The Wal-Mart 300--Time to put immigration reform back on the Bush agenda

Wall St Journal ^ | 10-24-063

[SJackson]

Federal agents arrested more than 300 illegal immigrants at 60 Wal-Mart stores across the country yesterday. We'll wait to see if there are terrorists hiding behind those blue smocks, or merely striving Mexicans working for $10 an hour. But we already know the case will demonstrate once again the need to fix our immigration laws.

[banjo joe]

businesses need to be able to import talent they can't always find here.

So we can't find janitors now?
Talent for mopping floors?

[Dustbunny]

I am NOT anti immigration, my family were immigrants. Italian, Irish and Ukrainian.

We need to stop all immigration for a period of at least 5 years in order to clean up the immigration service and those here illegally.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

300 busts at 60 Wal Marts, indictments from a grand jury, etc, etc. Sounds like the Feds have these cheapskates by the short hair...

[txdoda]

Where's the BARF ALERT ???


DEPORT the illegals.....FINE the CONTRACTOR ( & W-MART, if guilty ) & quit WHINING because the gov't FINALLY did it's job & busted a few illegals.

[Mike Darancette]

gov't FINALLY did it's job & busted a few illegals.

Yes, round up all of those Eastern Europeans that are flooding our country.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

ping

[gubamyster]

ping

[litany_of_lies]

The bill also gives illegals already here a way to apply for legal status, but requires them to pay a fine for breaking the law.

I'm usually a WSJ fan, but they are totally out to lunch on immigration.

So the illegals pay a fine, now they're legal, and now they vote. All the people who apply for citizenship the right way are made to look like complete fools.

People who gain citizenship by simply paying a fine to be here (to paraphrase Savage) don't respect our borders, won't make the effort to learn this country's language, and have no idea of our common heritage and culture (or if they do, are often hostile to it).

It's a recipe for disaster only a liberal or a shortsighted businessperson could love.

[JFC]

The left is out to hit Wal-Mart. They are one of the few large companies that is NON-UNION. That is what all of the blame Wal-Mart is about, I can promise you.

[litany_of_lies]

I don't disagree that the left is desperate angry at Wal-Mart. The unions have jumped into this case with both feet.

The people involved appear to be contractors, which mitigates the circumstances a bit. BUT if WM really knows that the contracting firm is recklessly using illegals, they need to be nailed. I doubt that they did, or even that the contractor necessarily did.

Based on my limited knowledge of how things work (discussion with a construction company exec), as long as an applicant provides you with legitimate ID, a Social Security number and a signed statement that he/she is a citizen (part of the "everything on this app is true" statement at the end of every app), the employer is off the hook. Under current law, it's not the employer's job to investigate or verify a person's citizenship status, or even to verify the SSN. You might call it a "don't ask, believe them" policy. This is a common misunderstanding of the extent of employer responsibility.

My opinion is that employers need to be required to verify SSNs. If you want to argue civil liberties and privacy on SSNs, that cat's been out of the bag for 30 years.

[gubamyster]

A recent front-page Journal story noted that stricter policing of the southern border, intended to staunch the immigrant flow, has in fact made matters worse. The price of an illegal crossing has tripled since 1995, and the average U.S. stay of an undocumented Mexican had climbed to nine years by the late 1990s from just three years in the 1980s.

Here is the article:

Tighter Border Yields Odd Result: More Illegals Stay

The title is misleading and thier conclusion is false. It is clear from their own article the illegals are not staying because of tighter border controls but from all the free handouts, lack of enforcement of immigration laws and coddling of the illegals:

One local charity reports that demand for Christmas food baskets has tripled in the past two years

settling here has become easier

"We haven't done workplace enforcement for years," says Robert Logazino, head of the Border Patrol's Northern California sector office in Livermore. "We're in the process of being closed down here." Priorities have shifted in law enforcement.

"The houses violate the city code," says Gary Podesto, Stockton's mayor. "But if we chase them out, they will only go live by the river."

