Posted on 07/10/2010 6:23:54 AM PDT by tobyhill
The Obama administration has replaced immigration raids at factories and farms with a quieter enforcement strategy: sending federal agents to scour companies’ records for illegal immigrant workers.
While the sweeps of the past commonly led to the deportation of such workers, the “silent raids,” as employers call the audits, usually result in the workers being fired, but in many cases they are not deported.
Over the past year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has conducted audits of employee files at more than 2,900 companies. The agency has levied a record $3 million in civil fines so far this year on businesses that hired unauthorized immigrants, according to official figures. Thousands of those workers have been fired, immigrant groups estimate.
Employers say the audits reach more companies than the work-site roundups of the administration of President George W. Bush. The audits force businesses to fire every suspected illegal immigrant on the payroll — not just those who happened to be on duty at the time of a raid — and make it much harder to hire other unauthorized workers as replacements. Auditing is “a far more effective enforcement tool,” said Mike Gempler, executive director of the Washington Growers League, which includes many worried fruit growers.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
I’m actually ok with this for the time being. Better than doing nothing which they would have done in the past. We wouldn’t be in the mess we are in now if this was being done for the last 20 years or so.
If ICE is able to search employee records then they can catch them and send them back.
I have no doubts that Obama would be planning on rounding up illegal aliens in detention camps, give them a decision to make, he gets his army of followers that are coerced out of fear.
The democrats get their voters to prop themselves into a bargaining position.
Problem is, if they can’t work the get tax money to support them, making it more likely they’ll end up dependent on Big Govt and Dem voters once they get amnesty.
Send ‘em to the White House.
This doesn't smell right... Has anyone even heard rumors of this going on? With 2900 companies audited by ICE you would think there would be something in the news or on blogs by now. Maybe I just missed it.
I will give ICE credit though, if this is going on. Drying up the employment of illegals will send many of them packing without the delay and expense of litigation or deportation.
No doubt. But I think you could throw 250,000 out of work faster and cheaper than removing 1,000 completely out of the US.
Many states are moving to deny them welfare, unemployment, etc. Eventually the problem solves itself.
AND...those hiring illegals should be fined, jailed, imho. I’m all in favor of fining them for the cost of removing said illegals back to their home of origin. First thing first though - cut the illegal jobs / employment.
Yes, and some of them go home on their own.
“Has anyone even heard rumors of this going on? With 2900 companies audited by ICE you would think there would be something in the news or on blogs by now”
Yeah it happens - to those companies do work directly with the government - it needs to spread. We’re being invaded, we’re at war - most don’t want to admit it.
I don’t believe it for a second, they lie about everything.
Call me paranoid but this seems like MSNBC --a network that is known to support the Obama machine-- is simply repeating some talking points sent to them by the White House. If these are the measures that have been taken so far, and the statistics of it are so readily available, then my question is: Has it worked so far? Is it effective enough?
Given that the people want the federal government to do more to enforce the law and secure the border, then why would simply reporting what has being going on up until now sufficient?
In other words, I think the skimpy enforcement is not a new development, just the reporting of it. The fact that MSNBC is giving it a positive spin is not surprising.
And, as supporting evidence, I offer the fact that its not making a big difference. If this enforcement was more than just a little bit, you would hear all about it from big farming, from La Raza, from the Mexicano Presidente, etc. And the border crossings would be down, not up.
When ICE enforcement makes unemployment go down, when border crossings dwindle, when violent crime and other drug-related crime such as kidnappings go down, when unions see a positive effect and publicly state that they approve of employer audits because it benefits their membership (okay maybe that is unrealistic) THEN I will believe that something has changed.
Recently Greta Van Sustern tried to ask the Democratic candidate for AZ governor (the current attorney general of Arizona) a similar question. She must have re-phrased it 4 or 5 times: "What makes you think that you can rely on the federal government to improve things given their track record so far?" His answer was like a broken record: "We want to focus on solving the problem, which is arresting the criminals, stopping the crime, and correcting our policies with long-term immigration reform" Blah Blah Blah. Oh, and his facial acrobatics were interesting to watch. He was wanting to smile as much as possible (like a good candidate for governor ought) but was not happy with Greta so it went almost like Jekyll-and-Hyde repetition of smiling and grimacing. Over and over. Its good that democrats are made to address the problem but they are quite certain of their talking points and they believe that the people will accept their minimal engagement on the issue.
The goal, of course, is to get past this "rhetoric" set forth by a large segment of the people and "get back to the business of running the government". Sound familiar? Yep the best example people have is Bill Clinton, and white guys like the AZ attorney general would love to be like him. They can't emulate Obama, so they settle for the next best thing.
Meanwhile, large segments of Arizona (most of a national park) are de facto ceded to Mexico, with the public warned away by signs, and law enforcement reluctant to enter because it is occupied by organized criminals who also happen to be "undocumented workers".
$3 MIL IN FINES IS $1000 PER COMPANY.
At the turkey processing plant in my little city of residence it’s happening. Americans are being hired as the illegals are get the boot,
It’s laughable. They’ll fire the illegal, pay then fine then hire them back under a different name. That is why the Growers Association supports the “silent raids”.
I’ve seen the same number of day laborers in a neighborhood I drive though every day as I did 5 years ago and I see the same contractors picking them up probably paying cash under the table.
Well if they have anchor babies - they are not leaving no matter what legally. I’m all in favor of denying citizenship for children born here from parents living / visiting here illegally.
In till that time just keep denying them job opportunities - fine the crap out of employers - jail time for them if they get caught employing illegals a second time.
Unemployed illegal aliens have time to join the local La Raza/SEIU/Workers of the World gang and cause mayhem...
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