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.
No. The law says don't hire illegals.
Bingo.
39 million make Hispanics largest U.S. minority group 6/19/2003 (US Today)
"Black and Hispanic groups were quick to emphasize common ground rather than differences."
"They keep trying to pit the African-American community against Hispanics when indeed we have a lot more in common than we have in disagreement," Hilary Shelton of the NAACP says. "The Hispanic community is made up of very many different racial groups. African-Americans are still the largest racial minority group."
Cynthia must have got the talking points.
You are not a moron so you have a very good idea what legal papers look like.
Nonetheless the Feds have to make it a no brainer so employers can't complain. Make it mandatory for employers to verify present and future employees against an online SS# database. This procedure will take care of 90% of illegal aliens employyees
Finally -
An iron clad guest worker program for 1-2 million foreigners and not just Mexicans. Asians too. This program would be just for agricultural, meat packing and food industry workers. No wives and family allowed. You work and go home and this is enforced
there are already visas for seasonal workers that would emcompass the majority of the positions you mentioned. It is called an H-2 A & B visa. The category is divided between those who are here for seasonal work and those coming in for "agriculture labor or services". Under the H-2A, there is a 50% rule which requires employers to hire qualified U.S. farmworkers who apply for the jobs until 50% of the contract period has been completed. Of course, there are other criteria but that is it in a nutshell. The H-2B allows only 66,000 visas a year. They are given in 1 yr increments and can be extended in 1 yr increments for a maximum of 3 years. The person cannot change status adn the visa does not apply to family. So, with that in mind, why do we need a guest worker program?
Current penalties for hiring undocumented workers?
1st offense: $275 to $2,200 per alien
2nd offense: $2,200 to $5,500 per alien
3rd offense: $3,300 to $11,000 for each alien
The thing is that the employer is not responsible if the "employee" is an independent contractor. For repeat offenders (employers), the employer may face a penalty of $3,000 and/or 6 months in jail. But there are many loopholes...
We need to close the holes and do more to the employers than slap them on the wrist.
I nominate you for a deputy position to the elected sherrif in the great state of Arizona. You two would be great together.
In my fantasy world, there is a prison city in Nevada, near Lake Meade that utilizes the landscape and natural resources. This prison city only has one way in and one way out and can contain a dense population of 1 million folks. We would have to initially spend about $1 billion to set up the walls, security perimeter and utilities. Then as we populated the city of Haities, the residents could build their own city under the watchfull eye of ex-marines. Did I mention this would be a federal prison and states could pay the federal government about $25/per day to send prisoners there when overcrowding becomes a problem. Then you never run out of space, can put illegals in there, etc. Hell, let them elect a mayor. And let them police themselves. If they can't get shelter's built and maintained, then they get rained on and hot. They can become useful contributing citizens of their very own society.
What do you think? I forecast about $1billion in initial spending and about $50 million a year to maintain after that. The savings on society cannot be measured but it must pay for itself in about 15 to 20 years. Right?
Are you talking about Sheriff Joe Arpaio?
I'm not sure if your "nomination" is a good thing or a bad thing...;-)
personally,I kind of like the moon colony idea...
You know, Australia started out as a penal colony...
The law says anyone who is qualified and has documentation may be hired. There is nothing in the wording about illegals. If he has the documents and checks out, I am not bound to do more.
Should I run him on a national crime computer, give him a lie detector?
I may well be a moron, but thanks for the benefit of the doubt.
The papers are very good. Unless you are an expert (and I am not) you cannot tell. Actually, you can get in trouble refusing papers unless they are an obvious forgery. (They are always more willing to go to bat for the illegal and the employee rather than the employer).
There would have to be a time frame, say 3-5 days to check. Much highering is done in the field on the morning of the pick. Difficult to get everything done.
I'm OK with everything in your #204. I just wish that Bush and Congress were.
[Much highering is done in the field on the morning of the pick. Difficult to get everything done]
This is another problem with the construction industry. A lot of labor is pulled from union halls. You the standard proof of identity from union labor workers.
"Section 274 felonies under the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, INA 274A(a)(1)(A):
A person (including a group of persons, business, organization, or local government) commits a federal felony when she or he:
assists an illegal alien s/he should reasonably know is illegally in the U.S. or who lacks employment authorization, by transporting, sheltering, or assisting him or her to obtain employment, or
encourages that illegal alien to remain in the U.S. by referring him or her to an employer or by acting as employer or agent for an employer in any way, or knowingly assists illegal aliens due to personal convictions."
If an immigration officer believes you should have known that the person you hired was illegal he can arrest you. If the judge and jury agree, you will be fined or sent to jail.
It wouldn't need to be that big. No one jumps a fence to be sent to jail. They would stay home.
the thing is - the Feds don't go after the employers. What's the point of having the laws if we aren't going to enforce them?
Working in the field I know so many mom and pop businesses who have hired illegals as dishwashers, janitors, etc. The only way to get to these people is to have a hotline that you can call, knowing damn good and well that someone undercover will be out to that place of business within an hour and arrest the illegals. The mom and pop's, unfortunately, need to be fined enough to not do it again, and if they are put out of business, too bad. They committed a crime. These businesses KNOW that these workers are illegal. That's why they pay them under the table and hook them up with good American citizens who'll marry and sponsor them.
Most businesses do check and all that is required of them is to make the best assessment possible that the docs given are real. But in many, many cases, no docs are given.
We need attorneys in on this. At least to clear out the inital 12 million illegals in this country right now. I guarantee you if we made it mandatory for attorneys to hand over the names of all individuals who have come into this country illegally - we could deport almost 3/4 of the ones who had not married a U.S. citizen or claimed amnesty. We know where the other 25% is - in jail.
Sounds perfect to me. Now, when do they start inforcing it?
1) When we get enough brave men in the INS who are willing to go against the political winds.
or,
2) When enough citizens speak up to change the political winds.
The law is on our side. So far they have had enough courage to go after Wal-Mart, but that's easy because Wal-Mart has made a lot of enemies.
To us, that sounds like a good question. But to the crooked politician, there are multiple reasons to have laws that are selectively enforced. The law can be enforced to apply pain to your political enemies, to threaten people who don't contribute enough to your campaign fund, or to hit at groups who are not politically correct so the politician can score points with the public.
That's why so many politicians and crooked businessmen are attracted to the idea of having millions of illegals or quasi-citizens in our midst. They are compliant as slaves and especially vulnerable to carrot and stick politics.
Well this is great, and I really do not disagree with it, but think for a moment; not only do I need to know the labor laws, the pesticide and herbicide regulation, trucknig regs, tax regs, zoning regs, fish and game regs, I could go on and on, but I need to read the immigration laws too?
Trust me, I do my best. They need to have their papers in order to be employed.
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