By the Numbers: Alabama Immigration Law's Effect on the Economy

I like how the tomato farmer said it was not about the money that he could not get local workers but it was the hard labor , I had to work in the fields growing up and it is hard work to which farmers do not want to pay what it is worth , but when you are growing up poor you do what you have to do so it is about the money , so I can not blame anyone who would rather flip burgers for 9 bucks an hour rather than pick crops for a few bucks a bushel , give them a descent hourly wage and you will get people to work

I'm in Arizona and haven't heard of any downside to the economy. It's been summer here, over 115 degrees, and we don't get any tourists because of the heat. Hawai'i also has a down turn of 7% and they don't have an illegal immigration law or Arizona Desert Heat.

So the federal gov't says immigration is up to them but they don't enforce the laws. If you rob a bank and I know it and still let you live in my house I am guilty of breaking the law but if you break immigration laws it is ok to harbor you. Illegal aliens are given welfare and encouraged to apply for jobs while employers receive tax credit for hiring illegal aliens who don't pay taxes........... no wonder the benefits of becoming a LEGAL citizen are taken for granted. Why buy the cow when the milk is free?

This law does not specify any race so the not only are race specific comments null and void, they also show the biased, poor reporting skills of the writer. It only relates to the legal status of people living here. People are trying to make this a race issue because it is the only argument they can come up with.

How about the number of people who don't go to the border towns of Arizona because of the crime? Getting into any country without proper visas is illegal. Apparently we can break any law here. Polygamists get their own tv show, illegals can come here without the proper papers and stay, you can murder but if you have a good enough reason you will be let off, you can smoke pot and grow pot with a medical reason.

This article is so obviously false that it is laughable. Tourism? Who is going to Arizona to see illegals? With the illegals gone, there are now jobs for American citizens. With the illegals gone their drain on the economy is gone. There will be a big drop in the crime rate. There is no downside to illegals leaving.
The federal government should do its' job and deport every illegal in this country and their kids.

$7 billion dollar construction industry...is that meant to imply that the 7 billion dollars goes away? We all know the industry stays the same except it hires Americans.

50% reduction in Chad Hills tomato crop. Sounds like Chad was hiring illegals, which is also illegal, and now he's in trouble. What exactly is wrong with that?

This writter is obviously not a journalist. The article is clearly slanted as shwon by key words undocumented, really illegal,
What is he saying forced out of jobs, they aren't by lay allowed to have these jobs. Does he have any clue? What are the costs these illegal have on the economy; education cost, loss of taxes on income from jobs they shouldn't have, medical cost???

what about the 4.3 billion dollars these poor illegals stole by filing false tax returns-this could have been used to help old people (look washington post)after all didnt these old people work all their lives paying taxs why are illegals allowed to steal the money

Phooey ! look at the money saved. Construction has been gone since Obama took office.

Alabama - cheap place to live and lots of jobs.
NOW HIRING AMERICANS.
Yeah for Alabama.
Can anyone tell me where I can buy a pair of sneakers made in the U.S. and not somewhere else, like China.

Nice propaganda piece. How about the money saved not having them fill your hospitals emergency room and not pay their bill. Or how many people are being hit in automobile accidents by unlicensed uninsured mexicans and are left footing the bill themselves. How about how much is saved from school lunches or how the average grades of the student will increase. Why none of that?

how about the money that Chad Smith the tomato farmer lets the tax payer pick up! You know for a fact he aint paying for their medical bills the tax payers are! He isn't feed their kids at school the tax payers are! He isn't paying for medical bills and damages cause by illegal alliens that he's lured to Alabama the victim is.

Arizona is doing fine I was just there. The $7billion construction industry in Alabama will now go to AMERICANS!

The 3 states bordering Alabama can get on board or pick up the tab for their naivity. As for the Strawberries that failed to materialize in the 1940 at Pike Place Market, well I was just there too and it seems to be doing just fine.

Now post a story on how CA is flat broke, how pre-natal care in CA for illegals is over $500 million a year, post a story about border town hospitals going under from non payment of illegals, how about a story about emergency rooms filled up with 12 hour wait times because of illegals with a simple cough, post a story about all the drugs coming up from Mexico, the failing of California schools because of illegal aliens bringing the level of education down etc etc etc.

Sorry liberals I have no empathy for these people. Stand in line like everyone else.

Thes little whining reporters with spittle dripping down their face just can't stand it when
laws are passed to help streighten the country out. If lying were a felony they would all be locked up!!!!!!

An liberal press story to make us feel guilty, well we in American not only have a heart, we also have a brain and the heart and brain feel for America and her unemployed and underemployed. Here is a novel idea, put SNAP (food stamp recipients) harvesting the crop, no work, no food stamps, however, if you work, both food stamps and a pay check. Some out there refuse to accept responsibility and that reality is that the country is broke and can not afford free social services for illegals.

This article is so obviously false that it is laughable. Who is going to Arizona to see illegals? With the illegals gone, there are now jobs for American citizens. With the illegals gone their drain on the economy is gone. There will be a big drop in the crime rate. There is no downside to illegals leaving.
The federal government should do its' job and deport every illegal in this country and their kids.

The article says that at least 25% of Alabamas commercial building workforce were illegals. That clearly shows just how bad the problem of illegal immigrants is.

It truely boggles the mind that the federal government would allow illegals to steal all the jobs of its legal citizens.

The writer of this article obviously does not know he is proving the points and principles of the those who oppose illegals being here and the impact it has on the American society; just look at his own statistics for example 25% of the construction workforce flees for instance. I believe that if that 25% was legal they would not be fleeing right?..........Beside the obvious lack of logical thought to these stats there is no mention as to the cost benefit of not having these illegals using the system for free welfare, education, health care, etc. All in all, Thank You Jared Spurbeck for proving the point of those who oppose the illegal invasion into our country.

Alabama has shovel ready jobs! Literally after the tornadoes last spring, Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, and many other areas are rebuilding . They want and need roofers, plumbers, contractors. Does the media not think these jobs wont have people going there for work? Please, keep going Alabama, hopefully many other states will enforce immigration laws like yours.

Send ALL undocumented aliens home. Put American citizens back to work.

lets work the numbers 15 to 150 million lost tourism convention money well if they can only guess then they dont really know. i mean the weather man does better. 2285 absent on the 3 on the 4th 1500 on the 5th under 1000. i like how the picked one day and not the overall numbers, obvious to what this author is doing. 25 percent workers left guess there will be legal guys being hired and if they say they cant find them then they are not looking alabamas unemployment rate 9/2011 9.9 percent. 7 billion spent on commericial construction plenty of work then to hire. 50 percent he might lose hasnt lost yet and funny how the other tomato growers in the unreported part of the state r getting by. and by tomato grown here is just his farm a good business always finds a way. 3 other states start supporting more illegals and go even more broke., then they will start making more laws. as far a strawberries or vegetables or whatever they are trying to make a point with is i can get any of these any minute of any day and can grow them in my own back yard if i had to. this is just one of those slanted articles trying to convince the masses that we depend on illegals when it is illegals who depend on us to keep looking the other way.