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Riley is advocating for a North American Union, which will eventually be incorporated into the New World Order. Too bad he isn't direct about it.

Riley is for the North American Union, which will ultimately be incorporated into the New World Order.

Mr. Riley claims to trust "the market";
If so, when you can not get labor, you must raise your compensation to attract enough.

He claims that Americans want cheap goods-where is the proof that Americans want this under any circumstances and just how much would prices increase?

He claims more workers are needed, but does not have an amount.

He does not want border barriers, but wants to go after terrorists and criminals-the same door lets them in as it does illegal labor.

Just listened through WNYC "on demand." Brian wondered how, if American jobs are being shipped overseas through free trade agreements, why should it be that so many are forced to emigrate from their home countries? I've been reading a lot about the "missing middle" with regard to developing countries: the idea is that large corporations are present in these countries, as are individual entrepreneurs (ie, street vendors), but that mid-size companies, owned locally, are missing from many developing countries. Could this be part of the reason that even though unskilled manual labor jobs are moving to other countries, that doesn't necessarily translate into a widespread economic gains?

When my great grandparents got to the US in 1881, there were no immigration laws. You didn't even need to worry about citizenship, unless you felt like voting. As long as you obeyed the law and didn't take more than you contributed to society as a whole, you were welcome to stay as long as you like. When they got here, they didn't speak English, nor could they read or write, and they had 4 zloty in their pockets all together.

The only difference between them and modern day immigrants is that they were Polish (therefore, white) and modern day immigrants are mostly Hispanic and Black.

Why don't we call this anti-immigrant ideology what it really is? It's just racism in disguise. If these people want to come here and work hard jobs to support their families and thereby strengthen our economy and productivity, only someone so blinded by racism would say no to them. Let them in, indeed! I welcome them with open arms.

This is all making me think of the eccentric Devo song called "Gates of Steel." Open the gates of steel and let the people in.

free speech is only about the government controlling speech. you can always get your own board!

AWM,

Regean was a dwarf, he is still talked about because he started major changes, cutting taxes on wealthy, sending jobs overseas that have now got us into the mess we are in. 30 years of Reganomics! People are just a little upset that they can't have health insurance paid for by their employer, make a living wage and be able to raise a family on a single paycheck like could have been done in the 70s. People are just a little bit upset about that.

what happen to free speech you @#$%# pinkos

america this is what happens when you let certain people control your border,free speech is killed,listen to mike savage today he will inform u

[[BL Moderator Writes: This comment edited for violating the WNYC posting policy. Please read it, and ask yourself if the names you are using constitute civil and productive discourse. Thanks.]]

[[BL Moderator Writes: This comment removed for violating the WNYC posting policy. Please keep your comments civil and productive. Avoid name-calling.]]

WHY is ANYTHING Ronald Regan said considered relevant?

Conservatives love him because he shunned compassion in favor of ideology. He made those who look down on anyone who didn't think like them, look like them or earn as much as them comfortable again. It was their America again!

The man was an intellectual dwarf.

Thank you mr. producer that was long overdue

[[Bl Moderator Writes: Several comments have been removed for violating the WNYC posting policy. Please remember to keep your comments civil, productive and, um, not racist. Thanks!]]

enough of the childish comments from men.

In order to fix illegal immigration you also need to fix the legal immigration process. And make the standards realistic to the jobs that need to be filled.

but you can not fix illegal imigration if you do not plan to enforce it.

It's amazing the stuff the BL show moderators will and will NOT remove from the comments page...

Before opening up the borders for labor/blue collar jobs. Why not make the process for the white collar workers to work easier? There are so many talented Foreign students to come over to US and study, then most of them are forced to go home, because of the visa process is so uninviting to them and the companies who needs them. Let the legal process easier and friendlier first, then let's talk about illegal immigrants.

The "F" in NAFTA should stand for FAIR not free. That would change things for the better a lot sooner.

just like in Britain most immigrates come from countries the USA messed with, think about it as a war reparation.

Repub101: Yes, it comes from both sides of the aisle. But let's not forget that Bush lost that battle because of a massive defection from his allies on the right.

