America's unemployment problem is, really, an immigration problem

PART OF the unemployment problem we are suffering in America is a result of illegal immigrants taking jobs for any wage that is offered. Illegal immigrants are not just working on farms or in kitchens. I have firsthand knowledge of illegal immigrants working on assembly lines of subsidiaries of high-tech companies, including defense-industry companies. Illegal immigrants have also become the majority workforce in every construction trade from carpenters to sprinkler fitters. Every morning, beginning at 4:50, a van stops at the corner of my street to pick up workers. Every 10 minutes thereafter, until 7 a.m., a new van stops. The workers are always Spanish or Asian. Illegal construction workers gather at Home Depot early every morning.

American unemployment compels us to revisit the issue of illegal immigration. The federal government has taken no discernible or significant action to deport illegal immigrants. States, however, can take action. Just as we can solve equations with components of unknown quantities, state laws can be written that end the employment of illegal immigrants without conflicting with federal policy and actions, or, more accurately, federal omissions.

States could require every person working in construction or a factory to take a simple test related to job-site safety. The only requisite would be English literacy. I have passed every OSHA test required in my industry without ever opening a federal regulation. My ability to read English, coupled with my actual work experience, was all that was needed to pass. In many instances I received a grade of 100. This is a testament to the simplicity of the test, for I have only average intelligence.

Illegal immigrants will be denied employment simply because they will not be able to read the test questions. State governments will then create thousands of JOBS, JOBS, JOBS.

John H. Morley Jr.

Philadelphia