Posted on 11/30/2005 8:40:01 AM PST by epow
To zap illegals, jail those who employ them
Published on: 11/30/05
On Monday, President Bush gave a speech designed to reassure his conservative base that he is serious about protecting the country from illegal immigrants.
Speaking before an invitation-only audience in Tucson, Ariz., the president didn't spend too much time talking about the valuable contributions that immigrants have made or about granting them the opportunity to become citizens. Instead, Bush focused on fences and raids and deportations. In so doing, he reached out to a disaffected Republican constituency that is increasingly hostile to immigrants — especially to those Latinos who enter the country illegally.
Bush's tough talk will certainly have widespread appeal in Georgia, where many voters have become anxious — even angry — at what they perceive as the staggering burden of illegal immigration. There is a backlash brewing — a rising tide of frustration born of resentment over schools forced to accommodate non-English speakers, hospital emergency rooms beset by uninsured patients and perceptions of higher crime rates.
Over the past decade, the immigrant population has grown faster in Georgia than in nearly all other states. Immigrants — with and without documents — find work in carpet mills in Dalton, poultry plants in Rome, farms in South Georgia and construction companies throughout metro Atlanta.
But Bush failed to call for the one policy change that would make the greatest difference in deterring illegal border crossings: harsh penalties for employers who hire undocumented workers. Most illegal immigrants, especially those who come in through the porous Mexican border, are drawn to this country by the promise of work. If jobs dried up, the torrent of illegal immigrants entering the United States would diminish to a trickle. And the best way to curb the hiring is to put employers in prison for hiring illegally.
But the president didn't say one word about harsh penalties for businesses. That's because business executives are a core GOP constituency, and Bush doesn't want to risk alienating them.
Oh, he gave the usual lip service to the idea of responsible hiring. He spoke of his plan for providing temporary permits for immigrants to work in those industries that need their labor, and he described IDs that would be tamper-proof, thwarting the common practice of using fake IDs. He announced the expansion of a program called "Basic Pilot," an automated system through which businesses may determine whether a prospective employee is authorized to work in this country. Basic Pilot is now available for use nationwide. But employers are not required to use it.
Bush didn't say anything about business owners who knowingly hire illegal immigrants because their labor comes cheap: They will work for less than minimum wage; they don't seek health insurance; they don't complain about safety violations in the workplace.
It's not difficult for employers to check on the immigration status of prospective workers. The Social Security Administration maintains a database of all Social Security numbers. It's easy enough for employers to learn whether a worker's number is valid. But many employers don't do that.
While many industries claim they can't find willing American workers, the truth is that they could find more Americans willing to do tough, dirty jobs if they paid more for their labor. Is it true that poultry plants couldn't find enough Americans to fill job openings? Or is it more likely they couldn't find enough American laborers for the wages they were willing to pay?
Of course, the higher labor prices would be passed on to consumers if the Bush administration and Congress really cracked down on illegal hiring. Homebuilders, for example, get to squeeze out a bit more profit when they use illegal workers, but they also pass some of the savings on to consumers. Houses are cheaper — and so is chicken, farm produce and lawn care, among other things — because illegal immigrants do so much of the labor. Americans who denounce illegal immigrants may not have calculated the additional costs they'd incur once that labor disappears.
It's easy to bash illegal immigrants. They are desperate; they are vulnerable; they don't vote. But they are here only because we've developed a bipolar policy that devours their cheap labor while discouraging their assimilation. If we are serious about curbing illegal immigration, the place to start is with business owners who hire illegal workers.
• Cynthia Tucker is the editorial page editor. Her column appears Wednesdays and Sundays.
Better yet, let's free Mexico. If they lived in a truly free country they could prosper and do well. They are resourceful capapble people who are screwed by an oppressive form of socialism.
Yeah, but they mix better drinks in corrupt South American hellholes.
As long as they are legal, I have no problem with that.
The Constitution allows for tariffs to protect you.
Hey, folks, there's something wrong with this thread. We're having a civil, rational discussion about immigration. I'd better call the mods.... ;-)
You didn't really know his status until you got confirmation that Pedro's number belonged to "Barbara".
He has to have good judgment. If he doesn't, he can lose his business.
If you can lose your business because of it, then it is your business to know it.
No. The card looked legit as did all his other documents. The forgeries aren't in crayola you know. I go so far as to refuse laminated SSN cards. It is illegal to laminate them.
Define "good judgement." Lawyers will have a field day with that one. If all the documents are legit, what's the beef. All I'm saying is the system is burdensome enough, please, no more requirements.
This is what I have been saying from day one.
The vast majority of the illegals are here for 1 main reason, which is employment and with that comes money and health care to a certain extent.
Right now, the penalties for the people hiring the illegals aren't nearly steep enough, which is why there is a job-rich environment for these people to make the trek to where the job or jobs are.
There is more than one thing that needs to be fixed. The Border needs to be secured. I get the feeling that this is happening, maybe not a wall, but the surveillance is being stepped up alledgedly. The employers are preying on these desperate people. That alone makes them bastards, but they are also breaking the law, so throw the book at them.
Then finally, the entire immigration system needs to be re-vamped and tightened.
But if the same SS number has five jobs at the same time, then someone needs to check. There is no reason we can't sort out the illegals. It shouldn't be that hard.
Iran is next on the list. Mexico will have to wait in line.
How can I lose my business if Pedro is talking about a 15 year old girl? Is he telling the truth or bragging? Guys are full of BS. We all know that. If I don't have anything hard on the guy (no pun), I can't really do anything. If he really scares me I call the cops, but most of the times cops don't check things out.
I held 5 jobs at the same time and I was born here. I know plenty of legit folks that hold more than one job - more than 3.
I really had no idea how many of these guys were on the up and up until a fed trapper came to the property. We sounded a siren to call for coyotes and half my workers ran away.
Is that reason to fire them all? Did some run because others did? Maybe they owed child support (most do).
I should say siren sounding isn't probably the best litmus test either.
I also remember an insident where an employee who had been working for a while came up with bad documentation (SSN and INS contacted us). I was instructed not to fire him, but to ask him to rectify the situation. When I did, he simply never returned to work.
<<< It isn't that hard. We have computers nowadays. You can't rent an apartment without getting a background check.>>>
Most Companies won't even let you QUESTION the documents presented by an illegal, because to do so AND BE WRONG means MILLIONS in a racial discrimantion lawsuit!
This was the POLICY at a major Corporation I used to work at. A few fines were cheaper than fighting a Couple of dozen Race Discrimination suits......
Again, that's something that could be, and should be, corrected by Congress. If enough POed voters demand in no uncertain terms that it be corrected it will be corrected.
We simply have to start being good citizens and hold our Senators and representatives of whatever party accountable for not protecting us or our country from what amounts to a foreign invasion by millions of lawbreaking aliens. If we don't it will be as much our fault as anyone else's when the US becomes indistinguishable from any other Latin American country.
Of course now that we will be enforcing immigration law, to not question those documents will also result in million dollar fines. And it will result in workplace disruptions when the INS raids you. And maybe even jail time. So I guess something's got to give. Guess which side I'm on.
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