"The Mexicans Have Arrived"

Speaking of the myth of jobs that Americans aren't willing to do (from the Washington Times):

An Alabama employment agency that sent 70 laborers and construction workers to job sites in that state in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina says the men were sent home after just two weeks on the job by employers who told them "the Mexicans had arrived" and were willing to work for less.

Linda Swope, who operates Complete Employment Services Inc. in Mobile, Ala., told The Washington Times last week that the workers -- whom she described as U.S. citizens, residents of Alabama and predominantly black -- had been "urgently requested" by contractors hired to rebuild and clear devastated areas of the state, but were told to leave three job sites when the foreign workers showed up.

"After Katrina, our company had 70 workers on the job the first day, but the companies decided they didn't need them anymore because the Mexicans had arrived," Mrs. Swope said. "I assure you it is not true that Americans don't want to work.

"We had been told that 270 jobs might be available, and we could have filled every one of them with men from this area, most of whom lost their jobs because of the hurricane," she said. "When we told the guys they would not be needed, they actually cried ... and we cried with them. This is a shame."

I heard Ms. Swope interviewed on Laura Ingraham's show this morning, and it's clear that this lady is shocked at how her clients were abused by the employers who threw them aside. These are Americans, many of whom lost their jobs because of the hurricane and desperately needed work.

Although the excuse for hiring illegals is that they work cheaper, the Americans were only getting about $10 per hour for clean-up work, and unlike the Mexicans, the Americans weren't requiring housing or transportation. To top it off, most of the money going to support the illegal workers is coming out of Federal disaster dollars. It's an outrage.