They know with certainty that they couldn't have afforded the treatment, which ran into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and for which they paid nothing at San Joaquin General.

U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants have access to the country's social safety net. The Silverios get $650 a month in welfare on behalf of Flor and another $319 on behalf of Cristian.

The nonprofit Council for Spanish speakers, known as El Concilio, says the number of baskets with food distributed at Christmas jumped three-fold in the last two years, to about 1,500.

Medi-Cal, the state and federal health-insurance program, covers illegal immigrants only for emergency treatment, prenatal care and some cases of long-term care in nursing homes.

Moreover, when Medi-Cal won't pay, the burden often falls to local health-care systems. San Joaquin General, which faces a $9 million overall deficit this year, last year lost an average of more than $75 for each patient who visited its emergency room. The ER lost $3.7 million.

[texastoo]

The WSJ and large corporations could care less who the burden of illegal immigration falls on. They just want the cheap labor.

[FITZ]

working for $10 an hour.

Now that's a joke ---- why would Walmart pay it's fully legal workers $6 an hour but pay illegals $10 an hour? There would be no reason at all to bring in these illegals if they intended to pay them that well.

[Pa' fuera]

We'll wait to see if there are terrorists hiding behind those blue smocks, or merely striving Mexicans working for $10 an hour. But we already know the case will demonstrate once again the need to fix our immigration laws.

These were mostly Eastern Europeans, so they won't be going back home after "cleaning season" is over anyway. This article is pure BS, implying that enforcement is the problem, and not all the Hispano-pandering politicians.

[Maria S]

"The left is out to hit Wal-Mart. They are one of the few large companies that is NON-UNION. That is what all of the blame Wal-Mart is about, I can promise you."

Thank you, thank you!!!

This was my thinking the second I heard about this. I KNOW that Walmart is causing smaller stores to close because of their lower prices...but why on earth should I buy (for example) a carton of Cool Whip for $1.79 at Albertsons when I can get it for $ .97 at Walmart? (Of course, Albertsons et al have to jack up prices to pay for all of those union employees making $20-$30 an hour.) Of course, IBP (owned by Tyson Chicken) has hired hundreds of Bosnians and Mexicans. I don't know if they're all legals or not, but IBP is union, so they won't be touched. And Tyson's owner being a friend of Bill and Hil doesn't hurt, either.

"So we can't find janitors now?
Talent for mopping floors?"


Sorry, Americans won't work for minimum wage nor hold down two jobs until something better comes along; out of work Americans prefer welfare. Leave the dirty, low-level work to the immigrants.

[JustPiper]

Representatives Jeff Flake and Jim Kolbe and Senator John McCain

These guys are sellouts, where are the names of the 'true' patriots in DC?

[janetgreen]

Moreover, when Medi-Cal won't pay, the burden often falls to local health-care systems. San Joaquin General, which faces a $9 million overall deficit this year, last year lost an average of more than $75 for each patient who visited its emergency room. The ER lost $3.7 million.

Just ONE hospital forced to swallow a 3.7 million deficit! I think it's clear that no one in Washington has the balls to actually deport illegal aliens, but hasn't it become clear that the cost of supporting them (BILLIONS) should fall on the shoulders of Vicente Fox, President Bush's big buddy? Personally I think they should ALL be deported, but there's only one guy in Washington who agrees, and Tom Tancredo's name is mud to Jorge Bush.

[worldcon]

For real patriots, try http://www.house.gov/tancredo/

To join the fight:
http://www.saveourlicense.com (For Californian's)
http://www.fairus.org/
http://www.americanpatrol.com/
http://www.theterryandersonshow.com/ Grassroots radio in L.A.
http://www.steinreport.com/ FAIR directors news blog

[bcor29]

WalMart is just the tip of the iceberg. We need to deport all illegal aliens (9-11 million) and severely punish the employers who entice them to come. Our crooked politicians who give illegal aliens amnesty, benfits and citizens should be removed from office.