I’ve seen that most future columnists start writing in college-I did. Thirteen years and 250 articles later, I still think that if you want to publish something, you need to know a little bit about the stuff that you write.
That is not the case with Charlie Swanson. For entertainment purposes, his comments and naive commentaries are very amusing. He needs to visit and live in other environments, and then he can state that illegal immigrants are “criminals.”
Coming to this country to work, legally or not, has lots of benefits.
Some of the people who come here to work and live have been persecuted in their home countries, or they just want a piece of the American Dream.
The economy needs these people because many of them earn low wages, pay taxes (under fictitious Social Security numbers) and consume and provide a service to those companies and employers who cannot afford another kind of labor.
Swanson cites a 1999 study completed by some immigration center claiming that more illegal immigrants worked in manufacturing than did native citizens.
Did he consider the proportion of those illegal immigrants taking a job that pays below the minimum wage? Is this a crime?
Immigrants have come to the United States and worked at different jobs that most citizens do not like to take. In other words, most of the immigrants take the jobs left over by the Americans. Is that a crime as well?
Recall the Chinese immigrants who worked on the railroads, the work done by Europeans in the 19th century or the Central Americans and Mexicans in the last 25 years.
I would like to see Swanson convince at least five unemployed Americans to take over the low paid jobs that the illegal immigrants have around the country.
I would like to see some factual work done by Swanson. Only then can I see him as a future columnist. Otherwise, he will be another crybaby looking for some controversy and 15 minutes of fame.
Erick P.C. Chang is a student in business and industry.