June 20, 2025

"I know of one landscaper that lost the whole crew he had, and he is just totally out of business, all of a sudden."

That quote is featured at the beginning of yesterday's NYT "Daily" podcast, An Interview With Trump’s Border Czar, Tom Homan."

The quote is presented in a context that feels intended to generate empathy for those who've been affected by the "increasingly aggressive raids." But that "landscaper" — that is, person in the landscaping business — was, apparently, competing unfairly with anyone in that business who is dutifully following federal law and not hiring those in the country illegally.

We have to get a long way into that interview with Tom Homan before we hear the perspective of the ethical businessperson, but it is in there:
INTERVIEWER: Let's talk about the raids that we've seen so far. Mr. Homan, immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE invited our colleagues to one of these raids. We featured it on the show. These are raids that have increasingly expanded into workplaces, into neighborhoods. We've seen ICE agents at construction sites, Home Depots, car washes. Can you just explain why you're focusing on work sites?

TOM HOMAN: Well, look, no one hires an illegal alien on the goodness of their heart. They hire 'em because they can work 'em harder, pay 'em less, and undercut their competition as US citizen employees. I've experienced this myself. Let me tell you a real quick story. I put a new roof in my home several years ago. I had to call six companies before I got a company to guarantee me a legal workforce. And the father and son showed up and the father told me this story. He says, I had 20 US citizen employees and I pay 'em 20 bucks an hour to get on the roof. I couldn't win a contract because all these other companies had illegal aliens are paying 'em, you know, $7 an hour to get on the roof. I couldn't win a contract. So I laid off all my US citizen employees, and now me and my son just do repairs. That happens across this country every day by the thousands. So work site enforcement's important. Work site enforcement is the number one place. We find victims of sex trafficking, forced labor trafficking. And second of all, we gotta hold these companies responsible 'cause they're undercut US citizen employment, they're driving down wages and it's against a lot of hiring illegal aliens. So we gotta enforce law....

I empathize with that man in the roofer business who worked hard to follow the law and to provide good jobs for American citizens and with the workers he had to lay off. And why shouldn't that landscaper who lost his whole crew be prosecuted

180 comments:

tim maguire said...

The thing that has surprised me the most about the left's response to the ICE raids (possibly the only thing that has surprised me) is how blatant they are about their motivation--the desire to maintain an underclass of poorly paid mistreated workers who have no way to assert or defend their rights.

Political Junkie said...

Hostess is 100% spot on. She needs a column in the NYT.

gilbar said...

"But that "landscaper" — that is, person in the landscaping business — was, apparently, competing unfairly with anyone in that business who is dutifully following federal law and not hiring those in the country illegally."

but! without our Slaves.. HOW will we be able to out price our competition?
the poor EXIST to slave for the RICH.. don't they?
I mean, isn't That democrat dogma?

Freder Frederson said...

but! without our Slaves.. HOW will we be able to out price our competition?
the poor EXIST to slave for the RICH.. don't they?
I mean, isn't That democrat dogma?


Spare me your high horse. Hiring undocumented workers is a bipartisan evil. You think all these owners of landscaping companies, construction firms, farmers and meat packing plants are a bunch of commie democrats?

Get your head out of your ass.

hawkeyedjb said...


Freder Frederson said...
“Hiring undocumented workers is a bipartisan evil.”

It certainly is. If you want $20 per hour wages (I do), then ramp up the deportations. If you want $7 per hour wages, open the border. The law of supply and demand is immutable, and bipartisan.

FormerLawClerk said...

Trump is very, very close to putting a stop to the deportations. The hotel industry is being decimated. Trump owns a LOT of hotels, so he is getting an up-front look at what's happening.

The restaurant industry totally relies on back-of-house slave labor to operate. These are people who HAVE to work and will put up with ANYTHING because without that job, they're starving. It's really, really easy to abuse such people.

Trump is going to alter his immigration stance and it's going to drive a wedge between him and his MAGA supporters that will be large enough for Democrats to take advantage of.

Original Mike said...

And people wonder why conservatives flock to Althouse's blog.

n.n said...

Labor arbitrage, Democratic gerrymandering, and collateral damage at both ends of the bridge and throughout.

narciso said...

one recalls the subtext to the noirish harper, strother martins cult group, was really about importing illegal labor,

narciso said...

that was 1967, if memory serves, mcqueen was very busy in those years, as usual tim you miss the ball again,

Freder Frederson said...

If you want $7 per hour wages, open the border. The law of supply and demand is immutable, and bipartisan.

Or you could just enforce current labor laws and raise the minimum wage. It is just as illegal to hire an undocumented worker at a sub-minimum wage as it is to hire a native born American.

Bob B said...

In the spirit of Juneteenth, more proof Democrats hate it when you free their exploited workers.

FormerLawClerk said...

As to the economics ... it is far, far cheaper to hire a framing crew of illegal immigrants. You can get that subcontractor for 40% of the price you'd have to pay someone hiring Americans because those illegals are working by the piece and they don't get health insurance. They get paid per house put up, not by the hour.

Americans want $x per hour (and in many cases are required to be paid that way by law). Mexicans will work for $x per roof installed. That puts all of the onus on the Mexican to complete the job because he don't get paid again until the next roof is installed.

Same way with lawns. It's $x per lawn. Not $x per hour. So that Mexican is hustling to get that lawn mowed. He's hustling to get that pool cleaned. That mulch spread. He don't get another paycheck until the next yard gets mowed.

It's a complete violation of every employment law we have in this country and Trump is about to cave on all of it because his own fellow hotel owners are the ones about to be gored.

Original Mike said...

Labor shortages can be addressed through legal immigration. A lot of people (I'm one) support that.

Big Mike said...

And why shouldn't that landscaper who lost his whole crew be prosecuted? [Emphasis in the original]

I dunno. Maybe he is in tight with the local Democrat political structure?

rehajm said...

…Trump wants the illegals Democrats have heavily subsidized with tax dollars to show up here and stay so Democrats can game the census to stop Democrats decline in the House (thank you salt and commie mayors) Trump/we want those illegals to self deport, so Trump focuses on the workers to create incentives to leave. I’d love to hang the people who hire illegals but perfect enemy good…

narciso said...

this is part of the problem with Western Europe, they imported a lumpen, with different values then themselves,

n.n said...

I’d love to hang the people who hire illegals but perfect enemy good

Yes, now what. We compromise and strive for good for goodness sake.

A shout out to #HateLovesAbortion and all those lives judged and labeled a "burden" h/t Obama.

Birches said...

La migra used to be a real risk in coming here. I don't see why we can't go back. Born in East LA was made because lots of people found the premise of getting deported on accident a believable movie plot.

rehajm said...

Labor shortages can be addressed through legal immigration. A lot of people (I'm one) support that.

…it’s very important to remember the first-term Trump reached out to Democrats to engage in a conversation about a creating an immigration policy. He said everything would be on the table. Democrats ignored him because they had another plan.

Dogma and Pony Show said...

