Oregon's unemployed, including 378 in Harney County, should not have to compete for jobs with non-U.S. citizens

Letter date: 
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Letter publisher: 
Burns Times-Herald
Letter author: 
David Olen Cross
Letter body: 

President Barack Obama's deferred deportation order on some 1.7 million undocumented foreign nationals (illegal aliens) between the ages of 16 and 30, in conjunction with issuing them Social Security numbers and work permits, shows a clear view of a President in complete willful disregard for America's 13.4 million unemployed citizens; 8.3 percent of the civilian labor force.

Oregon's unemployment numbers for July were 177,801; a seasonally adjusted 8.7 percent.

Harney County's 378 unemployed in July equated to 13.1 percent of the county's work force.

An analysis done by the Employment Policy Institute indicated that Oregon in July ranked third in the nation with teen unemployment for ages 16 to 24 at 30 percent.

What President Obama's deferred deportation order means to Oregon's unemployed is up to 16,600 illegal aliens will be permitted to enter the state's work force during the worst recession since the Great Depression.

The addition of 16,600 illegal aliens into the state's civilian labor force could increase unemployment in Oregon by 9.3 percent.

The state's elected officials like Governor John Kitzhaber should not cooperate with the Obama administration by allowing thousands of illegal aliens to enter the state's workforce. Governor Kitzhaber can put a stop to many of these illegal aliens working in the state by not changing state law that currently requires legal presence in the country to obtain an Oregon driver's license. Kitzhaber should know that Obama's deferred deportation order doesn't constitute legal presence for those persons illegally in the country.

Oregon's 177,801 unemployed legal U.S. citizens should contact President Obama in the White House and communicate to the President unemployed Americans should never have to compete for scarce jobs with illegal aliens no matter what age demographic they represent.

David Olen Cross of Salem (docfnc@yahoo.com) writes on the subjects of immigration and foreign national crime.