California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) continued to defend illegal immigration and called for a pathway to citizenship amid the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts.
The “Shawn Ryan Show” released an interview on Monday with the Democratic governor, during which he claimed that illegal immigration has not negatively impacted Americans’ ability to find work.
‘As one of California’s most vital industries, Gov. Newsom should be incentivizing this sort of modernization rather than justifying outdated and exploitative labor practices.’
Newsom stated that roughly half of the agricultural workers and 41% of construction workers in California are illegal immigrants, noting that the state collects $8.5 billion in tax dollars from illegal immigrants each year.
“Not insignificant,” Newsom stated. “It’s half of our agricultural work. You care about farmers and ranchers — if that’s your number-one, go-to commitment — then you sure as hell should care about their workers. Forty-one percent of our construction workers, Texas and California have the highest percentage of their construction workers that would fall into that category.”
He questioned how the state would ever rebuild after the devastating wildfire earlier this year if President Donald Trump’s deportation agenda is allowed to persist.
“Without that workforce, ain’t gonna happen,” he continued.
“I think there needs to be a pathway for those folks as we secure the border. And we own that issue.”
While advocating for illegal aliens already in the U.S., he simultaneously claimed that he “believe[s] in border security,” adding that his administration has handed 11,000 criminals to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
When asked whether illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from Americans, Newsom responded, “Not in Tulare County, not in Ventura County. I don’t know many people that want a job out there in those packing facilities. I don’t see many people that look like me jumping at those jobs. I just don’t. Maybe there’s some exceptions; I haven’t seen the evidence of that.”
Newsom also stated that he would be “happy to advocate for eliminating sanctuary policy.”
“The reason it exists is because of the total abject failure of the federal government to do its f**king job. It exists because they persist in politicizing this,” he said.
Ira Mehlman with the Federation for American Immigration Reform told Blaze News that California’s illegal immigration crisis costs taxpayers $30 billion a year to provide related services, such as public education and health care.
Mehlman argued that Newsom “is essentially endorsing exploitative labor practices that allow employers to provide poor wages and working conditions.”
“Construction has traditionally been a solid, unionized middle-class trade. These were prized jobs that allowed blue-collar workers to earn comfortable wages with benefits to support their families. The influx of illegal aliens has pushed many American workers out of these trades entirely or forced them to accept lower wages and less favorable working conditions,” Mehlman explained.
Furthermore, he argued that access to low-wage, illegal labor has hindered technological advancements within these industries, which could ultimately lead to increased productivity and reduced costs.
“As one of California’s most vital industries, Gov. Newsom should be incentivizing this sort of modernization rather than justifying outdated and exploitative labor practices,” Mehlman told Blaze News.
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