"Hiring undocumented workers is a bipartisan evil. You think all these owners of landscaping companies, construction firms, farmers and meat packing plants are a bunch of commie democrats?"

I don't know about "all," but I imagine that the guy whose roofing company 100% depended on being able to employ a steady stream of illegal aliens did not vote for Trump. If he did, he was an idiot (or at least badly misinformed).

Humperdink said...

Freder: “ Or you could just enforce current labor laws and raise the minimum wage.”

What’s minimum wage have to do with it? Nothing.

Freder Frederson said...

What’s minimum wage have to do with it? Nothing.

Everything actually. Minimum wage (and social security, workers comp, OSHA, etc.) does not rely on the legal status of the employee.

n.n said...

Raising the minimum wage is a policy of calculated inflation, an extractive policy to redistribute capital (i.e. retained earnings, savings), thus far sequestered, but not forgotten, in a 40 trillion dollar national debt, personal credit, and other monetary hallucinations.

tim maguire said...

Original Mike said...Labor shortages can be addressed through legal immigration. A lot of people (I'm one) support that.

There's a name for that approach: "High Fence, Wide Gate."

There is a need for temporary and/or seasonal workers, but it should be addressed through visa programs. If there is a shortage of labor driving wages to unsustainable levels, that too can be addressed through visa programs.

The problem is not immigration, but illegal immigration. Which is why Democrats try so hard to confuse the distinction.

rehajm said...

…minimum wage is for unions with contracts tied to minimum wage plus…

wild chicken said...

Where I am, landscaping crews are still young white guys, some women, college kids and others who like working outside.

Same for construction crews, tree trimmers, roofers, and all the tradesmen who have done work at my place...crazy, huh?

n.n said...

The status of residents, immigrants, and illegal aliens have been conflated with ulterior, insidious motives.

Chick said...

Ditto. Annually always hired same outfit to powerwash the house, clean out the gutters etc., this year they showed up and no one spoke English.

Humperdink said...

Minimum wage is irrelevant to the roofers in my area. The actual nail pounders earn triple that.

Dave Begley said...

Ann Althouse, "apparently, competing unfairly with anyone in that business who is dutifully following federal law and not hiring those in the country illegally."

Ann Althouse has just made the key point that the Fake News never makes.

J Scott said...

If you want to compete in that space (say roofing) you are going to hire illegals because of the structure of the system. That doesn't say anything about who you vote for or what policy you support.

n.n said...

Where I am, landscaping crews are stil

Americans exercising an entrepreneurial spirit, engaged in seasonal work, matching with personal preferences, and earning surplus capital for an occasion.

Peachy said...

Freder - we have an H1-B visa program that works well for temporary seasonal migrant workers- working above board.

Crook Puppet Joe let in million of illegals - so that white leftist can whine... after theylose their brown salves.

Krumhorn said...

Rahajm has identified the real basis of the ICE enforcement: the census. Congressional seats are at stake. That’s the entire point of the disconnect.

- Krumhorn

Krumhorn said...

Rehajm…sorry

Krumhorn said...

Too early. ICE enforcement resistance

Achilles said...

A landscaper lost all of his exploited labor and now he is out of business.

Slavery is being abolished again. It seems like every 150 years or so the Republicans are going to have to free the Democrats slaves.

Peachy said...

Joe Biden's /Soros illegals were brought here to help democratics gain more power.
That the left act like they CARE about migrants- is adorable.
The left casually ignore the drug trafficking and the child sex trafficking going on behind their lattes. The left casually ignore the spike in traffic deaths on our roads caused by illegals.
The left give no fucks - when innocent girls are raped and or murdered - by illegals.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia - the illegal who was aiding human trafficking - (and hid his Gang tattooed hands under the table while Democratic Chris Van Hollen(D) gazed lovingly into his criminal eyes) - is up on all sorts of criminal charges.
When the truth comes out about the massive corrupt scam caused by Biden's illegals and our money used to fund it all, - Karma kicks in - and it all blows up in D-lying liar who lie democratic faces.

Peachy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Achilles said...

Freder Frederson said...
What’s minimum wage have to do with it? Nothing.

Everything actually. Minimum wage (and social security, workers comp, OSHA, etc.) does not rely on the legal status of the employee.

At this point if you think the minimum wage raises wages you are just really stupid or really dishonest.

Trump is actually raising wages right now. Freder opposes this because he doesn't want working class people to make more money.

Freder is trying to create a permanent underclass of exploitable labor through any means possible.

Original Mike said...

"the first-term Trump reached out to Democrats to engage in a conversation about a creating an immigration policy. He said everything would be on the table. Democrats ignored him because they had another plan."

Democrats are importing new, democrat voters and pumping up their electoral numbers. That's their plan. It's despicable.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

There are millions of people calling themselves "landscapers" in this country who never pick up a tool and and do the work. They are essentially labor brokers who hire illegals to work for peanuts while they charge homeowners enough to net a good living wage for themselves after expenses.

Mainly they compete with the assimilated yet still hardworking Hispanics who contract with customers, work hard AND run crews of illegals and so can usually undercut the white "owner operators." In highly Democrat neighborhoods though, the rich tend to hire the white operators so they don't have to interact with immigrants, even assimilated ones who speak American English.

T2 said...

And why shouldn't that landscaper who lost his whole crew be prosecuted?

If the landscaper used e-Verify, he is protected. Yeah, maybe he could have guessed that he had illegal workers, but if the Government’s system told him it was okay (and all it does is say the documents provided were real, not that they really belong to the person presenting them), then he has a get-out-of-jail-free card.

Scott M said...

Spare me your high horse. Hiring undocumented workers is a bipartisan evil. You think all these owners of landscaping companies, construction firms, farmers and meat packing plants are a bunch of commie democrats?

It doesn't matter what their political ideology is. I couldn't care less. Prosecute them to the extent of the law and completely disincentivize the practice you seem to be just fine with continuing.

Humperdink said...

I do not know a soul who earns minimum wage. Not one, including teenagers.

Aggie said...

One only has to look as far as the actual implemented policy on border control to know the positions. The fiddle-faddle about it being a human, not partisan issue is laughable. It's precisely that, and it always has been. If the vote wasn't clear enough, the weekly polls ought to be.

Jaq said...

I see lots of healthy young men begging for cash at intersections who could easily plant their butts in the seat of a lawnmower.

Steven said...

Much of this could have been avoided if Republicans had not so strongly opposed E-Verify for over a decade.

I recall there was a deal in 2023 that would finally have passed the measure, and Trump killed it because resolving the immigration issue would remove a key political issue for himself.

If we're going to prosecute the landscaper, there are many others who also deserve prosecution.

Original Mike said...

"I recall there was a deal in 2023 that would finally have passed the measure, and Trump killed it because resolving the immigration issue would remove a key political issue for himself."

Bullshit. That legislation (if you're referring to the "immigration bill" in Congress at the end of Biden tenure) was a horrible bill. If I thought you were sincere, I'd explain it to you, but I don't think I'll waste my time on this glorious morning. I'm sure others can.

Prof. M. Drout said...

