Posted on 07/19/2004 10:48:01 AM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
For years, Carlos lived in fear as he migrated from one farm to another, pursuing the cash that the picking of seasonal fruits and vegetables provided here in the fertile Salinas Valley. But as time passed, so did his anxiety.
"We were always watching out for the Border Patrol, and we were always afraid," said the 34-year-old Mexican national, chopping lettuce with 20 others. "But not anymore. We're out here everyday, and nobody ever bothers us."
Carlos, who came to America in 1996, is one of the estimated 8 million to 12 million illegal aliens living and working in the United States, who have no real fear of ever being detained or deported. And there's a good reason: No one's looking for them.
....
Nearly half of the 48 al Qaeda terrorists tied to violent acts in the United States between 1993 and 2001 committed significant immigration-law violations prior to those events but were never detained or deported, federal records show.
....
An ICE agent in California complained that although there were renewed efforts within the agency to locate criminal aliens and absconders, little work-site enforcement "besides some recent made-for-TV arrests" was being conducted. He and others said unannounced work-site inspections and large fines for employers who hire illegal aliens would drive down the demand for undocumented workers and reduce illegal immigration.
"I would like to think that work-site enforcement was an ICE priority, but it's not," said a Border Patrol agent in Texas.
....
Congress approved an amnesty program in 1986 known as the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) that gave legal status to 2.7 million aliens. The program contained increased enforcement and penalty policies aimed at ending illegal immigration, although the illegal-alien population in the United States today is at least double — some say more than quadruple — the 1986 total.
....
Dan Stein, executive director of the Washington-based Federation for American Immigration Reform, said U.S. employers learned by 1988 that INS was not going to hold them accountable under IRCA for hiring illegal aliens.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Lest anyone develop any sympathy, let's rewrite this:
"For years, Carlos lived in fear as he migrated from one city to another, pursuing the cash that the robbing of banks provided here in the rich Silicon Valley. But as time passed, so did his anxiety. 'We were always watching out for the FBI, and we were always afraid,'"
The only real difference is that one's a misdemeanor and the other's a felony.
There's another difference. While one involves work and wages, a contractual agreement between employer and employee, the other is stealing.
I would like to know that work-site enforcement was ICE's primary function. The exodus would be astonishing.
ping
Put the glasses on!
From the title, I thought this was an Art Bell article.
When I saw the title I thought it was an Algore story.
That was my first thought as well. I guess I shoulda had some caffeine this morning. : )
I made a little joke in reponse to another FReeper, but there is nothing funny about these illegals and they don't deserve any sympathy.
Out here in Washington state last week, we had an illegal, 'employed' by a mortgage company as a landscaper, throw gasoline on his girlfriend and 3 babies as they were in a car driving down the road. The children were killed immediately, the guy, burned and about to die, comes out of the car, still trying to shoot the woman, who is also burned and dying.
It was a shocking event, even to the firefighters called to the scene. This guy had a criminal record and should have been deported long ago, but noooo... we don't want to ask whether he's illegal or not. We don't want to send these creeps back to where they come from because they're all just good, hard working people, trying to earn a living, don't you know?
This whole illegal alien problem amounts to nothing more than a total sellout of the American people by both major parties. Sure is interesting that in this election year, with Americans across the country demanding that something be done to stem the flow across our borders, that neither candidate will even mention this HUGE problem. Face it folks, we've been sized up, set up and are in the process of being sold-out!!
Contract? What contract? The agreement of which you speak is known to legal experts as an "illegal bargain" and is therefore not binding.
LOL. If that's your best shot, go right ahead and strike the word "contractual" from my previous post.
Not only has our gov't lost interest in prosecuting these illegal employers, looks like they seldom even bother to collect the fines they impose on them for breaking Federal Laws.
Yet *EVERY* guest worker plan gov't is pushing calls for the illegals to pay their *mordida* to the US Gov't (rather than the Mex. gov't) and a TRUE *Amnesty* for the illegal employers, *if* they now confirm employing illegals..........I guess none even have to live with a "criminal record", for life.
(Where's the list of Federal Laws that ALL citizens can break DAILY without fear of prosecution ??? How 'bout a list of fines we don't have to pay ??)
Amen! And until the politicians start paying a political price for selling out American citizens they'll do nothing about it.
Great movie!
And I'm all out of bubble gum...
read about the SSA's earnings suspense file here (though it appears to be a immigration advocate, legal or ILLEGAL, lawyer's site)
http://www.immigration.com/newsletter1/ssaimmigration1.html
This quick google could not find what I was looking for, I had seen data that the suspense file grew from just a relatively few records to overflowing during the 1990s.
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