Misunderstanding Illegal Immigration

There are an estimated 11 million unauthorized (illegal, undocumented) immigrants in the United States as of 2022, a 5% increased from 2020, according to USA Facts. Most Americans agree that those convicted of violent crimes should be deported. It's important to note the difference between "convicted" and "arrested" though.

The National Institute for Justice, a federal government agency, produced a study asserting "undocumented immigrants are less likely to commit crimes" than U.S.-born citizens. The new administration has hidden that report from the public. It doesn't fit their narrative on illegal immigrants.

There have been a few publicized incidents of undocumented immigrants committing heinous crimes. These events were horribly tragic. When they are highlighted, they give a statistically inaccurate impressive that violent crime among undocumented immigrants is a major issue in the country. These immigrants become scapegoats for the actual problems, such as an unfair tax code that leads to drastic income inequality.

It's important to note that the majority of undocumented immigrants overstayed their visas. A minority cross the border illegally. Thus, border security isn't even the main way to lower the amount of undocumented immigrants.

One area in which we must improve as a citizenry is being able to decipher information. A heart-tugging story like Laken Riley's can't be the basis of policy when the numbers suggest the tragedy was a sad anomaly. But we allow emotions to overtake facts and allow our leaders to distract us from the real issues.

Immigration is a net positive for the country, but undocumented immigrants are a problem. Not because they're here, but because they're undocumented. Opening up the process to immigrant legally will help mitigate the problem. It can be very difficult to make it here legally, so people come or stay illegally. Granting asylum more liberally to politic victims is another way to get people into the system. The problem isn't with the person immigrating, it's with the fact that their undocumented. As citizens, they wouldn't drive down wages because they'd be paid what's legal. 

Another solution is to provide aid to the country from which these people are emigrating. They won't come here if they don't want to leave home.

• Deport undocumented immigrants convicted of crimes
• Use facts, not emotions when voting and making policy decisions
• Make it easier to immigrate and receive political asylum
• Fix the tax code to cull income inequality
• Remember undocumented immigrants are human beings

The Banality of Jeffery Anoka's Evil

Jeffery Anoka is the acting Chief Human Capital Officer at HHS. On Friday, he sent a heartlessly cruel email to all those probationary workers at HHS who were callously fired regardless of their performance. In a form email, Anoka blanketly criticized the performance of all fired workers, disregarding their actual competence on the job. That critique may stay on their permanent government record even if their performance wasn't substandard in reality.

For the indiscriminate gutting of the federal workforce to actually work, there must be Jeffery Anokas, craven opportunists who stifle their integrity at the expense of their ambition. Perhaps if he stood up and said he wouldn't send the email, which is designed to gut the government's ability to fund health-related research, he would be replaced and someone else would send the email. But that's the point. If everyone stood up and refused to carry out these destructive requests, they wouldn't be carried out. Every evil system needs its order-takers to carry out the brunt work. It's the only way the leadership can assert its grip on power.

The Jeffery Anokas of the country should be named and shamed. It's the only way to hold them accountable and stop the internal implosion of the federal government.

The Makeup of the Federal Workforce

The current administration is attacking the federal workforce: firing vulnerable workers, shuttering agencies, and applying psychological pressure on those that remain. But it's important to take a look at just who makes up the federal workforce.

30% of the federal workforce is made up of veterans. Only 5% of the general workforce is made up of veterans. So the federal government is an important sector for those who have served our country. The largest agency in the government is Veterans Affairs, which makes up 21.3% of the federal workforce. 70.3% of the workforce is in national security related industries. The largest occupation is in the medical field, which boasts 15.5% of the federal workforce.

80% of the federal workforce is located outside the Washington D.C. area. There are more federal workers in California than in Maryland, which borders the nation's capital.

The federal workforce has a higher percentage of "people of color" than does the workforce at large (40% to 24%), but those jobs are more likely to be lower level on the GS scale. By the time you're at the GS 15 level or the SES level, the workforce represents the employed population at large.

Federal workers make up a tiny percentage of the population. Since 2010, they have made up between 0.57% and 0.61% of the population. Almost 50% of hires are at the entry level with a quarter unclassifiable.

While this administration has been trying to handcuff much of the federal workforce, there is one area that they could've made more efficient, if the people in charge knew what they were doing. The average hiring process takes three times longer in the public sector than in the private sector.

Source

When we talk about the federal government being bloated, we can see that critique really refers to the defense sector. The talk of "DEI" ruining the federal government is completely fabricated as higher levels of government, the decision makers, represent the same demographics as the workforce at large. The notion that DC is a swamp of bureaucrats also doesn't check out as 4/5th of the federal workforce don't work in the area.

This country has its share of problems, but the federal workforce isn't one of them.