But, I ask you, who is going to pick the cotton if the slaves are freed? We'll have a labor shortage!
I know the hacks that now run the Wall Street Journal can find dozens of hack economists who say that labor shortages are the most terrible thing ever, but as a Medievalist I will point out that "the rise of the middle class" only EVER seems to occur in times of labor shortage: The biggest growth in the middle class in the 14th century came right after the Black Death.
We should see if merely by deporting illegal gate-crashers back to their home countries--whose economies can then be elevated by their putatively amazing work-ethics--we can get a similar transfer of wealth from capital to labor. It is certainly worth a try!

Rocco said...

narciso said...
this is part of the problem with Western Europe, they imported a lumpen, with different values then themselves.

But, but, but, they’re just like us except they wear colorful clothing and eat exotic, often spicy foods. We just need to buy them a coke and we’ll sing in perfect harmony.

Jaq said...

I am going to confess something here, I just hired a roofer, and the man who came and sold me the job looked Hispanic, but he spoke perfect English, seemed like he must have grown up in the United States, and he was the only roofer whose guys actually showed up; I live kind of remote. (Is that a copulative verb?), but when the guys came to fix my roof, which I had been trying to get fixed for two years, neither one of them spoke any English, and we had to use a phone app to communicate. I don't know that they were illegals, but it's not hard to imagine.

I wasn't beating up the other guys around about their quotes, either. I agreed to their prices, they just didn't show up. The storm that damaged my roof happened two years ago. This problem goes a lot deeper, and has to do, in a lot of cases, with a young generation that has somehow been disincentivized to work.

During the pandemic, Vermont started paying young people money to stay at home, and provided them free housing. Now they are living in tents in the parks, because the free housing has dried up. This is self inflicted, and fixing it goes deep, and nobody wants to do the work to fix it, or even knows where to start or how.

Freder Frederson said...

Freder - we have an H1-B visa program that works well for temporary seasonal migrant workers- working above board.

Actually, there is a hell of a lot of abuse (of both the program and the employees) in that program. Furthermore, a lot of farmers (e.g., dairy farms and farms in Florida and California) require year round labor, so temporary visas are not that helpful to them.

Rocco said...

Steven said...
Much of this could have been avoided if Republicans and Democrats had not so strongly opposed E-Verify for over a decade.

FIFY. Your point is a complex one worthy of debate. But at least your premise is now stated properly.

Peachy said...

"Well, look, no one hires an illegal alien on the goodness of their heart. They hire 'em because they can work 'em harder, pay 'em less, and undercut their competition as US citizen employees."

Jaq said...

Prof Drout, what you don't understand is that they fully understand what happened due to the labor shortages created by the Black Death, and it horrifies them. Not the "death" part, the "having to pay higher wages" part. People think that they are stupid, "If only the Tsar knew..." but they are not, these are intentional policies.

Who gains from massive immigration? People who own things like rental properties, where rents are forced up for everybody. And employers, who enjoy lower labor costs.

So what do they do to protect these economic manipulations? They accuse anybody who objects of "Racism! Xenophobia! Witch! Hoarder! Wrecker!" etc, etc.

It's such a pattern that it's astonishing that it's not plain to everybody, but this same ownership class owns the media, so there it is then.

Peachy said...

Freder - abuse? Anything can be abused at the margins.
is that your big argument?
I know all sorts of landscapers who do NOT abuse the H1B Visa program. Not at all.

Biden abused his power. Period. All while his corrupt media lied, as they dutifully told us "the border is secure!: - Americans all watched massive lines of people Q up and enter our nation illegally. Humans trucked and bussed to the border. No vetting. Huge opening for terrorists. Biden removed border patrol and ICE ability to do anything about it.

jim said...

The landscaper should be prosecuted. The meat packer and farmer should be too.

They are a traditional republican constituency, and have always been exempt (at least to my knowledge).

Homan is right: they exploit vulnerable workers. Start prosecuting those guys and we won't need as many jack boots on the ground.

Sebastian said...

"And why shouldn't that landscaper who lost his whole crew be prosecuted?" Exactly. TACO Trump?

Oso Negro said...

Fuck landscaping, fuck landscapers, and fuck the suburbs that need landscaping.

Peachy said...

I made the mistake of not reading the whole thing:

Tom Homan:
Let me tell you a real quick story. I put a new roof in my home several years ago. I had to call six companies before I got a company to guarantee me a legal workforce. And the father and son showed up and the father told me this story. He says, I had 20 US citizen employees and I pay 'em 20 bucks an hour to get on the roof. I couldn't win a contract because all these other companies had illegal aliens are paying 'em, you know, $7 an hour to get on the roof. I couldn't win a contract. So I laid off all my US citizen employees, and now me and my son just do repairs. That happens across this country every day by the thousands. So work site enforcement's important. Work site enforcement is the number one place. We find victims of sex trafficking, forced labor trafficking. And second of all, we gotta hold these companies responsible 'cause they're undercut US citizen employment, they're driving down wages and it's against a lot of hiring illegal aliens. So we gotta enforce law."

Peachy said...

oso - getting the feeling you don't like landscapers/ing..

Humperdink said...

Anyone with an illegal in the workforce has been put on notice. Be not surprised when the grim reaper cometh for your employees.

Yancey Ward said...

Markets clear if the law is applied without discrimination and no one interferes with the price signals. This might mean some people have to do their own landscaping or pay more for the service, for example. There are more than enough legal laborers in the U.S. to fill all of these jobs done by illegal residents, but it requires a higher wage level to draw them out into the legal labor market and I am not talking about the idiotic minimum wage that Fredo keeps going on about- the minimum wage is always and everywhere zero.

Mason G said...

"and fuck the suburbs that need landscaping."

Suburbs? I can walk to downtown in five minutes or so and everybody around here has a yard that needs mowing and landscaping that needs maintenance.

Mason G said...

"and I am not talking about the idiotic minimum wage that Fredo keeps going on about"

Leftists go on about the minimum wage because it benefits their union pets whose pay is increased when the MW goes up.

Peachy said...

I have the flip story.
A year ago - I needed to hire a landscaper. I did hire a Landscape designer who also does the work. I paid him for the design - but when he gave me his quote for the work - I gasped. It was shockingly high.
I asked him when he could start (as it was early spring at the time) and he said he didn't know- because he was waiting for his H1B Visa workers to arrive.
So while I waited, I decided to get another quote from another landscaper. I knew a really good one in NoCo - but I didn't think he would be available, and I assumed he would NOT want to work so far south. I called him anyway. Long story short - his price was significantly lower, he had some time, was OK with the travel, - and his crew - all English speaking locals. I hired him and got the job done before the other guy could even get his LEGAL - but non-citizen - crew to arrive.

It was a fantastic experience.
I say - if you can - Hire the American worker - legal citizens.

Jersey Fled said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
rehajm said...

There are more than enough legal laborers in the U.S. to fill all of these jobs done by illegal residents, but it requires a higher wage level to draw them out

Reducing the incentives to not work goes a long way, too…

Wince said...

