Ted Poe Compares Illegal Immigrants to.... Grasshoppers.

[onestepforward]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/30/ted-poe-congressman-compa_n_558576.html

In one of the latest instances of a legislator waxing poetic about the debate over illegal immigration, Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) took the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday and asked why the United States could prevent "illegal grasshoppers" from entering the country, but couldn't capture much bigger illegal immigrants before they crossed the border.

Here's what Poe said:

"Now it seems to me that if we are so advanced with technology and manpower and competence that we can capture illegal grasshoppers from Brazil, in the holds of ships that are in a little small place in Port Arthur, Texas on the Sabine River. Sabine River, madam speaker, is the river that separates Texas from Louisiana. If we're able to do that as a country, how come we can't capture the thousands of people that cross the border everyday on the southern border of the United States? You know they're a little bigger than grasshoppers and they should be able to be captured easier.
Poe floated an additional suggestion:

"And maybe we need to make the guy down there in southeast Texas that captured this grasshopper from Brazil, he oughta be in charge of Homeland Security. If he's able to do this with grasshoppers just think what he can do on the southern border of the United States.
snip-

My Representative, ain't he special?! :mad:

[sonias]

1. Pendejo

Stupidity and racism are something we Americans have yet to eradicate. That's far more important to our survival.

Poe is a first class ass-hat. :puke:

[Jack_DeLeon]

2. So do you think we shouldnt be doing anything to stop illegal immigration?

I dont generally have any problem with any individual here that happens to be from Mexico I do however think it is a problem when we have whole communities of them living here. They certainly put a strain our resources. Without so much immigration our population wouldnt be growning so fast, I think that might be a good thing.

Yes things are bad in Mexico, and alot of those people want to come here for a better life, but it is not our country's responsibility to provide a better life for everyone. It might do everyone alot of good in the long run of we kept Mexico's citizens in Mexico and forced them to deal with their own problems.

[hobbit709]

4. What a load of crockola.

"putting a strain our resources"

[sonias]

8. +10

I totally agree with you Hobbit. :fistbump:

[Jack_DeLeon]

9. Are you claiming there is no cost to illegal immigration?

When they go to the ER, when some are put in jail, when their children are sent to school, are you claiming that its also somehow free and not costing anyone anything?

[sonias]

10. Oh boo hoo - there's a cost to living, period

There is no such thing as an illegal human in my book. Maybe in your world view but not in mine. The U.S. is responsible for a lot of disruption of governments in Latin America. How many countries economies have we disrupted with NAFTA? Never mind the direct overthrow of regimes that we found "unacceptable". So payback/blow back for that is a bitch. Deal with it. The U.S. helped create that instability so if the global economy jobs were in the U.S. - labor did what it was expected to do - it followed the jobs.

This report is outdated but I bet a more current one would show that their contributions were far greater now.

Comptroller's report from 2006
Undocumented Immigrants in Texas:
A Financial Analysis of the Impact to the State Budget and Economy
December 2006

This is the first time any state has done a comprehensive financial analysis of the impact of undocumented immigrants on a state's budget and economy, looking at gross state product, revenues generated, taxes paid and the cost of state services.

The absence of the estimated 1.4 million undocumented immigrants in Texas in fiscal 2005 would have been a loss to our gross state product of $17.7 billion. Undocumented immigrants produced $1.58 billion in state revenues, which exceeded the $1.16 billion in state services they received. However, local governments bore the burden of $1.44 billion in uncompensated health care costs and local law enforcement costs not paid for by the state.

-- Carole Keeton Strayhorn, Texas Comptroller

Let me emphasize the key finding for you again $17.7 billion gross dollars per year in the state economy.

And before you start whining about the local government burden cost - we all pay that for any human being with no insurance who visits our emergency centers. I bet if they did a study of who uses the emergency center you would find the vast majority are uninsured American citizens.

I for one am grateful that these hard working people are helping the economic engine of Texas and I welcome them.

[sonias]

11. Study: Illegal immigrants have no net impact on economy

Texas on the Potomac blog Houston Chronicle 12/3/09
Study: Illegal immigrants have no net impact on economy

A new study released Wednesday concludes that undocumented immigrant workers do not drain jobs or tax dollars and have a neutral impact on the U.S. economy.

