Undocumented worker takes his fight to the state Supreme Court

The Grand Rapids Press ^ | Sunday, January 25, 2004 | Ted Roelofs

[pabianice]

He'll win, 6-3.

[cyborg]

This is ridiculous. HE IS AN ILLEGAL ALIEN.

[ysoitanly]

I gotta say, as soon as I saw the headline 'undocumented worker', I quit reading. Unless I'm wrong, gee, could it be another ILLEGAL who is suing at taxpayer expense and there's a roll of crying towels at the end of the aisle for how he wants 'a better life'? Sorry, I am an immigrant descendent - LEGAL, and we came here with TWO BOXES, learned ENGLISH and wanted to be AMERICANS without SUING. Again, remember, I didn't read the article because of the off-putting headline, so flame away if I'm wrong.

[RiflemanSharpe]

Deport before he can extort.

[azhenfud]

The concerned citizens of Michigan should begin filing suits against anyone - including lawyers - who feloniously help Sanchez with anything but getting across the border.

[cripplecreek]

"I'm doing everything the citizen is supposed to do. I am contributing to society," Sanchez says in Spanish. "Why shouldn't I have rights like the other people?"

everything but obey the law that is.

[azhenfud]

Wow. You're here before I can ping ya!

Like that catchy phrase. LOL!

[Mears]

This is nuts!!!!!!

[GeronL]

ewill they make him go home whether he wins or not??

[ovrtaxt]

But a provision of the law exempts employers from paying compensation if a worker cannot work because of imprisonment or "commission of a crime." Eagle Alloy maintains it's not required to pay compensation because Sanchez -- by virtue of his fraudulent application and illegal status -- committed a crime.

Here's the crux of the whole thing. Now the Bush bots who screamed about the 'rule of law' with Clinton will come out and defend this crap. If the law is ignored when it's not convenient, what good is it?

And border laws are not unjust, so don't anybody try the 'civil disobedience' line.

[TankerKC]

HE IS AN ILLEGAL ALIEN.

Yes, he is. But the company hired him. The article also says, "...federal officials informed the company in June 1999 that 63 of its employees had false Social Security numbers. That's more than a fifth of its work force."

Do you think that they were really unaware of this? I'm not sure. There are definitely some questions to be answered.

[Mears]

Good God,he has a wife and seven kids. Ship all of them back,he's a lawbreaker,period.

[RagingBull]

Workers like Sanchez pay taxes without the right to collect most welfare benefits, they say.

I suppose his seven (!) kids don't go to school?

"It was hard to feed everybody," Sanchez said. "My children were growing up. We couldn't afford books."

I guess he couldn't afford contraceptives either.

[Lucky Dog]

"Why shouldn't I have rights like the other people?"

You have the right to remain silent, you have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford one, contact your consulate, anything you say, even in Spanish, will be used against you on the trip back to Mexico after your trial for breaking American law.

[cyborg]

I am sure they knew what they were doing. I am just laughing that he is demanding rights he isn't entitled to.

[ovrtaxt]

Well, they sunk lots of money into his medical care before they found out. I don't think they knew.

[PattonReincarnated]

Okay, I got this far ... didn't read anymore, call me close minded:

>> His thick, gnarled fingers and muscular arms give him away. Mexico native David Sanchez, 46, is a man accustomed to tough, physical labor. The West Michigan resident is also an undocumented worker -- who finds himself at the center of a closely watched legal fight over a claim for workers' compensation.

My response: Deport the law-breaking illegal before he spends any more of my tax dollars - the Supreme Court takes tax dollars to run by the way.

[Bigg Red]

The concerned citizens of Michigan should begin filing suits against anyone - including lawyers - who feloniously help Sanchez with anything but getting across the border.

&&

Excellent idea.

[kingu]

Better questions: Has his wife and seven kids been deported yet? Has he been fired from his other job for being an illegal alien yet? And finally, why is he still here? A lawyer could handle his case, he should be back in his own country.