There is a win-win-win-win here for consumers, employers, American and immigrant labor.

Increase LEGAL immigration in the needed labor categories, but by a number less than the illegals deported.

lonejustice said...

The people who benefit most from illegal immigrant labor are rich Republican businessmen who want the cheap labor for their huge agricultural farms, cheap housekeeping for their resorts and hotels, domestic workers (maids and nannies), nursing home attendants, and workers for their slaughterhouses and meatpacking plants. These are industries where whites simply won't do the very hard work required. That's one of the reasons why genuine immigration reform is so difficult to get passed in Congress.

Jupiter said...

"At this point if you think the minimum wage raises wages you are just really stupid or really dishonest."
Yeah, that's Freder.

narciso said...

like john hickenlooper, the former governor of Colorado,

Jupiter said...

The Democrats want us to believe, that they believe, that America can easily absorb any amount of Third-World immigration without lowering the standard of living of American citizens. Actually, I think some of the crazy white ladies do believe that.

BG said...

My grandson likes to work with concrete. Maybe he can get hired full-time now. Last year was spent working as a contract worker. He was the only English-speaking white guy on that crew.

Enigma said...

Losing an entire crew overnight (original post) is why Black males are drifting away from the Democratic Party. In my area, the construction, road, and landscaping crews are 70% "Hispanic looking," with the rest split between Black and White people.

Black males are torn between loyality to their women / mothers who depend on government programs and professional dignity. While they hold many of the transportation, food service, and janitorial positions, they do indeed compete with those able to undercut the citizen job market.

Where are the labor unions? Oh I forgot, split between corrupt global control and drifting to Trump...

Peachy said...

Lone Justice - said
"The people who benefit most from illegal immigrant labor are rich Republican businessmen "

Give us your proof and source for your BS.

Peachy said...

10:33 - Jupiter - #

Peachy said...

Illegal immigration - paid for by NGO's - in secret - without tax payer permission is a disgusting travesty to the health or our once great nation.

The corrupt left demand you accept it. and will use any lie - to cover it up.

Humperdink said...

Lonejustice said:
"The people who benefit most from illegal immigrant labor are rich Republican businessmen "

What a canard. Look at NYC or any major city. Loaded with your friends, that is the illegals. Sure they are on the farms and on roofs, but that’s not the majority.

Louise B said...

About twenty years ago, I walked into work to find our receptionist sobbing at her desk. She told me her husband was losing his landscaping business because he was hiring and paying legal wages and benefits but being undercut by those using illegals. They were trying very hard to improve their family's life (why she was a receptionist,) but couldn't make it. It opened my eyes to the exploitation of using illegals by employers who didn't have to obey the law because the illegals had already broken it to get here. By the way, I live in Albuquerque and the receptionist's family was Hispanic.

Gospace said...

Humperdink said...
I do not know a soul who earns minimum wage. Not one, including teenagers.


TBH- it's hard to find a job that pays minimum wage nowadays. And if you do find one- people who actually show up to work every day on time ready to go won't be applying for the job- there are higher paying jobs available.

My first hourly job- washing busses- was above minimum wage. Delivering newspapers - back then- was above minimum wage. And- the income wasn't taxed. Don't know if there was a loophole or if the authorities simply didn't go after us. We were responsible for our own routes. Contracted with the customers. And collected the subscription fee from them weekly. And the tips. The newspaper didn't have a copy of my route and my customers. They only knew my area and how many newspapers I contracted for that I had to pay them for- weekly. All of us had an area and couldn't poach or expand outside it.

Howard said...

I worked commercial landscaping installation in HS and college. I could barely keep up with the old men from Mexico who made shovelling dirt into an art form. A ton of the illegals are hard working and loyal. We should keep the good ones.

gilbar said...

lonejustice said...
"The people who benefit most from illegal immigrant labor are rich Republican businessmen"

by which, he means "republicans" like himself..
you know?
life long republicans that NEVER voted for a republican in their life..
life long republicans that support ALL democrat policies and candidates
life long republicans that spent their lives working for the democrats

Humperdink said...

Howard, I agree. But not 15 million. Set a number and have them get a registration number and report to the immigration office.

Original Mike said...

"Give us your proof and source for your BS."

He can't, because he just made it up.

"The people who benefit most from illegal immigrant labor are rich Republican businessmen"

Just to point out one problem with his assertion; how does he know his rich businessmen are Republicans? An awful lot of rich people seem to be democrats, nowadays. Yet he reaches back to some 1980s view of society.

tommyesq said...

H1B abuse occurred in many industries. The computer industry, for example, is flooded with H1B workers who get paid considerably less than American counterparts, despite there being no shortage of skilled American workers. This is so prevalent that a degree in computer science went from being a top-ten degree in the mid-2010's to a bottom-ten degree now.

Enigma said...

@Original Mike:

"An awful lot of rich people seem to be democrats, nowadays. Yet he reaches back to some 1980s view of society."

The wealthiest counties in the USA are routinely blue or bluish, as copied from Wikipedia's "List of highest-income counties in the United States":

Rank County or
Equivalent State Median
Household
Income
1 Loudoun County Virginia Virginia $147,111
2 Falls Church Virginia Virginia $146,922
3 Santa Clara County California California $130,890
4 San Mateo County California California $128,091
5 Fairfax County Virginia Virginia $127,866
6 Howard County Maryland Maryland $124,042
7 Arlington County Virginia Virginia $122,604
8 Marin County California California $121,671
9 Douglas County Colorado Colorado $121,393
10 Nassau County New York (state) New York $120,036
11 Los Alamos County New Mexico New Mexico $119,266
12 San Francisco County California California $119,136
13 Hunterdon County New Jersey New Jersey $117,858
14 Morris County New Jersey New Jersey $117,298
15 Somerset County New Jersey New Jersey $116,510
16 Forsyth County Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia $112,834
17 Calvert County Maryland Maryland $112,696
18 Nantucket County Massachusetts Massachusetts $112,306
19 Stafford County Virginia Virginia $112,247
20 Montgomery County Maryland Maryland $111,812

Leland said...

That's one of the reasons why genuine immigration reform is so difficult to get passed in Congress.

Simply not true, because it is the reverse. There are already laws against everything you claim to be occurring. Trump and his administration are enforcing those laws. What you want, by way of blaming others to assuage your own guilt, is immigration reform that allows all those things. Otherwise, the only action to take is what Trump is doing. And when those reforms have been offered, such as by Democrats during the Biden Administration, the majority of the population rejects them.

Jaq said...

"I can walk to downtown in five minutes or so and everybody around here has a yard that needs mowing and landscaping that needs maintenance."

Anybody die of it? Look at a movie made in the '70s, the buildings aren't surrounded by manicured landscaping. I remember the '70s, some things certainly sucked, but the lackadaisical landscaping wasn't part of it.

Jaq said...

Give me McDonalds fries made with beef tallow, and slapdash landscaping, any time.

Original Mike said...

lonejustice said..."These are industries where whites simply won't do the very hard work required."

