What would happen if we suddenly had NO illegal aliens in the U.S.?

A lot less work would be being done.

Half the town where I work would disappear and a lot of lawns would need mowing. The fact that a significant element of our work force would be affected is a huge negative and I can’t think of anything positive of such a broad sweeping approach. Most of the illegals I see (and again there are a lot of them here) they work very hard and are not hurting anything by being here other than driving real real slow to keep from getting pulled over which drives me crazy

Many labor-type jobs would be immediately vacant. Great news for the unemplyed citizens – for about 30 seconds – until the employers realize this new legal workforce wants about triple per hour for the same job.

There would be other issues to obsess over.

All the Clichés aside. Life will go on.

People would find something new to complain about.

We would lose an untold amount of creative energy and intelligence that could never be replaced.

The govt would have to come up with a new “war” on something.

Let see, in CA and L.A. specifically, you would be hard pressed to find an open restaurant, but there would be very little food because there would be no one to harvest it. Working citizens would have to take care of their own houses and children, mow their own lawns and do all their own landscaping. There would be less mechanics and less construction workers, and those that remained would have to pick-up all the slack, except they won’t have time because they will be too busy at home. The housing market would fall apart even further because all those home owners relying on rental income will start bleeding money.

Should I go on?

Don’t forget San Diego south to the border would probably be set on fire.

There would suddenly be work for everyone who wanted a job.

What has made America great has been the continual influx of immigrants – both legal and illegal – to this country. In times of prosperity. we need cheap labor; then in times of austerity, we try to slam the door. It would be great if some rational and humane system could be put in place to regulate immigration but it seems to be beyond the capacity of anyone currently in government to do.

@YARNLADY Yes, but who would want those jobs, and how would the employers be able to afford to pay them? How would the consumers like having the higher cost of labor passed on to them?

Also, social security would suffer.

Thanks for the thoughts so far everyone. A couple of vocal people on Facebook (the chosen political platform for the obnoxious and uninformed) had me rather irritated earlier today. It’s refreshing to read responses that take different aspects of illegal immigration into consideration. I got a little sick of the “Mexico is ruining our country” mantra, with no thought on how the U.S. contributed to the problems with illegal immigration subsidized corn comes to mind or how the U.S. benefits from it.

I do think there are problems, and @janbb said exactly what I think. “It would be great if some rational and humane system could be put in place to regulate immigration but it seems to be beyond the capacity of anyone currently in government to do.”

Or, let’s be fair, previously in government.

@susanc Yes, to be sure, although there have been occasional sane policies. The 1965 changes in immigration law were sensible and 50,000 Chinese who were here on temporary visas were granted permanent resident status after Tiannamen Square.

@MissAusten It is an urban myth that people would not want the jobs that would become available. Only unscrupulous employers fail to pay their workers, or underpay them.

When I was a girl, high school and college kids worked in the fields, and single moms worked as domestics in motels, laundries and homes. They were glad to do it, and still would. Crime would be far lower, because young people would be able to go back to work, like they once did, after school or if they leave school at the legal age of 16. I am confident that accommodations would be made to prevent excess increase of prices.

Even now, restaurant servers work for less than minimum wage, because their tips (often non-existant) are added into their compensation. Many legal residents are already working ‘under the table’ doing yard work, domestic work, child care and elder care. I could tell you how my sister, my former husband, and a good friend of mine all lost their jobs to non-citizens.

It is also the case that many seasonal jobs are going to ‘legal’ non-citizens as well, such as most of the paid positions in the National Park system.

@YARNLADY the biggest and most fundamental flaw in your argument is “When I was a girl”. That world no longer exists.

@tinyfaery Sad, but true, however, I also know of many modern day examples of the same thing. All three of my adult grandsons are currently out of work, along with my son, and each of them has a story about how they lost their job to a non-citizen.

One such example, a jewelry store owned by naturalized citizens fired one grandson to hire two of their ‘cousins’ who were new to this country.

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although if you want to get a taste of what it would be like just watch <i>a day without a Mexican<i/>. it’s a movie about every Mexican immigrant disappearing in California.