Effects of Illegal Immigration

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Omaha Senator Speaks Out
Posted: 8:12 PM Oct 7, 2008
Last Updated: 8:12 PM Oct 7, 2008
Reporter: Tracy Madden
Email Address: sixonline@wowt.com

26 comments

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A state senator examining how illegal immigration is affecting the state says the issue is more 'deep-seeded' than he first believed.

Senator Brad Ashford of Omaha is studying the issue's impact in South Sioux City, Lexington, Grand Island, Scottsbluff and North Platte.

The chairman of the judiciary committee says he has encountered a great angst among residents because of failures of the federal government to address concerns.

Ashford says he believes those feelings will only intensify as the economy worsens.

The study will take him to North Platte and Scottsbluff this week. He plans to release a report of his findings in December. A public hearing is set for Dec. 12 in Lincoln to discuss the report.

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Posted by: meli on Mar 11, 2009 at 01:57 PM
lets get this sraight just because illegals work harder doesnt mean you have to get on their case yes they do work harder much harder tell me what would you do if you were in their shoes? probably nothing just sit there do you guys know why illegals get jobs easier? because they need it. it doesnt matter how hard they have to work or how low their pay is. americans wont take the job not only beacause it is low paying but because its usually hard to do for them.how often do you see americans working outside killing themselves to provide for their families? not often right? can you imagine what the u.s would do with out illegals? ok so if they leave are you going to work in construction sites or on powerlines, building bridges for low paying jobs? didnt think so. now i id like to remind everybody that not all illegal immigrants are from mexico and itsnot yalls problem whatillegals do with their money cause if im not mistaking americans do the same exact thing.

Posted by: ME on Oct 9, 2008 at 03:14 AM
I am so tired of having to learn spanish phrases for my jobs. That's craziness. I lost a job because I wouldn't do it. If I went there, I would have to learn spanish, yes. But if they come here, shouldn't they learn english? Fair is fair you know. And why should I have to press 1 for english? I'm sorry if they feel offended, but gee whiz, they don't realize they might be offending the natives here.

Posted by: mygirlboo on Oct 8, 2008 at 10:29 PM
My immigrant grandparents came to this country to make a better life for themselves, and the only thing they ever asked was the opportunity to do so. They did not come to have the American tax-payers give them and their children a better life. They did not take to our streets by the millions, waving their foreign flag in our faces, making threats and demands. They did not give birth to an American citizen at our expense, then trot down to their foreign consulate to sign up their child as a dual citizen. They raise their children to be American only for the benefits, leaving the American people to foot the bill for their health, education and welfare--not what America is all about.

Posted by: G on Oct 8, 2008 at 09:11 PM
My husband sat at one of those south Omaha temp services trying to get work, and he sat and sat.... waiting to be picked for a job. The only ones being sent out were hispanics that could only speak spanish, and not a word of English. My husband was not hispanic, therefore did not get a job. This went of for a few weeks till he finally gave up.

Posted by: A on Oct 8, 2008 at 06:00 PM
In response to SH: Quite a few Manufacturing companies were forced to get rid of their illegal employees and have come through without moving. So that would not dramatically affect anything. Besides if the illegals are gone think of the thousands upon thousands of jobs that will become available to the working public. Lets not forget that in one company alone, when 400 illegals were removed from it's plant the very next day they had thousands of non illegal applications flooding them. I've seen the mess that illegals bring and leave behind them and as a whole what these illegals are doing, well it's an injustice for the immigrants who want to become americans legally. Now it's darn near impossible to find your citizenship because of those illegals, how fair is that? Face it, they need to go, and now!