ICE Raid At Omaha Food Plant Results In Dozens Of Arrests, New Applicants For Open Jobs

About those jobs that Americans "won't do": "Within two days, however, the company’s waiting room was filled with legal workers, eager to apply for the jobs needing to be filled."

How do you know Americans (I don't know why you identified them as "whites") won't do those jobs? Because the lefty media told you so. I would suggest that, just like your "rich Republican businessmen", the world is different than the just-so stories that fill your head.

Freder Frederson said...

Because the lefty media told you so.

Actually, Elon Musk told us that H1b visas are necessary because Americans are too stupid and lazy.

boatbuilder said...

The people who benefit most from illegal immigrant labor are rich Republican businessmen who want the cheap labor for their huge agricultural farms, cheap housekeeping for their resorts and hotels, domestic workers (maids and nannies), nursing home attendants, and workers for their slaughterhouses and meatpacking plants. These are industries where whites simply won't do the very hard work required. That's one of the reasons why genuine immigration reform is so difficult to get passed in Congress.

Which is of course why the Democrats have worked so tirelessly to make sure there are no illegal immigrant laborers coming into the country, right?

Jaq said...

Anybody who indulges in sharp practices, hovering around the line of legality, is well advised to make sure people know he's a Democrat, because people like Freder will let everything he does slide. If you are a Republican, you could be fined hundreds of millions of dollars for applying for a loan in the same way every other businessman does, for cripes sake.

PM said...

No car washes, no yardmen, no housekeepers.
Cue Martin Mull:
"I woke up this afternoon
I saw both cars were gone
I felt so low down deep inside
I threw my drink across the lawn"

loudogblog said...

It has not gone unnoticed here how many liberals are actually arguing in favor of buisnesses gaining unfair advantage (and making lots of money) through illegal hiring and pay practices. They've definitely proven themselves not to be the party looking out for the middle class working person.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

FLC lies The hotel industry is being decimated.

No it's not. We have deported a drop in the bucket. Another 1 million may have self-deported. That still leaves between 10 and 20 million (or more) here.

Stop spreading Democrat propaganda like Freder.

Peachy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Peachy said...

Some Americans are too stupid and lazy - Freder. wow - what a revelation!
and yes - there are people from Mexico and central American - who work hard - in comparison.
and?
What does that have to do with making sure we deport Biden's millions of illegals?

Peachy said...

Mike Wolf 11:53.
Exactly.
The left are whining and lying... theater for the party.
The only thing the loyal left are truly good at.

n.n said...

Cheap, illegal, and ultimately unaffordable.

Peachy said...

btw- when I hired a landscaper - it was a huge luxury. Most of it was rock-work. With all of the fires - the county requires a fire-proof zone and NO plantings within 5 feet of the house.
I used to do all of my landscaping myself. And I'm no stranger to the local landscape supply place. I used to bring my buckets and shovel rock into them and weight out. So much less $$$ that going to home depot one bag at a time.
Proud that I created my first Gabion mini-wall as a barrier to a shade garden. There's a lot of satisfaction doing it yourself.

Peachy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Peachy said...

JAQ 11:49
#

Mark said...

@Freder Frederson,
So I've just pulled my head out of my ass and I still see only Democrats objecting to the stopping of this evil. Maybe wiping the sh*t off my glasses will help.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Steven's another liar. E-Verify has been the law for 30 years. Democrats blocked making it a requirement and it remains voluntary except for government contractors. Funny how when a Republican campaigns on deportations, even when the rate and volume lag the last three presidents by a factor of 5, these few deportations in 2025 have such catastrophic effects in leftists minds.

What about the 12-million Obama expelled? Why didn't the hotel industry collapse then? Why were these landscapers still in business after Obama deported over half the stated illegal number (20 million) in his term?

Original Mike said...

"So I've just pulled my head out of my ass and I still see only Democrats objecting to the stopping of this evil."

What evil? Do you mean the millions streaming across our borders? Trump stopped that.

DINKY DAU 45 said...

"mow your own lawn you lazy bastard and plant your own F'ING flowers" says Gomez! Whitey calls the police.... :)

Original Mike said...

"mow your own lawn you lazy bastard and plant your own F'ING flowers"

I do.

c365 said...

As true as this is, the reality is that the 100 consumers a year who get the benefit of cheaper landscaping or roofing, 1. Actually get that work done, instead of sitting on the sidelines, which helps the economy, 2. benefit from the yard or new roof, 3. Put that savings into investment, vacations, cars, more spending, etc. VS spending more on the landscaping only, and the 1 landscaper or roofer and his son, get that money and can invest, spend, etc.

So we have 100 consumers benefiting, vs, 1 owner and his son benefiting.

But what about the US citizen landscaper and his son? What would they do otherwise? The reality is, the risk of being unemployed is scary, but they would find other more productive source for their labor, just as the 100 other customers who they hope would hire them.

Tightly controlling labor markets with barriers to entry does not benefit the economy as a whole. We know this if we were to require heavy certification and other requirements that increase costs of running a business.

The residency requirement is similar in effect in how it drives up costs to the benefit of the few at the expense of the many. (to say nothing of the human benefit that non-residents get from working).

That being said, illegal immigration is a serious issue we need to be concerned with based on: who is coming here without documentation and what kind of social services they are consuming, and how fractured our criminal justice system is at handling the inevitable problems from some of the immigrants who come here and turn to crime.

Those are the problems that need fixing. We can't just open all doors and deal with the consequences of those broken systems, but likewise, we are only making ourselves poorer if we insist that all work needs to cost 2-3x as much.

Peachy said...

All of Biden's illegals must be de-funed.

We should also thank Joe for all the sleeper cells that certainly came in during the mass criminal event of an Open Border.

John henry said...

Someone in Bluesky posted a sob story about an illegal (implied) CA cherry picker. Poor Maria got paid a couple dollars a bucket, worked 7 hours a day and only picked so many buckets a day.

Some moaning about poor Maria in the comments and so on.

I thought "hmmm..." and did the math.

They gave a range of buckest/day and she was making $22-25 per hour.

But it was Bluesky so I am the nazi for pointing out that it was not bad bay for essentially unskilled labor.

And, for dissing Maria by calling her labor unskilled.

John Henry

Old and slow said...

Everyone talks about Mexicans working for a pittance, but in my experience it just isn't true. I've been on both sides of this equation. I've worked landscaping in Arizona (10 years ago, but from what I've seen, little has changed). Most of the crew was Mexican illegals, but not all of us. We were all getting paid $20-$25/hour. The highest paid guys were all Mexicans who were good at dry stacking stone walls. I've also been involved in a family owned restaurant, and our kitchen staff were nearly all illegals, and all were paid way over minimum wage. We simply never got many Americans applying, and the ones who did apply were usually unreliable meth heads. We would have had to close down if we had to rely on legal workers. In the end, we closed down because Covid restrictions killed any chance of carrying on. Our border needs to be secured for sure, but I've got great respect for the Mexican workers I've known, and most should have a clear path to citizenship. This is not a zero sum game. For the most part immigrants who are law abiding and working increase the overall wealth of the country. This helps everyone.

