Governor Doesn't Blame Immigrants for CA Budget Woes

America has a long history of blaming immigrants whenever the economy sours or is in what our president calls a "slowdown." According to the Sacramento Bee, Governor Schwarzenegger called it a "big mistake" yesterday to blame immigrants for the state budget gap (around $8 billion). Below are some quotes from Kevin Yamamura's piece.

"There is, you know, always a time like this where you start pointing the finger at various different elements of what creates the budget mess, and, you know, some may point the finger at illegal immigrants," Schwarzenegger said. "I can guarantee you, I have been now four years in office in Sacramento, I don't think that illegal immigration has created the mess that we are in."

"There's a cost associated with illegal immigration whether we're in a deficit mode or not," said Assemblyman Ted Gaines, R-Roseville. "I think it just becomes more (significant) when we're in a deficit mode and we're having to make tough cuts across the board in education and health and human services. Those should be provided to the citizens of this country and people who came to this country legally."

"Frankly, they're wrong," said Senator Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles. "The fact of the matter is, immigrants have a positive impact on the economy and the budget, and they're essential to California's prosperity. We can't have a prosperous future without immigrant workers."

"It's just a gray, murky area that people want to use as a political football," said USC demographer Dowell Myers.

Read the full story.