Posted by: Dan on Oct 8, 2008 at 04:27 PM
SANDI....The majority of their money is sent home.The leftover is spent on low income rent with 3 to 4 family's living in it, the casino an budweiser. I had a job in Omaha about 10 years ago that hired these people and that is exactly how they lived. They were nice guys that "didn't know English" until lunch time was called. They understood the words breaktime, lunchtime and day over. They worked hard but not any harder than us Americans did. I can't stand when people say they work harder than us. I have seen many lazy Mexicans who use "No habla" as an excuse. I had to pick up the slack for the No hablas. You people are forgetting who built this country. It was hard working people who loved this country and busted their butts to learn the language. Mexicans will do it cheaper because they have no one to complain to. Pay us Americans a decent living wage and watch the country prosper.We will keep the money here and maybe a vacation in Mexico.

Posted by: Sandi on Oct 8, 2008 at 03:59 PM
The problem with the state of California is they have a democrat for leadership.As far as "illegals" putting a strain on our country, nope i think the US citizens do that enough. Why in our generation do we have to pay for the mistakes of generations before us ie: Native americans still get money and help from our government for something our ancestors did over 100 years ago. They have a fair chance at being successful just like the rest of us, African-American, Native-American, or just plain "Heinz 57 (like me)..So tell me, why do we pay for this, or better yet, why do we have to rebuild countries or give their citizens special treatment when they come to this country, tax breaks for 5 years to start a busines..See we have allowed ourselves to get to this place, not illegals..the country was hurting long ago,..it is just now we have a group of people to blame. So, yes by deporting a large quanity of people, whether from Mexico or elsewhere(there are other groups) it will HURT us more

Posted by: b on Oct 8, 2008 at 03:18 PM
Not buying what you're selling Sandi. You ARE wrong!

Posted by: Mike on Oct 8, 2008 at 02:59 PM
To Sandi; OK, I am going to come to your house and clean your garage (because no one else thinks it pays enough). For that chore that you have gladly paid me for, I also expect you to provide me with shelter, feed my family, take care of my family's medical needs and provide a quality education for my kids. Sound fair? Hardly! For every dollar that an illegal makes at those jobs that most Americans think are beneath them, it costs the taxpayer 10 times more for the illegals to remain in this country. And this talk of contributing to the American economy is a farce as most of those folks are sending a high percentage of their paychecks out of the country to provide for family members less fortunate. Soon, Americans are going to be FORCED to compete for those low wage jobs the illegals now hold. And if you think it would be a huge economic loss if we just deported 12 million illegals, think of those 2.2 million AMERICANS who have lost their jobs in this year alone.

Posted by: Coggs on Oct 8, 2008 at 12:53 PM
6.1% unemployment!! Anyone believing that they are doing jobs that no one else will do needs to have their heads examined. Deflation of wages is more like it.

Posted by: Vinny on Oct 8, 2008 at 12:50 PM
Oh yeah, those illegals put a lot our economy alright.Monkey wrenches that is. Kinda like unpaid hospital bills,social services lowering of wages, kids that have to wait while the lesson plan is translated into spanish. They NEED TO LEAVE NOW!

Posted by: sue on Oct 8, 2008 at 11:14 AM
To Sandi, Illegals put nothing in our economy. They are "takers" of our established social systems. They shop with our food stamp cards, they buy other necessities at thrift stores, they pack a dozen people in our subsidized housing, they get free medical care, they our draining our school sytems. They send millions of our American dollars back to Mexico. All illegals need to be deported, they are the ones destroying our economy. When they are deported, all we need to do, is get our millions of able bodied Americans off the welfare gravy train, they can fill these jobs. And don't look for any negative report, from Brad Ashford on Illegals. He is one of the liberal State Senators that voted against the bill,to stop illegals from applying for,and getting aid from our social programs. He will be reporting on how we need to do more for them,and welcome them, not get rid of them. Thank goodness he is not a legislator anymore, we can not afford liberal spenders like him.

Posted by: midtown on Oct 8, 2008 at 10:59 AM
yes they put american dollars back into the american economy but just out of curiosity how much bad debt is created at the same time, don't get me wrong I now US citizens do it to but how much is from illegal aliens? there I said it.

Posted by: Ben on Oct 8, 2008 at 10:52 AM
The issue is, I agree illegals,. But a greater problem is how many of them are here and multiplying like rabbits and eventually taking over.Its happening faster than any other race in America. Dont fool your selves! We need to help them in their own country and keep them over there!