John henry said...

A gabion minimal, peachy?

Isn't that cultural appropriation?

(jes funnin. Congrats)

John Henry

TeaBagHag said...

The indiscriminate kidnappings by masked thugs will continue until morale improves!

Inga said...

“Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long-time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace.”

Donald Trump

Christopher B said...

Mike Wolf, my understanding is that E-verify is worse than simply voluntary. It is also illegal to attempt to screen out illegal alien applicants so a business must (as I understand it) make an offer and have it accepted before they can check status. Which means if the applicant is illegal they have to start the hiring process all over again after rescinding the job offer, and hope they can find a legal hire.

Christopher B said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Inga said...

Sooo… which businesses should be prosecuted?

Aggie said...

1. Illegal Immigration is no longer a huge problem, in case nobody noticed. We're dealing with the legacy of illegal immigration from before someone figured out how to police the border.
2. Homan and ICE are not going to be able to reverse the numbers, we've been swamped and estimates range up to 50 million illegals in country.
3. If you start penalizing employers, and continue the DOGE work with the SSA (uncovering fraud and wrongful use of existing SSN), you'll continue reducing whatever that actual number is, since many of them have been self-deporting, so we're told.
4. Feel strongly about it? Why not help an illegal get a green card then, if they're terrific workers and ethical and additive to society, and really want to become citizens? I've done it 3 times so far, and so far 2 of them have.
5. Special priority should be given to those that make no effort to assimilate, JIMHO. Super-special priority for those from countries that tend to ghetto-ize neighborhoods.

Old and slow said...

Jax said "I see lots of healthy young men begging for cash at intersections who could easily plant their butts in the seat of a lawnmower."

Not really. They are ALL on meth and fentanyl. No one in their right mind would hire those guys even if they were willing to work, and they are not.

TaeJohnDo said...

T2 said...

If the landscaper used e-Verify, he is protected.

Maybe. Did he pay them the legal wage? Pay all appropriate taxes? ETC.

Achilles said...

TeaBagHag said...
The indiscriminate kidnappings by masked thugs will continue until morale improves!

At least until we raise wages for Americans who work.

Peachy said...

The D-bags arrive just in time.

Peachy said...

Aggie - excellent run-down. Agree.

We already had illegals working in the "shadows" - now we have millions more - many of whom are/were criminals in their home-countries - looking to score big in a nation that gave up fighting crime.

Achilles said...

Inga said...
“Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long-time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace.”

Donald Trump


Totally true.

They should have a legal way to get here so they cannot be exploited by democrat donors.

Leland said...

Tightly controlling labor markets with barriers to entry does not benefit the economy as a whole. We know this if we were to require heavy certification and other requirements that increase costs of running a business.

Demanding paid labor impacted the economy. Actually, it was quite devastating to the US economy initially. Yesterday, we celebrating doing it anyway.

Alas, bringing up economic impact is a canard in recent discussions on what to do with illegal US immigration. If economic impact was a universal concern, we wouldn't see states writing laws to provide universal health care to illegal aliens. We wouldn't see politicians ignoring riots that loot and burn down businesses. Such things would not be done by those with concerns about the economy. They are done because individuals are profiting both from the employment of people below minimum wage and threatening violence unless they get their way.

bagoh20 said...

Sending someone back where they came from is not kidnapping, but you knew that and said it anyway.

Mason G said...

"They've definitely proven themselves not to be the party looking out for the middle class working person."

Democrats: "We need laws to force businesses to pay workers more."

Also Democrats: "We need to ignore laws that interfere with our efforts to bring in more illegals and drive down wages."

bagoh20 said...

"Everyone talks about Mexicans working for a pittance, but in my experience it just isn't true."
Same here. They get paid the same as everyone else in my experience. They get hired because that's who shows up for the labor jobs. They stay hired because they come to work and generally have better work habits than today's citizens. Everybody would love to have English speaking American citizens rather than immigrants, but you can't hire or pay people that don't show up for the job. If you only hire a few people now and then, and can be choosy, it's possible, but if you need dozens right away you end up with whoever shows up. The pay is decided before they even apply, and usually advertised.

n.n said...

The problem stems from total liability. Not just wages.

Rocco said...

DINKY DAU 45 said...
"mow your own lawn you lazy bastard and plant your own F'ING flowers,” says Gomez.

And he was right about the flowers. Their care was Morticia’s job.

Jaq said...

"The pay is decided before they even apply"

This has nothing to do with how the additional labor affects the price of labor. That is set by the market as a whole, and yes, it is lower than it would be if you weren't positive that a whole bunch of illegals would show up willing to take that rate; and ir fewer native borns show up for that rate? Well... The illegals are scabs, pure and simple, crossing a line to work for wages lower than would otherwise be on offer.

I really wish that everybody took at least one course in logic. It's not that hard.

Jaq said...

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it." —Upton Sinclair

Jaq said...

"Tightly controlling labor markets with barriers to entry does not benefit the economy as a whole."

Begging the question; the economy as a whole includes a number of people at the very top, and if squeezing the people at the bottom makes the people at the top richer, well, sure "as a whole" the economy may benefit, but that has zero to do with whether it benefits the majority of the participants in that economy.

Once again, simple logic. Once again, look at the experience of the commoners as the Black Death created labor shortages. Serfs got bid off of the land they had been bound to. That's where last names came from, nobody needed a last name if they were a serf bound to a piece of land for life at birth.

lonejustice said...

One of the reasons there are millions of illegals in this country is because they do the jobs which Americans, mostly white, refuse to do any more. There are huge agricultural farms in America which are still dependent on back breaking manual labor to pick the produce and fruit out in the intense heat of the sun. There are thousands of resorts and hotels where no white person wants to clean the toilets and mop the floors and do the laundry. There are thousands of nursing homes where no white person wants to wipe the dirty butt of a dying old person and clean up their "spills" and work every day in a place that smells of human shit and urine. There are thousands of slaughtering plants and packing houses where you work in freezing temperatures in 10 or 12 hours shifts and cut out the guts and blood of butchered animals with incredibly sharp knives. There is no way that white people will ever go back to doing these menial, hard, labor intensive jobs. That's why Trump has decided that he will no longer target them, but will only concentrate on the criminal illegal immigrants. Trump will always be loyal to his rich Republican businessmen who support and fund his campaigns, regardless of whether they rely on illegal immigrant workers or not.

minnesota farm guy said...

To support Jaq: If the number of workers is reduced, then wages have to go up. Basic economics. There is absolutely no question that a surplus of illegals depresses wages in whatever field they work in. Who suffers most? Blacks, marginal workers and those just getting started in the work force. Why should native Americans even enter a job market they are going to be priced out of by illegals? Why start a lawn care business, or home repair, or other manual labor business when you know that a bunch of South American illegals are going to underprice you?

Jaq said...

I guess it comes down to whether you are willing to have your landscaping look a little ragged and frowsy, but you know that your fellow citizens have an opportunity to work for a respectable wage, or no, you don't care about your fellow citizens, not your problem. Just say it.

