See More Mexicans Arrested for Drug Trafficking in Johnson City
See More Mexicans Arrested for Drug Trafficking in Johnson City
by Lewis Loflin
Immigration reform proposals, such as those expanding guest worker programs, threaten to deepen the misery of the working poor. Over the next decade, an estimated 22 million additional guest workers could flood the U.S. labor market, further displacing native-born low-wage workers. This trend is already evident in East Tennessee and the Tri-Cities region, where industries like agriculture, construction, and hospitality increasingly favor immigrant labor over local hires. Low-wage Black workers nationwide have been pushed out of the labor force by this influx, and now poor whites in our region face the same fate as employers chase cheaper, more exploitable labor pools.
The numbers tell a stark story. According to the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), between 2000 and 2020, native-born workers without a college degree lost ground in low-skill job sectors, with immigrant labor accounting for nearly all net job growth in those fields. In Tennessee, where the unemployment rate for high school graduates hovers around 5% as of 2024 (per Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates), the influx of guest workers depresses wages and squeezes out locals who can’t compete with below-market rates. In the Tri-Cities, for instance, meatpacking plants and seasonal tourism jobs—once reliable for the working poor—now lean heavily on immigrant labor, often under temporary visa programs like H-2B.
This isn’t an accident—it’s a strategy. Business leaders and regional economic development boards have openly recommended immigration as a cost-cutting measure, particularly for the tourist- and retirement-driven industries that dominate Southwest Virginia and East Tennessee. A 2019 report from the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce praised immigrant workers for their “flexibility” and “cost-effectiveness” in hospitality and service sectors, urging policymakers to expand visa programs. The goal is clear: import even cheaper labor to displace the working poor, who already form the backbone of our private-sector workforce.
Take the Tri-Cities’ tourism boom as an example. Hotels, restaurants, and landscaping firms in Bristol, Kingsport, and Johnson City increasingly rely on guest workers, paying wages as low as $9–$11 per hour—well below a living wage in 2025, where fair market rent for a one-bedroom apartment averages $1,200 monthly (per HUD data). Native-born workers, especially those without advanced skills, are left scrambling for scraps or pushed onto public assistance. Meanwhile, employers pocket the savings, and the region’s economic disparity widens.
The working poor—already ignored and marginalized—bear the brunt. In Southwest Virginia, where 18% of residents live below the poverty line (2023 Census estimate), the influx of exploitable labor entrenches a system of social apartheid. The well-connected elite thrive, while those at the bottom are discarded. Efforts to address this—like raising the minimum wage or enforcing labor laws—are stymied by a culture that prioritizes profit over people. Immigration reform, as currently proposed, will only accelerate this divide, ensuring the working poor remain a permanent underclass.
Update November 2024: A 2023 FAIR (Federation for American Immigration Reform) report estimates that Virginia’s public schools now serve over 105,000 illegal alien children, costing taxpayers approximately $2.1 billion annually—or roughly $20,000 per student. This figure reflects a significant increase from the $1.2 billion reported in 2017. In 2017, Kathryn Watson at Watchdog.org noted that an additional 2,800 illegal alien children added $56 million to Virginia’s education budget. When asked, then-Governor Terry McAuliffe dismissed it as a federal issue. Nationwide, the placement of 37,000 unaccompanied minors in 2014–15 cost states $761 million, per FAIR’s 2017 data.
Virginia’s education system continues to bear a heavy burden. The $2.1 billion annual cost exceeds the total economic development funds allocated to Southwest Virginia over the past three decades. These students often struggle academically, with many illiterate in their native languages, driving up expenses for remedial programs. Additional welfare costs push the total annual burden of illegal immigration in Virginia to $3.8 billion, according to FAIR’s 2023 estimate (www.fairus.org). Fewer than 500 of these children have been deported since 2017. Local media, like the Bristol Herald Courier, has been criticized for underreporting this issue.
The federal cost is even steeper, with FAIR estimating a net burden of $187 billion on U.S. taxpayers in 2023, up from $116 billion in 2017, due to wage depression and increased public service demands. However, some argue that low workforce participation among native-born residents—due to welfare access or unwillingness to take low-wage jobs—complicates the picture.
The Heritage Foundation’s 2013 report highlights the fiscal strain of low-income households, regardless of immigration status. It states:
These households generate a "fiscal deficit" that must be financed by taxes from other households or government borrowing. For example, in 2010, U.S. households headed by persons without a high school degree received, on average, $46,582 in government benefits while paying only $11,469 in taxes. This created an average fiscal deficit (benefits received minus taxes paid) of $35,113. The high deficits of poorly educated households are critical in the amnesty debate because the typical unlawful immigrant has only a 10th-grade education. Half of unlawful immigrant households are headed by someone with less than a high school degree, and another 25 percent have only a high school diploma.
Southwest Virginia, where 50% of the population relies on transfer payments, exemplifies this issue. Efforts at economic development are often undermined by local corruption and a culture that enriches a well-connected few, while the region’s education challenges remain unaddressed.
