In yet another example of the unintended consequences of misguided
federal policy, the Trump immigration plan is hitting US small business
interests where it hurts most – in their bottom line.
Ralph Carter is an Uber driver in Chicago. His livelihood depends on picking up his fares
when promised, and delivering them to their destinations quickly and efficiently.
“It was all good until Trump comes up with this cockamamie
plan to send all the illegals back to Mexico.
Now it takes me twice, maybe three times as long to get where I'm goin'.”
Carter claims Trump’s initiative to secure the US-Mexico
border has slowed travel on Chicago’s highways and byways to an absolute
crawl. “I used to be able to go from
downtown to over by O’Hare in forty minutes or less. Now it takes me an hour and a half or
more. How’s a guy supposed to make a
living?”
It would seem Chicago’s substantial Mexican community is
grappling with a newfound sense of fear over possible arrest and deportation
fueled by Trump’s hard-line stance on illegal immigration.
“Look,” said Carter. “I
like Mexicans as much as the next guy.
Their food is fantastic, and nobody else can make my lawn look nice how
I like it. But they need to get the hell
out of my way. I got places I need to
be.”
Carter’s complaint is that illegals drive at least ten
miles an hour below the posted speed limit for fear of getting pulled over and carded,
thus adding to the congestion of the
already clogged area roadways.
Says Carter, “Look – if you want to be inconspicuous, then
don’t drive twenty miles an hour in the left lane with your nose to the
steering wheel, refusing to make eye contact with anybody. It’s a dead giveaway.”
Carter contends that the driving habits of Mexican illegals have
cost him thousands in missed fare opportunities during the past six months
alone.
His advice to them? “Get a bicycle, and keep off the roads. Let a guy make a buck, for Pete’s sake.”
A White House spokesperson had no comment.
A White House spokesperson had no comment.