One of the weirdest things about communication in this society is how many people are unwilling to declare their actual objectives with a policy position, but rather use manipulative language to try to get around ever having to state them.

Rusty said...

The twenty dollar an hour minimum wage is why there are kiosks at McDonalds.
Had lunch at Portillos today,(spicy chicken sandwich), in St Charles Illinois. No hispanics behind the counter.

Jaq said...

"One of the reasons there are millions of illegals in this country is because they do the jobs which Americans, mostly white, refuse to do any more."

Have we explored the option of paying higher wages, creating better working conditions, and giving better benefits? Or is that out of the question?

Let me update Upton Sinclair:

"It is difficult to get a person to understand something when millions of votes for their political party depends upon their not understanding it."

minnesota farm guy said...

The standard argument is that illegals do jobs native Americans won't do. What is being said is that native Americans will not do the jobs at the depressed wages or the poor working conditions that illegals will. So let's find a legal way to import workers or- God forbid- improve pay and working conditions.

Jaq said...

Funny how the same people trying to get us to eat less meat get all worked up over possible high cost of labor at meat packing plants.

Jaq said...

It almost suggests that they have some other objectives with their policy than they claim, since arguing for lower costs at meat packing plants is completely at odds with their other positions on meat eating in general, and climate change.

Original Mike said...

lonejustice said…"There are thousands of slaughtering plants and packing houses where you work in freezing temperatures in 10 or 12 hours shifts and cut out the guts and blood of butchered animals with incredibly sharp knives. There is no way that white people will ever go back to doing these menial, hard, labor intensive jobs."

I can provide a link for you, but I can't understand it for you.

And stop with the racist "white people" crap.

Jaq said...

"10 or 12 hours shifts..."

Why do employers believe that they can get away with that, I wonder...

Jaq said...

When did Democrats stop caring about wages and working conditions? See my comment at 2:52.

And as an aside, isn't it weird that Democrats are having so much trouble winning working class votes? It's got to be "messaging," it can't be policy.

Jim at said...

Yeah. Not feeling a lot of sympathy for those who were not only enabling lawbreakers, but breaking the law themselves.

Jim at said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jim at said...

Or you could just enforce current labor laws and raise the minimum wage.

It's always entertaining when Freder weighs in on economic issues and shows his ass.

bagoh20 said...

"I really wish that everybody took at least one course in logic. It's not that hard."
I don't need to try and logic a guess. I have hired thousands of people in labor jobs over 4 decades in manufacturing in Los Angeles. I know first hand how it works. In most companies, an immigrant working next to a citizen makes the same money, sometimes more. If you discriminate, based on their status, you will be hearing from a lawyer, at least in California. Everybody thinks illegals are scared of being found out. Suddenly now they are, but for my whole career, that was a myth. Lawyers and CA law protected them over and above citizens. One of the reasons, I moved my company out of California. That, and Workers Comp at 10X the rate I pay now.

Jim at said...

The people who benefit most from illegal immigrant labor are rich Republican businessmen...

I don't know why you even bother pretending anymore.

Achilles said...

lonejustice said...
One of the reasons there are millions of illegals in this country is because they do the jobs which Americans, mostly white, refuse to do any more.

You are just a racist piece of shit. But the people who justified slavery are just like you. You just changed your vocabulary a little.

"White People" will happily do those jobs if they can support a family and make a living at it.

But you and your racist modern day slave owners didn't want to pay that much. So you imported slaves. Just like last time.

And again we are going to put your insurrection down. You can arm and organize your foreign army but they will just get moved out that much faster.

I personally am glad that you are all just fully removing your masks at this point and showing the world how detestable you really are.

Jaq said...

"I don't need a course in logic..."

Then:

"In most companies, an immigrant working next to a citizen makes the same money"

Yes, the overall market sets rates, and the overall market knows that illegals will show up in enough numbers to fill the jobs even if the wages are lower. Nobody says that native born Americans are making more for the same job, we are saying that the wages overall are being driven down, and lots of Americans are refusing the lower wages on offer.

Markets operate on information, and that information says that they can get away with offering lower wages due to the large number of illegals.

Jaq said...

BTW, see comment at 2:52 if you missed it.

Peachy said...

Leland @ 2:07 #

bagoh20 said...

"that information says that they can get away with offering lower wages due to the large number of illegals."
I accept that to a point, but in my experience it not so much that the pay is too low, it's that the immigrants simply need the job more. They don't have the option of living off their parents, and they often have families when Americans stay single, and thus don't need the job so much. I've seen plenty of Americans turn down good pay, simply because they don't want the 40 hrs. a week, and forget about getting them to stay overtime for time and a half. It's not the money. It's the lifestyle of being a working stiff that keeps them away. The difference in attendance is another sign. The same thing happens to the offspring of 1st generation immigrants. Once they have the option of living under their parents roof everything changes. My best workers are all older people immigrant or citizen. They have bills. At least that's how it is in manual labor work.

Peachy said...

Also - Mexicans exploit other Mexicans.
I say in general - don't know the numbers.
I will say I've worked with tile setters who are clearly American-Mexican (US citizens - who go home to their families in Mexico for vacation) - they hire and train other illegal Mexicans. (don't know what the pay scale is)
The boss has a sweet new truck - the illegals all show up in a single crappy car.

Deep State Reformer said...

Odd how the business press (WSJ, CNBC, Bloomberg) never report on this phenomenon. Do they not know about it? That seems unlikely to me. More likely is they just don't care or perhaps have even been told not to. You can save money on your job if you don't mind the work being done at night, no permits pulled, and if you pay in cash or by multiple EFTs. No warranty or receipt either.

Peachy said...

If you are from Mexico, or another Spanish speaking country - (Brazil - Portuguese) Learn English.
You got yourself a golden ticket.

Americans who know Spanish - same golden ticket.

Peachy said...

Bagoh's experiences - very interesting. No surprise about CA.

Achilles said...

bagoh20 said...
"I really wish that everybody took at least one course in logic. It's not that hard."
I don't need to try and logic a guess. I have hired thousands of people in labor jobs over 4 decades in manufacturing in Los Angeles. I know first hand how it works. In most companies, an immigrant working next to a citizen makes the same money, sometimes more. If you discriminate, based on their status, you will be hearing from a lawyer, at least in California. Everybody thinks illegals are scared of being found out. Suddenly now they are, but for my whole career, that was a myth. Lawyers and CA law protected them over and above citizens. One of the reasons, I moved my company out of California. That, and Workers Comp at 10X the rate I pay now.


What you are describing is a system that was built to destroy the working class.

First you tax the crap out of their employers and you specifically target wages and hourly pay for taxation. Then you regulate the shit out of their employers.

This has a duel benefit of reducing competition for the globalist oligarchs who don't need to worry about US entrepreneurs making things in the US.

Next you flood the labor market with poor people from other countries and give them a dubious legal status so they wont speak up. They will work hard for less and necessarily lower working class wages. All California was doing was playing good cop bad cop with the feds.

