I'm not saying that they won't do those jobs. I'm saying that they won't do them for the same low wages and under the same working conditions that they did when they had no legal recourse. Maybe nine out of ten might be willing to continue working for the same wages in order to keep the job but that tenth guy is going to demand his federally mandated minimum wage and compliance with OSHA standards and so on and so forth. Either that or "do gooders" will do it for them, either way the result will be the same.
I would tend to see that as a better argument for the status quo than legalization. I agree that simply removing 12 million people is a daunting task and probably not even reallistically possible but I don't think that legalization is the answer either. Somebody correct me if I am wrong but the main reason that employers hire illegal workers is because they are cheaper hire than legal workers. You can pay them sub-minimal wage, no benefits and don't have to worry about OHSA standards and the like. If you legalize them then they are no longer cheaper to hire.
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