Posted by: Jarbeau on Oct 8, 2008 at 10:33 AM
Nice try, Sandi, but you are wrong.

Posted by: Anonymous on Oct 8, 2008 at 10:05 AM
Sandi I have a news flash for you illegal aliens do not in fact spend much money here in the U.S. Being a long time South O. resident I can tell you firsthand that Illegals buy their groceries with food stamps. Their clothes and childrens toys are bought at yard and parking lot sales which specialize in goods of dubious origin. It looks a little funny when you drive by a yard sale and there's 4 or 5 lawnmowers for sale, or 10 or 12 bikes. Oh illegals do spend money on toy trucks and tricked out Hondas. I hardly think that compenstates for the welfare they receive.

Posted by: Anonymous on Oct 8, 2008 at 09:48 AM
Sandi, tell me has illegal immigration been good for the economy of California? Or is the state of California asking the Federal Government for a 8 billion dollar bail out?

Posted by: Sandi on Oct 8, 2008 at 08:28 AM
Do people not realize that amount of money that "illegals" put into our economy. They shop, buy cars, pay rent and bills. None of the economy worries started until after the "mass" raids and deporations started. These people are just as important to our economy as everyone else is. Put 2 and 2 together people. Imagine what deporting 12 million people from the US would do to our economy....MAKE IT ALOT WORSE!!

Posted by: Sherri on Oct 8, 2008 at 06:09 AM
Thank you Senator Brad Ashford-Finally someone is addressing the issue of illegal immigrants and the negative impact they have on our economy. Shame on Lee Terry and Jim Esch for ignoring this important issue.

Posted by: Anonymous on Oct 8, 2008 at 05:43 AM
I think most of us already know the effects of illegal immigration. Overly burdened schools, police force, prison system, welfare system, lower wages for the American citizen, and pigeon-holing of our work force. Illegal immigrants doing jobs Americans wont do? The U.S. already excepts more legal immigrants than all other countries combined. Never in the history of mankind has there been such a massive wave of human migration as that which is occurring from latin America to the U.S. Once the land of the free, the U.S. is now the home of the free ride. Let's not forget, not long ago many American citizens raised families, bought new cars, houses and paid for their kids educations, working these jobs Americans wont do. And almost all of us did well. Can we say as much now? Of course not.

Posted by: SH on Oct 8, 2008 at 05:28 AM
I'm definately against illegal immigration but the consequences of removing the illegal residents from our state would be devastating. We would have more manufacturing companies moving to Mexico if we don't employ them here or other countries.

Posted by: Baffled on Oct 8, 2008 at 04:54 AM
Senator Brad Ashford aka Captain Obvious. Tell us something we haven't already known for about 5 years, Senator.

Posted by: Bill on Oct 8, 2008 at 04:40 AM
ALL ILLEGALS need to be deported and then they can apply to enter this country the legal way.

Posted by: Bill on Oct 8, 2008 at 04:34 AM
"Ashford says he beleives those feelings will only intensify as the economy worsens" These are wise words from a politicion. Politicions with this keen sense of awareness should be running for president.

Posted by: jim t on Oct 8, 2008 at 01:46 AM
omaha and most of nebraska will soon be like L.A. illegals will bankrupt the schools and hospitals. they will fill our jails. right now, most of the death row inmates in L.A. are illegals. soon to be here. 300,000 illegals live in garages in L.A. we will soon have an equal proportion. these facts are right out of the L.A. times

Posted by: LLR on Oct 7, 2008 at 08:58 PM
What exactly is he examining? The angst felt by locals over the influx of ILLEGALS into their area and creating a drain on the social services of the local economy? Or the angst of the illegals thinking they aren't getting a big enough chunk of the US federal programs?! He needs to add Schuyler and Columbus to his list. Schuyler is one community that has had its share of ruination by illegals. As far as I'm concerned, the "angst" of any illegal aliens needs to be ignored.