JD Vance Criticizes Need for Illegal Immigrants in Housing Construction.
Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance has strongly criticized the notion that illegal immigrants are necessary to address the housing crisis in the United States. Vance made these comments during an appearance on “The Interview” podcast hosted by the New York Times on Saturday.
While discussing former President Trump’s proposal to deport millions of illegal immigrants, host Lulu Garcia-Navarro noted that a significant portion of construction workers in the country are Hispanic, many of whom are undocumented. She asked, “How do you propose to build all the housing necessary that we need in this country by removing all the people who are working in construction?”
In response, Vance acknowledged the question’s validity but used sarcasm to make his point. “Back in the 1960s, when illegal immigration was low, Americans didn’t build houses. But, of course, they did,” he said.
Vance went on to challenge the assumption that the construction industry relies solely on undocumented labor. He argued that millions of American workers are currently out of the workforce. “This is one of the really deranged things that illegal immigration does to our society,” he stated. “We have seven million men who have completely dropped out of the labor force.”
He added that the belief that Americans will not take construction jobs is misguided. “Americans won’t do those jobs for below-the-table wages or non-living wages,” he explained. “But people will do those jobs; they just need to be paid a fair wage.”
Vance emphasized the importance of American companies seeking to employ their own citizens, even those facing challenges like addiction or trauma. He criticized the trend of businesses opting to hire illegal immigrants instead of engaging American workers. “This is what we have due to Kamala Harris’s border policies. It drives inequality and contributes to the millions of people who have left the labor force,” he said.
While discussing the deportation strategy under a potential Trump administration, Vance suggested that one approach could be to prevent businesses from hiring illegal immigrants. “I don’t think you have to deport everybody,” he stated. “If we re-establish reasonable border policies, many of those individuals may return home willingly. If we make it harder for companies to hire illegal labor, many of those folks will go home.”
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