Sure you can have both: people from other countries whose economies have been screwed around by "free-trade" agreements coming here and jobs being shipped out of this country. It all depends on what type of jobs being talked about: jobs that require certain skills, jobs that don't require certains skills, farm jobs, services jobs, manufacturing jobs, tech jobs... None of these things can be put under one umbrella.

Sean is just looking to become a troll. There is no way someone educated can possibly speak like that.

I mean even Bush approved of what many thought of as an Amnesty Bill last year. I hardly think that the Right can be blamed wholesale for anti-immigrant sentiment.

(af)

really? you dont need papers to buy a house? what about a social security number so people can check your credit. oh wait that is what brought this housing crisis.

Giving people credit who didnt' have a credit history. therefore not needing a social security number

Question for your guest Brian: How are employers supposed to prove that they need immigrant labour? Would we have to wait for jobless claims to go to ZERO before letting them in? I'm confused?

If we enforced the laws we already have, as they do in Arizona, less people would come over here. If they can't get a job, they'll go back home.

Winslow[2]-- to your point: If we had guest workers they'd pay taxes too.

This is all about letting too much non-white people inside America. This is what scares the white male power establishment in this country. This dark side of democracy.

Katie, I don't know if you were referring to my comments, but I'm not saying it's all discrimination. I'm saying that people get whipped into a frenzy on the economic points that they often don't understand or think through completely.

If we have more LEGAL immigrants, their employers will have to pay them minimum wage.

If jobs were really the issue, we'd be seeing massive unemployment rates. And the places that have very high unemployment rates in the US are not suffering from high illegal immigration rates.

Here's a suggestion---no more legal immigration for 5 years unless you meet an extremely high standard. Permit a reasonable percentage of those already here to remain, and, toss the rest. No nation profits (check out THE ROMAN EMPIRE) from vast overwhelming immigration in 5 minutes or less. Remember, many of them NO UNDERSTAN, and, therein lies the problem.

also immigration subsidizes the middle class. who picks your lettuce?

Could you pls email me the quote that Brain read at the beginning of this segment? Thanks much!

One of the underlying issues of the illegal immigration debates is the idea that undocumented workers are having their children here, and putting a strain on government services.

This is a problem that we have created ourselves, by over enforcing our borders. Prior to the ever ramped up of enforcement since the eighties we have made it harder for migrant laborers to go home.

How many folks from south of the border actually want to become Americans, as opposed to wanting to work a job in a market where they can find one.

I have heard many stories of migrant workers who are now forced to stay here because getting back into the US is too risky and expensive to do annually. They are now stuck here when they don't want to be. Its no surprise they bring their family, wouldn't you do the same under similar circumstances.

I do not think open boarder is a solution and neither is not letting foreigners into the country. Increasing the quota for working visa might help? That way people come as non-immigrants as opposed to immigrants, work all they want and leave after few years.

People buy overpriced houses. Ever hear of the subprime crisis?

Let those Mexicans stay in, they will buy the homes as they have been doing for the last decade. You might need papers for a drivers license, but you sure don't need one to buy a car or house.

What does the guest think about Iraqi refugee status in the USA? We've decimated their country and government. Don't we owe them that?

america is browning what's the big deal? we haven't had ethnicity that lasted longer than 1 or 2 generation in this country since 1848.

I am sure everyone here wants to stop illegal immigrants from coming in. I do not think everyone here wants to stop legal immigrants from coming in.

The real debate is what to do with the people already here.

we should take care of our own citizens before we allow open borders. i graduated college in 2004 and havent had health insurance since, but the immigrants in westchester get free health care, no questions asked

michael: You essentially rewrote your argument. You initially said non-citizens should not get services. Illegal immigrants is something else.

The idea behind open borders is that there would be far fewer people coming in illegally, and presumably those people would have a reason for not coming in legally (like if they're criminals). And then our law enforcement can concentrate on that much smaller portion of people that need to be found and removed.

I don't think we on the Right forget the Reagan views on immigration. You're confusing free-market conservatives and social conservatives. There are many "types" of right-wing people, so I don't think it's accurate to blame all of this anti-immigrant sentiment on a mass undefined blob called "The Right."

