I’ve been tossing this question around in my head ever since we started writing Refugee Resettlement Watch—are the volags (federal contractors who re-settle refugees) acting as employment services for big business while wearing their humanitarian hats? Blulitespecial brought this provactive article by Brenda Walker to my attention, and although it is mostly about illegal immigrants, legal immigrants are also part of the cheap labor force.
I’ve mentioned this idea on several occasions—that Refugee Resettlement has been promoted by the Left as a humanitarian initiative but has a dark side. I go back to this post, ironically written exactly one year ago today, in which I revealed that Bill Clinton supplied Bosnian refugee labor to the meatpacking industry in Iowa.
Now to Walker at VDARE:
Some patriotic friends of borders may have thought that a severe recession would be an impossible time for Washington to push through an amnesty for 10-30 million lawbreaking foreigners. But Senator Charles Schumer, Chair of the Subcommittee on Immigration, thinks now is a fine time for amnesty. He held a hearing April 30 to explore how to accomplish that goal.
Why?
It’s just another example the lengths to which business elites will go to protect and expand their firehose supply of the cheapest workers possible—by promoting everything from open borders to H-1b visas and permissive legal immigration. Labor can never be too cheap nor too exploitable for the captains of industry.
Hence the substantial lobbying arm in Washington to thwart the well-being of citizen workers. A recent FAIR report found that 521 corporations, business groups, unions, nonprofits and the like reported lobbying on three important immigration bills introduced in Congress over the past three years. Of those, 98 percent of activity was to secure more permissive immigration laws and lessened enforcement to ensure cheap, “willing” workers keep coming.
Neo-slavery (sound familiar?):
The neo-slaves of the iPod age may sleep several to a room or even outdoors. They depend upon do-gooders in churches to help out with clothing and other assistance. The unwilling taxpayer is forced to supplement the “cheap” labor with food stamps, housing and free-to-aliens medical care.
There is lots more in this thought-provoking piece, so go to VDARE and read the whole article.
Also, please return to this post in March about a Center for Immigration Studies report on how immigrant cheap labor depresses wages.