Mass immigration—legal and illegal—disproportionately harms those without advanced degrees, exacerbating economic inequality. The wealthy, who often benefit from cheap labor, are largely insulated from these costs.
ERWIN, Tenn. (AP) -- "Two Latino men being deported from Erwin were, instead, turned loose along Interstate 81. Unicoi County Sheriff Kent Harris told the Johnson City Press that Gregorio Estala Rodriguez and Primitivo Estala Rodriguez had been picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Tuesday and were being taken to a federal center in New Orleans.
Harris said the agents called the jail later and said superiors had told them to release the men because the center in New Orleans was temporarily closed after Hurricane Gustav blew though the city. Harris said Gregorio Rodriguez had pleaded guilty to drug and weapons charges and Primitivo Rodriguez pleaded guilty to not having a driver's license or car insurance. The newspaper reported it's efforts to obtain comment from ICE were unsuccessful." Ref. AP Sep. 5, 2008.
New immigration laws in Tennessee could be changing the way some jails do business. Under the new law, jailers must confirm whether or not someone is an illegal immigrant when they are booked into the detention center.
Then, jailers must notify federal immigration agencies if the person charged is in the country illegally. Local law enforcement, including Unicoi and Washington counties, say they're prepared to cooperate with federal immigration employees.
In fact, according to Washington County Sheriff Ed Graybeal, this is nothing new to his department. He says they've been enforcing this law for the past several years, working with immigration officials.
In Unicoi County, jailer George Berry doesn't see anything wrong with the new law, he says, because it doesn't target any specific group of people. Instead if you're brought into jail, they must confirm your residency and they have been doing that for more than 6 years. "Don't break the law," he said, "and you don't have anything to worry about."
This is the first piece of new immigration law passed in the State of Tennessee, and Representative Tony Shipley says even though this is a small piece of the puzzle, it does get the ball rolling for future immigration laws in the state. January 03, 2011
Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen (D) signed a bill on June 28, 2010, creating provisions similar to, but less harsh than, Arizona's SB 1070. The law requires city and county jails in the state to report any person who may be in violation of immigration laws to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This decision follows recent state and local crackdowns on undocumented immigration, notably Arizona’s SB 1070 and a Nebraska town’s vote to limit job and housing opportunities for undocumented immigrants. Bredesen’s approval of Tennessee’s House Bill 670 aligns with these trends.
Tennessee has a history of targeting undocumented immigrants. In 2007, lawmakers proposed over 40 changes to state law aimed at this group. That year, Bredesen signed a bill allowing the state to deny, suspend, or revoke employers’ business licenses if they knowingly employ undocumented immigrants. Earlier in June 2010, he allowed a resolution applauding Arizona’s new immigration law to pass without his signature. Bristol Herald Courier, June 29, 2010
Effective January 1, 2011, a new law requires jailers to report individuals lacking legal documentation to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, further tightening immigration enforcement.
On July 5, 2011, officers of the Johnson City Police Department arrested Cuautemoc Castro Martinez, 32, of 1001 East Watauga Avenue, Johnson City, Tennessee. Martinez was charged with identity theft following an investigation prompted by Jesus Gomez of Nampa, Idaho, who reported that his name and personal identifiers were being used in Johnson City.
The investigation revealed that Martinez had used Gomez’s information to obtain employment and file fraudulent income tax returns. He is currently held in the Washington County Detention Center on a $10,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Washington County General Sessions Court for arraignment on July 6, 2011. Johnson City Police
(AP) Phoenix – Smugglers bringing illegal immigrants into the U.S. rely on seemingly legitimate businesses that provide cars, lodging, plane tickets, and other services, fully aware of their illicit purpose. Investigators note that while the number of such corrupt businesses is small, they play a significant role in helping immigrants reach the country’s interior.
These accomplices include landlords and rental agents supplying homes to hide immigrants, taxi drivers near the border transporting them to nearby cities, used-car dealerships allowing false vehicle registrations, and travel agencies selling bulk plane tickets. “At every stage along the way, a process has been taken over, corrupted, to facilitate the transportation of illegal immigrants,” said Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, whose office has prosecuted such cases.
Authorities cannot estimate the exact number of involved businesses but identify Arizona—the busiest illegal entry point into the U.S.—as their primary hub, where immigrant smuggling is a $1.7 billion-a-year industry. Similar operations exist in San Diego, Los Angeles, Houston, San Antonio, and El Paso, Texas. Immigration agents say some accomplices are outright criminal enterprises, while others are legitimate businesses occasionally breaking the law for profit.
Prosecutions remain limited due to the family-run nature of smuggling operations, which are hard to infiltrate with informants or undercover officers. Recorded conversations are often required to prove intent. “The businesses are willfully blind to what on the face should be obvious,” said Alonzo Pena, chief of investigations for ICE in Arizona. November 22, 2007, Copyright 2007 AP
The first several articles presented address the issue of left-wing bias in news reporting and related topics.