This isn't Human Trafficking? or Slavery. Business importing a workforce to do the work, and ONLY do that work? What if in their everyday life, they wanted to do something else?

I totally agree. This system creates a slave labor with decent, hardworking people treated abominably by the law. Everyone who is here immigrated from somewhere else, including Native Americans! Keep immigration safe and legal and welcome these workers with open arms. We need them!

check post 5 all that needs to be said

Katie,
Obama has an awful lot of homework to do on this issue before he starts talking sense on this issue.

Michael:

that is where you are wrong there are illegal immigrants who pay taxes. There is such a thing as a tax i.d. number. How do i know this i was once illegal here, and my parents always payed taxes through this number because they knew that if they wanted to become legal it was something that needed to be done.

and guess what they never received a refund check until they obtained a legal social security number after they adjusted their status.

'Community Organizer'
...in 'Poli-speak' = 'Rabble-Rouser'!!

Open boarders: Just that much more Rabble to Rouse!!

And goodness knows; the emotion left NEEDS more uneducated; unthinking, emotional rabble to rouse to obscure the real solutions to America's socio-political issues.
And goodness know- America's left doesn't need any solution- they (it)_ need problems to keep any hold on political power.

Feelings- never Facts!! ...the cry and call-to-arms of America's left-wing population!

Another WSJ genius - let the markets decide everything! As we all know, that's worked out so well in the case of gas, real estate, food ... you know, mostly unimportant stuff.

ask this chappie if there should be countries.

might get to the root of it w that doozie.

Lets get something straight. Not being a citizen does not equal being illegal. People are here on visas, work permits, residency, and all of those people pay taxes. Along with some illegal immigrants.

Paulo

Illegal aliens don't pay income and state taxes

this is what I want to avoid more of

this country is being fleeced by illegal immigrants

Not to mention illegal immigrants are being turned into slave labor and this is wrong

Of course we should have legal immigration

what I'm saying is illegal aliens don't contribute to social security, MTA, Medicare, Post office, Police etc.

There we go with it's all discrimination argument!

The labor market is oversaturated and wages are driving too low. It is a significant contributor to the bad economy. NAFTA doesn't help either. I hope Obama, after he is elected President will help fix this.

There is no such thing as "free market". That is an illusion.

Ronald Reagan

If there is really such a complete lack of jobs, why do immigrants continue coming? The jobs argument is a red herring. In the same way that US citizens don't migrate to another part of the country where the job market is poor, so too will immigrants from other countries avoid places (or countries) where there is a lack of good jobs.

michael:

Non-citizens pay taxes. And if they all came in legally, there would be no way for them to avoid it.

You seem to be against legal non-citizen residents getting services eventhough they pay taxes and have not committed a crime by coming in illegally. How do you justify that?

And do you have a problem with someone from New Jersey moving into New York and making use of New York's services?

Has anyone noticed there are not enough jobs for the people here already and we want to bring in more?

We, (the USA) are sending all jobs overseas and bringing in more people, not going to work.

No country has open immigration; Mexico limits immigration from Central America, for example. We do need to eliminate or expand the unrealistic quota on Western Hemisphere immmigration, but also need to reform NAFTA, which hurts small farmers in Mexico and workers trying to organize for decent wages in Mexico (and here).

Open Borders? what does that mean? ala european union, where people can go back and forth without having to go through a checkpoint? Or lets allow everyone to emigrate north to the U.S.? because that is what would happen. There is no good economic reason to allow open borders.

absolutely not

closed borders are a necessity

There is no good reason to have open borders

I don't want my taxes to pay the services for people who are not citizens.

We pay too much in taxes as it is

If we had open borders our taxes would have to double to pay for the millions more people who will be using services and paying nothing for them.

Close the borders

Nader for president

Housing market was set up to succeed -- but only with a flood of immigrants to work their ways up and buy the latest generation of housing stock.

Millions of new homes require nothing but millions of warm bodies that can pay mortgages.

That Bush was unable to sneak them legally under the border legally is, in reality, his biggest economic failure, from the macro perspective. I have a feeling that was his plan -- his only plan. Any seller of cars or homes 2000-2006, living outside Manhattan, knows this plainly.