This system was designed with purpose to make it harder for US Entrepreneurs to compete with the globalist oligarchs and to keep wages for working class people down.

Gospace said...

lonejustice said
There are thousands of resorts and hotels where no white person wants to clean the toilets and mop the floors and do the laundry.

There are also many hotels in high end communities on the east coast where all the workers doing all those things are Caucasian. Because that's what the customers want to see. The workers are from the former eastern bloc countries and countries with names that end in -stan, but they're all white. And speak passable English. And some are even here legally.

Mason G said...

"This system was designed with purpose to make it harder for US Entrepreneurs to compete with the globalist oligarchs and to keep wages for working class people down."

Reported by the New York Post...

Blue-collar wage growth under Trump sees largest increase in nearly 60 years, Treasury sec reveals on Pod Force One

Blue-collar workers have seen real wage growth of almost two percent in the first five months of President Donald Trump’s second term, the largest increase for any administration in nearly 60 years.

The 1.7% pay bump is in stark contrast to negative growth under Joe Biden, according to new data from the US Department of the Treasury.

Since Richard Nixon in 1969, Trump has been the only president to record positive growth for blue-collar workers in his first five months. He also achieved 1.3% in his first term.


https://nypost.com/2025/06/17/us-news/blue-collar-wage-growth-under-trump-sees-largest-increase-in-nearly-60-years-bessent/

FormerLawClerk said...

"Odd how the business press (WSJ, CNBC, Bloomberg) never report on this phenomenon."

All of the press in the United States are owned by just 6 billionaire oligarchs.

* WSJ is owned by Rupert Murdoch
* NBC (and all of its media and entertainment companies) is owned by Brian Roberts.
* Bloomberg is of course owned by billionaire Michael Bloomberg.

There isn't a free press in the United States. It's all been captured by these 6 individual billionaires.

Achilles said...

What Mason G posted is why there is so much opposition to Trump by the way among other reasons.

The oligarchs are losing their advantages against the working class. Trump is completely rebalancing the field and bringing back the American dream.

It will also unleash the entrepreneur class again in the US.

Bob Boyd said...

"A people who do not have a national self-awareness is the manure on which another people grow" - Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin, Prime Minister of Russia, 1906-1911

PB said...

Next go after the H1B scam.

FullMoon said...

Inga said...
“Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long-time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace.”

This has been buggin' me. Sweep Home D, east side neighborhoods where gangsters hang out, downtown, parks first. Check the un employed first and send them back.
Many of the illegal workers have been productive for years and never spent the time or money to get legal/
Deporting the bums and gangsters first sends a message to the working illegal to get off his ass and get the ball rolling towards citizenship.

And, the citizenship process should be quicker. Biden coulda hired more people to speed up citizenship instead of hiring thousands of IRS guys to go after taxes from ebay, garage sale, and Craigslist sales.

Prof. M. Drout said...

When I worked in hotels and restaurants in the late 1980s in the Jersey Shore area, every single person who worked in the kitchen spoke unaccented English, as did all the chamber-maids and bellmen. We were from all different ethnic groups, but American-born white people worked in every single job category, so the idea that Americans won't stoop to working in certain low-level jobs is either made up or is something that coincided with the flood of illegals.
A lot of us were high-school or college kids who weren't going to be in the hospitality industry for the rest of our lives, but on weeks when you were off school and could work full-time, the money was good. In December 1985 I made $400 in tips in a single night just before Christmas. That was more than a month's rent for a 1-bedroom apartment.

Zchief said...

Two of my friends were drywall contractors. I wasn't familiar with their hiring practices but on one occasion I happened to be in a building under renovation and bumped into a young crew of drywall workers receiving directions in Spanish from and older crew leader. Thought to myself this had to be an example of low pay, migrant workers. After a bit, their boss, one of my contractor friends, walked in. After saying hi and noting this was his job he turned to the crew leader explaining more of what had to be done which he in turn explained to the crew in Spanish. So, some time later, talking to my other drywall contractor friend, I learned he had gone out of business as he couldn't win any contracts. Learned that he was very patriotic and would only hire citizens. He pointed out it was my other contractor friend that under bid him at every turn.

Kakistocracy said...

Obviously, Trump's endgame is deporting pet-eating terrorist gang members in Ohio. But to get to them, he has to go through gardeners and fry cooks in Los Angeles.

Mason G said...

If they're here illegally, why not? Or is it okay to ignore laws you don't agree with?

Achilles said...

Kakistocracy said...
Obviously, Trump's endgame is deporting pet-eating terrorist gang members in Ohio. But to get to them, he has to go through gardeners and fry cooks in Los Angeles.

I look forward to California losing 5-10 more congressional seats and electoral votes because they aren't padding their numbers with illegals.

And I will be even happier when the wages for gardeners and fry cooks go up because democrats lose their pool of exploitable labor.

glenlyon said...

The minimum wage isn’t part of the problem, as both legal and illegal workers make more than twice that amount. Raising it $1 a year for three or four years would be harmless and is free political capital for the party that wants it. Maybe something for Trump’s SOTU.

Also, E-verify is broken. The going price is about $900 to get the necessary documents. Needs to get fixed. Something more like RealID is what we need.

And folks, H1B isn’t for unskilled and semiskilled labor. That’s H2B. There is annual “cap” for new participants, pathetically low at 66,000, but previous admittees can extend this annually outside of the cap.

EuropeanUnion? said...

The problem is that their $20 per hour minimum wage is unworkable. Sure, you can get Starbucks employees to unionize and scalp more off the corporate backs to gain political power. But almost all small businesses are having a very hard time with it. So, the answer is to hire illegal labor. But it is okay because we are giving them free health care and free educations. Citizens can pay for their own health care because they get a living wage. So, each according to their needs has manifested itself.

Tina Trent said...

Prosecute the shit out of the employers, including those who "subcontract" to these firms, which includes every single major construction, cleaning, grocery, state and county road and building commission, and all other big box stores in America. Expel the workers. These people don't pay taxes or marry the wives of their children to up the bennies. We pay all their expenses, and they crowd emergency rooms if they get hurt. And NEVER pay.

Tina Trent said...

We're going to have to lose some things. Pricey holidays in over-priced hotels. The obsession of eating out all the time.

My family didn't do those things, and we did fine, despite destructive medical costs, costs and care that are literally unaffordable now, except for the mandarin classes of government, teacher, SEIU, university, and a few other exceptions.

Well, screw them. Hard. We can handle a few less nonessentials to fix this mess. And entirely eliminate the special privileges of the taxpayer-supported mandarin classes. Let them pay for their own damn benefits and watch the entire system gain more "equity" for all, at the demands of the taxpayers.

It will take a million adjustments. But we can improve what we have now if we stop giving it away for free to all government workers, starting with the schools and government unions. And get rid of all the illegals.

Tina Trent said...

Bagoh20: and which of these cohorts are paying taxes throughout their careers or in the jobs you hire for? You talk a very loose game. And you never address subcontracting, so I don't believe half of what you say.

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