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Published – Brownsville Herald August 12,2007

In my article entitled “Immigration – A real fix or just another piece of cotton candy” that was published on these pages on March 25, 2007 I wrote “ …….. this legislation seems to add numerous layers of bureaucracy and perhaps hundreds of jobs to clog the system even more and little effort made to rehabilitate an immigration system that can lose records for months and years where in at least one case the lost papers have left a potential new citizen in limbo for months after completing all the requirements for citizenship. There appears to be little or no oversight and no way to seek recourse.” At least this once, in the case I was describing, there is to be a happy ending, and a demonstration that there is, in Brownsville, an advocate for the “regular folks”. 

While I was discussing the situation in preparation to writing the earlier article, I suggested that perhaps Congressman Ortiz’s office could help.  Our highly motivated potential U.S. Citizen went to the Congressman’s office and was referred by Deputy Chief of Staff Denise Blanchard to District Office Manager Maria Jaross. 

Ms. Jaross is not only exceptionally knowledgeable about Immigration requirements, but also the realities of life in the bureaucracy as well. She was able to place the circumstances in perspective and help bring a practical focus on the obstacles to citizenship in this instance. I am told that the folks in the Harlingen Immigration Office worked diligently with the Congressman’s office to resolve the problems expeditiously. Our new voter will take the oath of naturalization in a week or two; in plenty of time for the next elections. I am also told that our new voter has a collection of my Brownsville Herald articles at home, as a head start on the new responsibilities.
I this case I am pleased to withdraw my remark that there is a lack of oversight or avenue of recourse. 

 This has not been the case recently however with the shrimpers trying to find workers for their boats by using temporary foreign workers. I have heard the claims that there would be plenty of workers if the pay was raised but it seems that there are also many production and labor type jobs in our area as well that workers are just not applying for; so I question the validity of that assertion. 

Further, for the first time in at least the twenty plus years that I have lived in Brownsville the rate of the unemployed seeking employment is in the lower single digits. Not that long ago unemployment in the 20% area was not unheard of. The fact of this near full employment also puts that assertion in doubt. The shrimping industry has been damaged severely over the past several years by the very high fuel costs, the extra costs resulting from requirements of using the turtle extruder devices and the associated frequent rule changes, as well as the low prices for shrimp precipitated by foreign shrimp being “dumped” on the U.S. market at prices lower that they are sold for in the country of origin. 

I am fully aware of the need to protect endangered wildlife and that everyone is facing the fuel costs – but the industry is dying: boats are in port and rusting away, loans and mortgages are not being paid, notices of foreclosure appear in the paper with some regularity, the fuel is not being purchased, the dockage is not being paid, and for some who have survived, some boats are still there because an adequate crew can not be found. When the Congressman asked the Immigration folks for help, the response was that the shrimpers should go, not to a governmental agency for a certificate of need but to a Union. It seems to me that a Union might have their own interests at heart rather than the need to preserve at least part of the local shrimping industry. I wonder how many other industries have declined in the U.S. because of a lack of workers at a price that would permit competition with other areas of the world and which ones might be next. 

In spite of the federal government’s best efforts to usurp state and community control of education by specifying what can be taught by powers of political correctness and how it is taught with the levers of the federal support mechanism our young folks are still being educated to the point where the level of education for a large part of the young entering the work force is much higher than in the past and fewer are seeking traditional entry level factory or labor positions.  Now only a few of the next generation have not gotten a degree. The choice then becomes whether the industry moves to where the labor is available in sufficient quantities at a cost, including wages, taxes, benefits, training, and those related to complying with the many regulations related to labor, or sufficient labor can be imported to do the work needed. For a number of industries such as some areas like manufacturing, ship building, and ship crewing, the industries just moved, but for the most part were replaced by other better paying service occupations in areas like health services, engineering, and financial services. In spite all the gloom and doom we hear about the economy; we have in the U.S., unquestionably the highest standard of living in the world and are enjoying one of the greatest economic booms in history. There are so many jobs that it is likely that of the 12 million or so who are legally not supposed to be living in the U.S. probably 6 to 8 million are occupying jobs that would be available if there were people to do them. 

An underlying issue is that some industries must be preserved at any cost like the manufacture of strategic military and government equipment. We are also rapidly seeing that we also need to do more about retaining manufacture of other products necessary for our survival. The media has been telling us daily about certain unsafe food products and other things that endanger our children imported from abroad. As time goes on it will continue to get worse because the population is aging and will continue to leave the workforce in larger numbers, especially now that their investments have grown to make retirement more of a reality. The larger retired population will demand more and more services and products from a workforce that is not growing. 

This situation is becoming a reality far faster than global warming is destroying the ice cap and should have been dealt with by a Congress that chose instead, to continue the partisan posturing and went on vacation just like the Iraqui representatives. In fact the current Congress has not addressed much of anything of import such as, the demise of social security, a suffocating tax system, a deteriorating road and bridge system,  Perhaps, it is a blessing in disguise that Congress is not making things worse either.