Quote Originally Posted by SuperChuck
I was using peaches as a silly example for ALL foodstuffs. If peaches go up to $2 each, you can switch to apples. However, if the price of all crops harvested by illegal workers tripled, your food bill will triple.


Um, the terrorists in question came into the country legally through Canada. I believe everyone involved (stateside) in the 9/11 attack was here on an expired student visa. They were not IN the country legally, but they arrived here legally and our own INS didn't bother to check if they left.
Your theory is flawed. Your supposition stated that peaches were an example for ALL foodstuffs, then you offered an alternative to peaches that wouldn't be affected. Only items harvested by those getting paid $3/hr will be affected. That is a very small percentage of our overall food bill. And as I said before, the cost of harvesting is a small part of the overall cost of goods, so the percentage for these few items will not be 300%. It would be much less. Milk, beef, poultry, wheat, legumes, etc., would not be affected at all since they are either not harvested or they are harvested using methods that don't require field laborers. Another problem with your theory is that it implies that ALL field workers are getting $3/hr and that tightening up our immigration laws would resuld in a $10/hr wage. There is no proof of this. Even if it were to be true, the overall cost to our food bill would be minimal since it would only affect a small percentage of our food purchases. Those who threaten a 300% increase in our overall food bills are spouting scare tactics that you have apparantly bought into.

And, yes, the terrorists came in legally because our borders were/are wide open. Our processes need to change, and that include ALL methods of entry into the country. Doing nothing will not help the situation. It sounds as if you understand this. So what would you suggest?