Because illegal immigrants occupy a small share of the workforce - about 5 percent - and work low-skilled jobs at lower wages than other workers, their overall influence on the economy is trivial, according to the report, sponsored by the Migration Policy Institute, a pro-immigration think tank in Washington.

"The fate of the U.S. economy does not rest on what we do on illegal immigration," said Gordon Hanson, author of the report and economics professor at the UC San Diego.

Undocumented immigrants contribute just 0.03 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product, with that gain going to employers who save money on cheap labor, the report says, while their cost to the economy is 0.10 percent of GDP, which mainly comes from public education and publicly funded emergency health care.

The net impact means that illegal immigrants have an essentially neutral effect on the economy, Hanson said.

This one was a report for the whole U.S. Not Texas specific, so while in Texas their contributions may be higher obviously in other states they may not be. You could say the same for parts of the state of Texas too. The point is that immigrants are not "draining the county's resources" - that's a myth that anti-immigrant people like Republicans, spew all the time.

It's a convenient talking point to shift the blame to someone they can make Americans hate. A bait and switch tacit - a convenient enemy.

Don't pay attention to the Wall Street Bankers who are literally stealing the country's wealth - instead focus on this foreign enemy that is taking your job. That day laborer is robbing you blind!

I never bought into it, but I see you did. :eyes:

[onestepforward]

13. Illegal Immigrants health costs in Harris County (Houston)

http://www.topix.com/forum/who/illegal-aliens/T7C873QBQT2SP3VNO

David Lopez is the CEO of the Harris County Hospital District.

snip-

Lopez points out that spending on illegal immigrants absorbs about 12 percent of their $1.3 billion budget.
But he says this percentage may surprise people who assumed it would have been a lot more.

“People have a misperception about what that's all about. But let me also add, we're not doing tummy tucks, facelifts or nose jobs. We're taking care of people with basic needs,” said Lopez.

And not necessarily the needs of day laborers.

"The bulk of that is women and children. It's not the men who are here working," Lopez said.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston#Demographics

snip-

Houston has the third-largest Hispanic and third-largest Mexican-American population in the United States. It also has more Hispanic Americans than any other city in Texas.<94> An estimated 400,000 illegal immigrants reside in the Greater Houston area.

Illegal immigrants are approximately 18% (and this is a conservative number) of Houston's large population but only account for 12% of our uninsured medical costs. In addition, they also contribute to our county's coffers.

Thanks Sonia, great information as usual!

:hi:

[sonias]

14. Back at ya!

Thanks for stepping in with your research too. :hug:

Knowledge is our friend!


And look at this timely article from the Washington Post today

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/30/AR2010043001106.html">www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/30/AR2010043001106.html
5 Myths about immigration

(snip)
1. Immigrants take jobs from American workers.

(snip)
It's true that an influx of new workers pushes wages down, but immigration also stimulates growth by creating new consumers, entrepreneurs and investors. As a result of this growth, economists estimate that wages for the vast majority of American workers are slightly higher than they would be without immigration. U.S. workers without a high school degree experience wage declines as a result of competition from immigrants, but these losses are modest, at just over 1 percent. Economists also estimate that for each job an immigrant fills, an additional job is created.

I'm pro-immigration and I vote!
:kick:

[onestepforward]

6. We need immigration reform

and Dems are trying to put together a framework for that.

In the meantime, I'm very tried of immigrants being compared to animals, like putting microchips on dogs, and now insects. This tactic of dehumanizing a group of people opens the door to fear, hatred and intolerance and it does nothing positive to address our immigration problems.

[hobbit709]

3. I compare Ted Poe to slime mold.

Although I'm probably insulting slime molds by doing so.

[onestepforward]

7. He's a true piece of shit.

That's for sure! :)

[Paladin]

5. Wasn't This Dimwit A Sitting Judge......

....before he graduated to a full-fledged legislative embarrassment? I've seen earthworms exhibit more intelligence......

[AllenVanAllen]

12. Yeah, he was. He's cruel to be sure.

He loved to add public humiliation to his sentences. I hate that this fucker is my rep. What's sickening, is that he's a hero to much of my suburban community.

[sonias]

15. He's a birther too

It is totally insane that people with this conspiratorial belief get elected to Congress as mainstream. It's really, really nuts.

Who is the craziest Texas Republican Congressman?

I switch back and forth between Ted Poe, Louie Gohmert and Randy Neugebauer. Honestly there are so many nuts in their bag to choose from.

:hi: