Illegal Immigration in a Small Town: The Effects
by
Robert Salmon

In small town America the effects of illegal immigration are felt differently from the bigger cities. Contrary to the pundits on both sides of the insanity, what happens in a small town is devastating to the people who live there. Here are some the things that happen that no one wants to talk about including the so called Economists from the Wall Street Journey on the Right and the free border crazies on the Left.

The first thing that happens when illegals enter small towns is that you will see a rise in rent prices.  This occurs because the slum lords, realtors, and anyone who rents apartments and homes sees a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  This actually happens for two reasons: 1) the slum lords are able to extract way above the going rate for their dumps because these people who often live in groups and are willing to pay these rates without complaints. Furthermore, they usually pay in cash. 2) Because the dumps go up in price this causes the better apartments and housing to go up even more so that the illegals can't afford them and cause problems in the neighborhood.  In some instances the rents are raised no matter what and the viscous cycle begins.  Rents on average go up 25 to 60 percent over time in small towns due to the influx of illegal immigration.

This is a direct pathway cost to the public. This is not an indirect cost. The next thing that happens is that wages for lower paying jobs are held down because the illegals are willing to work for below market wages.  This also eliminates people on the lower edge of the pay scale who suddenly find their skills, whatever they may be not needed at the old market price.

Another by product of this is the fact that many employers hire a number of illegals part time, with no benefits and pay them off the books.....casual labor at its best. The next thing that occurs is the price of the local hospital emergency room rates jump over 100% in many instances. Go into these rooms on the weekend and just count the number of illegals waiting to be looked at by the medical staff.

But there is even a darker side to all of this and that is the fact that most of the money these people make does not go back into the local economy, it goes back to Mexico.  I watched these people go into the post office and the Mexican quick stores to transfer this money. This is a devastating act that causes entire pathways of commerce in the small community to be disrupted. This is a complete negative drain on the system and overtime cripples the system even more.

I didn't mention the increase in crime, damage to the environment,  and a host of other problems that occur in the community.  How do I know this?  Because this is what has happened in the small community where I live in the last 6 years!