12/3/08 Sinking Ship

I can't help it. I know that it is probably not a P.C. sentiment, but I can't help thinking of the old saying, "like rats deserting a sinking ship", when I read of the illegal immigrant population returning to Mexico due to the economic crisis here in the United States. It is ironic that the continuing struggle over what to do about the large influx of illegal immigrants has been more than somewhat diffused by the ever growing financial meltdown of the past several months. At first one might think of this as a positive, but in retrospect the consequences of a mass immigrant exodus could lead to an overwhelming labor shortage once the United States economy does begin to recover. And while some U.S. workers may take those jobs that were once filled by undocumented laborers, an improved economy will no doubt prove that to be a temporary fix. Only time will tell whether the United States will once again become the land of plenty; for the documented and the undocumented.