If the current U.S. system of illegal immigration was not beneficial to our economy, it would have been revised long before now.  If tightening the borders and issuing work visas to sufficient numbers of immigrants helped the bottom line of U.S. businesses as much as an endless supply of cheap labor without rights, then the borders would already be tightened and the visas issued.

By extension, if the agricultural economy in Nebraska didn’t benefit from illegal immigration, surely such an anti-illegal-immigration politician as Governor Dave Heineman would have taken steps to push the country to fix the system by addressing the root causes of illegal immigration.

Editor's Note: The following is a letter Tammy forwarded to us after she sent it to Senator Johanns.

Senator Johanns,

Nebraska is number one in the country for production of commercial red meat and number two when it comes to commercial cattle slaughter.  This and the following information was gathered from various agriculture resources and noted in a major meatpacking safety report by Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest.  The report was entitled The Speed Kills You: The Voice of Nebraska's Meatpacking Workers and was the result of a survey of 455 meatpacking workers across the state of Nebraska.  The report established that:

• Nebraska produces one of every five steaks and hamburgers in the country
• Meat is Nebraska's largest export, generating $1.1 billion
• In 2007, Nebraska slaughtered 7.1 million cattle and 7.4 million hogs