Nervous Employers Re-Examine Practices in Wake of Immigration Raids

Law.com ^ | September 15, 2006 | Rebecca Riddick

[End Times Sentinel]

Federal officials declined to say how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) found out about the illegal immigrants

Perhaps they checked the Yellow Pages under "Cleaning"

Owl_Eagle

If what I just wrote made you sad or angry,
it was probably just a joke.

[spintreebob]

Does the small number of such raids on illegals indicate
A) Very few people are snitching on the 12 million illegals, at least half of whom are highly visible.
b) People are snitching in big numbers but the ICE is lazy, incompetent, bureaucratic and thus handles only a small percentage of those snitched on.

I'm pro-illegal and active on the issue and in the illegal community since '61. Most of the sntiching I'm aware of is not anti-illegals with a political axe to grind. Most of the snitching is by others in the illegal community with a personal axe to grind. Some illegal, or employer of illegals personally ticked them off and snitching in anger (and often drunken anger) is their way of getting even.

The most common snitching I've seen is by a rejected lover when drunk.

My wife (an illegal who received amnesty) was personally ticked off about a day labor agency that ran a business selling IDs to illegals. She snitched. A couple weeks later a couple guys on the ID selling side were arrested. The day labor agency side and known bosses of the operation were not touched. It seemed more like symbolic gesture than diligence in law enforcement.

I do not know if my wife's snitching was the motivation ... or maybe it was just a message to the ID selling ring that the mordita would have to be a little bigger in the future.

[John Jorsett]

People are snitching in big numbers but the ICE is lazy, incompetent, bureaucratic and thus handles only a small percentage of those snitched on.

Since I read story after story where local law enforcement encounters someone who turns out to be illegal, but ICE can't be bothered to pick the person up and deport them, I'd say that "lazy, incompetent, bureaucratic" about covers it.

[BW2221]

Businesses need not worry. The raids are temporary. Bush is just pandering to his base until after the election so they won't turn on RINOs.

The Clinton administration prosecuted more companies hiring illegals annually than the Bush administration.

That's probably because Clinton was the first black president and Bush is the first Mexican president.

[Utahrd]

Yeah, BW.

It sounds to me like some corporate executives forgot to take their local Republican congressman on a golf outing.

[pepsionice]

Ever so true...Fed raids are stictly for the upcoming elections and to pretend that something is being done. But on the state and local level...raids might come more often. And if you tied a tax into each raid for the county to make $2000 off each illegal they find...you would fix the problem within one year. A tax assessed against each illegal worker on the company...is all you need. If you can't obey the law...then the county can prepare to make millions off stupid employers.

[HamiltonJay]

or whether any company executives would face criminal charges.

They damned well should!! They knowingly and willingly recruit and employ these illegals, they need to frogwalk and serve jailtime for it.

[doc30]

Under the H-2A visa, temporary guest workers can come into the country for a specified maximum period of time, and employers are obligated to provide housing and pay at least the Adverse Effect Wage Rate for the state. For 2006, the AEWR in Florida was $8.56 an hour.

In other words, the farmers don't want to pay the going rate for labor. They want to undercut the labor market. Keep the H2A program and hav ehte farmers pay the going rate. At least, then it will be competitive for any American wanting to do the work.

[stainlessbanner]

Added FLA to keywords

[beckysueb]

b) People are snitching in big numbers but the ICE is lazy, incompetent, bureaucratic and thus handles only a small percentage of those snitched on.

Thats probably it.

[gubamyster]

ping

[Marine Inspector]

Does the small number of such raids on illegals indicate
b) People are snitching in big numbers but the ICE is lazy, incompetent, bureaucratic and thus handles only a small percentage of those snitched on.

ICE is under funded and under manned.

There are some 10 to 20 million illegal aliens in the US and we have less then 5,000 folks looking for them. Priorities indicate that ICE will be looking for the most violent and dangerous of the illegals, not the millions just making a living.

[Marine Inspector]

See above post (#13).

[Marine Inspector]

See above post (#13).

[LIConFem]

Wow, does this mean that enforcing immigration laws actually works to discourage the hiring of illegals? Whoda thunkit?

[APFel]

Snitching??

Nice choice of words.

APf

[calex59]

I like your idea of a tax on each illegal caught by the government with the following change, 10 % should go to the party turning in the illegals the other 90 to the fed or state government. I think the states are handling it wrong also by trying to bust them for trespassing. I think they should pass state laws that carry a big jail sentance for carrying fake ID with a large fine attached also. If they can't pay the fine they work it off on chain gangs. Cities could do this also.

[CottonBall]

Relying on existing law, ICE has engaged in high-profile raids of worksites employing undocumented workers.

ICE also has proposed a plan to take action against employers based on their failure to respond to letters notifying them that their employees' Social Security numbers don't match information in government data bases.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has asked Congress for greater leeway in accessing and using evidence against employers. Under current law, ICE does not have access to information possessed by the Social Security Administration. Chertoff wants to allow data sharing so immigration agents can use nonmatching Social Security information as a lead to find illegals -- not just as evidence once illegals are found.

Unlike in the past, ICE isn't just seeking to assess civil monetary fines against companies found to have employed illegal aliens. It's also seeking criminal sanctions against executives for failing to follow a 1986 federal law making it illegal to hire undocumented workers.

This sounds to good to be true. These laws were in effect all along - why just pay attention to them now? The GOP obviously knows what we (the base) want. Failing to provide it other than at election time is yet another slap in the face. And I'm not turning the other cheek as far as the GOP goes any more.

[SwinneySwitch]

"Relying on existing law, ICE has engaged in high-profile raids of worksites employing undocumented workers."

Wonder if they could have anything to do with 11-07-06?