'Jobs Americans Won't Do?'
By Dave Gibson (11/24/07)
Recently, the owners of a Virginia commercial fishing company were indicted on federal charges for hiring illegal aliens to work as crewmen on the company's boats. While the job of commercial fisherman is listed as the most dangerous job in America, it is considered to be the most lucrative amongst those jobs considered to be unskilled labor. Of course, Americans won't do these jobs if they are not given the chance to do them.
According to court documents, the family-owned Peabody Company of Newport News, Va. hired 126 illegal aliens mostly from Mexico between 2003-2007. In addition to knowingly hiring and harboring the illegal aliens, the Peabody family is accused of helping the foreign nationals to obtain false identification as well as Social Security numbers. Yvonne Peabody is also charged with "unauthorized access of a government computer," the computer was the property of the U.S. Coast Guard.
The federal indictment read: "It was part of the conspiracy for Peabody Corp. to systematically hire citizens of Mexico and other countries who had illegally entered into the United States for purposes of employment."
The Peabody Corporation operates eight trawlers used for scallop fishing. The U.S. Attorney's office is seeking the surrender of $6.9 million, which amounts to the profits Peabody made during the period in question.
We have been constantly told by the open borders crowd that illegal aliens only do dirty low-wage jobs such as housekeeping, landscaping, and crop-picking. We have also been told that illegal aliens do not take jobs away from Americans because no American wants to do those very menial jobs. This indictment of the Peabody Corp. is a great example of just how hollow that argument really is.
The fact is that illegal aliens do take jobs away from Americans. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average take home pay for a commercial fisherman is $29,000 annually. Additionally, I have been informed by some who work in this industry, that official figure is on the low-end.
The U.S. Health and Human Services considers the poverty line for a family of four to be $20,650 and for one person to be $10,210. While it may be hard to imagine living on either of those incomes with their respective situations, it is easy to conclude that a take-home salary of $29,000 would be welcomed by many working-class Americans.
The greedy Peabody family has been able to pocket $7 million over the last few years because they have imported Third World slaves to work on their boats. They have basically eliminated their payroll. Unfortunately, they are not alone. Greedy employers all across this nation are hiring Latin American invaders to provide them with the kind of dirt cheap labor on which Americans simply cannot support their families. It is impossible for American workers to compete with Third World labor.
Just as the White House and Congress have betrayed us, far too many U.S. businesses have done the same thing. The next time you hear someone (like John McCain) repeating the tired old line that "illegal immigrants only do the jobs that Americans won't do"...Tell them that smells fishy!
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