I think that the illegal immigration issue comes down to the same thing that most everything comes down to: money. The government benefits from more taxes, industries benefit from cheaper labor, and healthcare, insurance, legal, and home buying industries benefit from more customers.
I think that the loser (in general) is the American middle and lower classes. They still pay a full array of taxes and help to foot the exhorbitent healthcare and insurance costs when illegals don’t pay…you know these industries are going to get paid one way or another.
In terms of the real estate market, I think that the net effect of illegal immigration is an overall increase in demand and the rise in prices that goes along with it. This is an unscientific generalization based on common sense. More people=greater need for a place to stay. No, many of them may not be purchasing a home, but they are likely to affect the supply of rental housing. Anyone who has been in SoCal for any length of time has come across entire apartment complexes and neighborhoods occupied by Latinos. What percentage of them are legal is anyone’s guess.
Again, I don’t have any problem with those that have come here the legal way and are working hard to make it in American. My forebears and many others came here in this way. It’s another thing to sneak in and subvert the system by brute force of population.
And no, making Mexico a better place to live is not the answer! If I hear that answer from one more person I will start to pull my hair out. That is much too large and difficult solution to the problem. Maybe if we had a timetable of 100-200 years, then I’d say give it a shot.
I agree with Jim. Gardeners, nail salons will be the first to go. I posted an article a few weeks back, about just this kind of cutting back in tough times, from an upper middle class Detroit suburb. As the high level auto industry managers were laid off, they stopped using the service workers and non-essential businesses. The local country club, nursery, beauty salon are hurting. The nursery owner’s wife had to cut back on her expenses, because the homeowners drastically reduced their annual flower planting.
On a related note, my friend’s hair stylist said so many of her customers moved out of San Diego, that she went to a 4-day week.
