What he doesn't know is that Australia is a major exporter of agricultural product WITHOUT illegals to do the work. How come? There are various answers to that -- with mechanization high on the list -- but if Australia can do it so can Americans. If the supply of illegals were cut off, lots of U.S. farmers would be hopping on a plane to Australia to learn how

And if food stamps were cut off during harvest season, that would have a salutary effect too. American blacks are the descendants of people used for agricultural labor so they obviously have the capacity for it

Ask most Americans about "illegal immigration" and they are likely to conjure an image of someone of Hispanic origin swimming across the Rio Grande or evading border patrolmen in the desert. The reality is that just who is "illegal," how they got here and their impact on our society is much more complex than the visual impression we get from television news.

The Department of Homeland Security estimates that between 27 and 57 percent of the country's 12 million to 14 million "illegals" are visa overstays — people who arrived legally with temporary, non-immigrant status and didn't leave the country when their visas expired. Government policies perpetuate the problem because those who overstay their visa, once they leave, can't ever come back legally due to their overstay violation.

The bumper sticker solution

I'm generally a law-and-order type, and I used to believe that if the first thing you do when you come to this country is break the law by entering it illegally, you ought to be rounded up and sent home.

But I've evolved. Illegal immigration is far too complicated an issue, with wide-ranging social, economic and emotional considerations; we shouldn't expect a solution to be found on a bumper sticker.

So far, the federal government has yet to get the solution right. This is due in part to splintered factions of labor unions, business and agricultural groups, and "human rights" activists with divergent interests. As a result of federal inaction, several states have attempted to solve the illegal immigration problem within their borders with quick-fixes that are long on rhetoric, short on solutions and with devastating economic impacts — particularly on the farm economy, which relies heavily on immigrant labor.

The Georgia model

Last year Georgia enacted a tough law to rid the state of illegal immigrants, including a provision for employers to use the federal E-Verify program to check workers' citizenship. It worked; and the result was Georgia farmers lost an estimated $150 million due to crops that sat in the field unpicked because the labor pool fled the state, according to the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association.

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal suggested farmers hire some of the state's residents who are on probation or parole for criminal offenses. The criminals said, "Too hard" — the crops rotted.

Unlike the harvesting of commodity crops such as corn and wheat that are highly mechanized, specialty crops such as strawberries and most fruits and vegetables are highly dependent on manual labor for planting, weeding and harvesting. If these crops don't have laborers to tend to them, the crops die. They weren't growing wheat in Georgia; they were growing onions, blueberries and other crops that require pickers. Crops like strawberries.

Why "average" Americans don't work in the fields

Gary Wishnatzki is a third-generation family farmer with an easy smile and an unassuming manner. His family's "Wish" Farms of Plant City is a 21{+s}{+t} century operation that matches manual labor with the best new technology to ensure the produce you buy from his farms is fresh and tasty. Wishnatzki's farms stretch over several Florida counties, and the company is the largest strawberry producer in the state.

To get its crops picked the farm relies almost entirely on Hispanic laborers, many of whom are immigrants. Wishnatzki says his farm never knowingly hires illegals. But the process of filing paperwork and getting confirmation from the government that the worker is documented is slow. He says that by the time his farm learns of an undocumented worker from the government, the season is usually over, and that worker has moved on.

Wish Farms' repeated efforts to hire domestic American workers to work the fields have all been failures. So I asked him: Why do you think average Americans don't work out?

"The average citizen who shows up on our farms to work in the fields lasts not a few days, but just a few hours. The average American doesn't want these jobs," Wishnatzki says.

Ted Campbell of the Florida Strawberry Growers Association said, "American social systems tend to provide substantial compensation — with continuously lengthening duration — to our domestic unemployed, which can sometimes diminish or delay motivation to seek a low-end job."

If you read between the lines, Campbell is saying a lot of people want a job, but they don't want to work. If it requires work, let's just ask Congress for an extension of unemployment benefits. Something for nothing — it's the new American way.

Unworkable "solutions"

With a domestic labor force that doesn't want to work in the fields, a large, mostly Hispanic immigrant community is ready, willing and able to get the job done. Yet calls persist for massive deportations, implementation of E-Verify and denial of public services to illegal immigrants. This has resulted in a serious labor shortage at farms across the country.

"[We are] still short labor in our fields. Our farms are barely keeping up with harvesting and maintenance right now. We are very worried about March, when the crop normally peaks," Wishnatzki says.

When you stop and think about it, deportation has to be about the dumbest idea conceived since the Transportation Security Administration; but that hasn't stopped some anti-immigrant groups for calling for it.

Never mind that it took the United States military nine months to find Saddam Hussein. One guy, thousands of troops, nine months times 12 million; it ain't gonna' happen.

Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee says, "You can't deport 12 million people — it's logistically impossible, even after everyone gets their due process."

The stereotyped image of illegal immigrants suggests they're criminals who are a drain on services and don't pay taxes. Some of that may be true, but they're hardly the reason for the stock market bust, the mortgage crisis or our country being $15 trillion in debt. But it's easier to create a villain than to look in the mirror and realize what the real problem is.

When I spoke to the sheriff he dispelled the notion of illegal Hispanic immigrants as criminals who clog up the system. Sure, there are bad apples among them, but they're no different than any group.

According to Gee, if you want to target a group that's a threat to America it would be enclave groups of Russians and Eastern Europeans forming sophisticated gangs in Florida and elsewhere. "It's not the Mexicans you need to be concerned with," the sheriff says.

As for the claim that they don't pay any taxes, the fact is that most immigrants working on the farms pay into the payroll tax system — but with few receiving any return benefit. They also pay sales taxes, purchase goods and services, pay rent and contribute to the U.S. economy in other ways.

Words from the Gipper

Ronald Reagan once said, "Are great numbers of our unemployed really victims of the illegal alien invasion, or are those illegal tourists actually doing work our own people won't do? One thing is certain in this hungry world, no regulation or law should be allowed if it results in crops rotting in the fields for lack of harvesters."

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How was he allowed into the UK? 'Beast of Bulgaria' with a reputation for slicing off ears is held by police

A notorious Bulgarian gangster who was one of the world's most wanted criminals has been seized by police - after being tracked down to a gym in South London.

Shaven-headed Tihomir Georgiev, who was on Interpol's 'most wanted' list, was suspected of murder when he fled his native country for London. The 43-year-old, a boxer and former henchman to a Bulgarian mafia boss, reportedly has a fearsome reputation for slicing off the ears and fingers of his enemies.

But after fleeing the Britain, Georgiev was seized by officers from Scotland Yard's Extradition Unit yesterday at a boxing gym in Bermondsey, South London, according to The Sun.

The Bulgarian was still wearing shorts and fighters' bandages on his hands when police led him away under a European Arrest Warrant, according to the paper

Georgiev, suspected of murdering one of his own drug dealers for disobeying an order, was part of a gang of criminals seized in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 2010.

But before the trial concluded, he skipped his £20,000 bail, fled to London, and lived on the streets for months until the owner of Rooney's Gym in Bermondsey took pity on him, allowing him to sleep and train at the facility.

Georgiev even took part in boxing events at the gym and his face was used on promotional posters for upcoming events.

The Bulgarian fugitive was able to flee to the UK as his home country joined the EU in 2007, meaning his background would not have been checked when he entered Britain.

A profile of Georgiev on the Interpol website listed him as being 1.78 metres tall, with greying hair and 'black' eyes. His place of birth is listed as Pleven, Bulgaria, and Interpol state he is wanted for 'life and health' offences.

A Met Police spokesperson confirmed a 43-year-old man is being held over a Bulgarian murder at a London police station.

Describing Georgiev, one source told a Bulgarian newspaper: 'The Boxer fought his competitors with brutal ferocity. 'He tried to expand his group's scope. If threats did not work, he would quickly resort to the knife and physical violence. 'Those who refused to work for the gang were brutally beaten.'

SOURCE