More immigrants is not the answer

Letter date: 
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Letter publisher: 
registerguard.com
Letter author: 
Jerry Ritter
Letter body: 

CEO Thomas Donohue of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce says we need more immigrants “to meet the growing demand for high-skilled workers” (“How will U.S. tap ‘best, brightest’?” June 24).

Twenty-five million Americans are out of work. More than 50 percent of Americans younger than 25 with a bachelor’s degree are unemployed or underemployed. Hewlett-Packard is laying off more than 20,000 employees. There are between 11 million and 20 million illegal immigrants in our country. Family-wage jobs are vanishing.

And America needs more immigrants? What a smoke screen.

The reason businesses want more immigrants is because they can be paid lower wages, pure and simple.