Apr 21 2006
Crackdown On Employers Of Illegal Immigrants
Finally, we are seeing some action on the employers of illegal aliens, who in my mind should be paying more taxes to cover the lost taxes and other burdens of illegal immigration (like health care). Drudge has a few stories out which will do have some interesting ripples. The first is on two employers in Houston arrested for employing illegal workers:
Two Houston men were arrested Wednesday for hiring undocumented workers at a shipping and supply manufacturing plant and hundreds of the company’s employees were taken into custody during an immigration raid that spanned nine states.
What will be important to watch are the democrats. The business lobby in DC is going to scream bloody murder. Bush will stand strong because he is going to give everyone a clear taste of what is coming (especially if things stay the way they are). Bush is a lame duck, so he is definitely not worried about re-election, and right now the politicians needs some tough love.
But the Democrats will be the key. My guess is they misplay this – as usual. They will either come down against the round ups of illegals, or they will be calling for the heads of all illegals, or possibly even both (since they are gifted in the art of double-talk).
The one company mentioned above netted a truly stunning number of workers:
Immigration authorities arrested 1,187 undocumented employees at IFCO Systems North America, a subsidiary of Europe’s largest distributor of transport pallets, and brought criminal charges against seven managers. It was the greatest number of immigration arrests at a worksite in US history.
which in my opinion means retribution to the taxpayers from the company for all the costs associated with these people. So, the signal is being sent to both sides. We have a generally acceptable approach for a guest worker program, tightened borders, and deporting everyone who came here in the last two years. I would like to see perpetrators of violent crime lose everything (guest worker status, any future shot at citizenship, etc) in a one-strike-you’re-out policy. But right now we have the makings of a solution. We need to watch our Pols and Talking Heads to see if they screw it up in the useless demand for a ‘perfect solution’.
Update: Captain Ed has some good thoughts on this news here.
We need to watch our Pols and Talking Heads to see if they screw it up in the useless demand for a ‘perfect solution’.
AJ, there will always be a certain percentage of pols and pundits who will allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good, either because they’re incompetent or because they’d rather have the issue than solve the problem. I like your concept of a solution as much or more than anything else I heard or read. It is a mutli-faceted problem and is going to take a multi-faceted solution. Any solution that does not stop or significantly slow the flow of illegals into this country is, IMO, a non-starter. That said, I think the majority of our elected representatives are more interested in the politicization of the problem than in actually solving the problem. Most are looking at it in terms of “what position can I take that will (a) gain me the most votes or (b) lose me the least votes. That is the sad reality, and I think it’s going to take a couple really chaotic election cycles to change it.
Yeah, we really made a statement, didn’t we? Out of over 1,000 illegals arrested yesterday by dark almost 300 were released on, guess what? Their personal signatures. And let’s not forget, they were told they have to report to a hearing in the near future. Yep, I can just see it now. All 300 lined up to appear at a hearing order by the very government whose laws they knowing broke when they entered our nation.
So when we had a chance to deport 1,000 illegals what did we do? We let them go to fade into our society once again thinking that these law abiding Mexicans will honor our laws now that they were arrested.
When I see Tyson Chicken in Arkansas (personal friends of Billy Boy) shut down because they fired all their regional help and replaced them with illegals, and I see all those illegals in jail along with the Tyson executives, I will say that is a good start.
What good was the raid yesterday when the “catch and release” practice still prevails?
Where to begin?
I do not think that the politicians and talking head opposed to any substantive and comprehensive reform will ever be satisifed with enforcement efforts.
I’ve blogged about this before – so no need to re-state everything. But if they don’t do something for these businesses and farmers, the American economy could be in a world of hurt.
Harold, please correct me if I’m wrong. Are you saying that certain businesses in this country cannot survive unless they are allowed to break the law? A couple weeks ago a caller to Rush Limbaugh’s show made that exact statement. As a law-abiding business owner, that puts me at a disadvantage. As a taxpayer, I am subsidizing people who can only stay in business by breaking the law. That offends me. Admittedly, living in rural northeast Indiana, I am not impacted to any significant degree by illegals, and maybe I’m just naive (probably), but f my business couldn’t make it without breaking the law, I’d get in a different business.
Retired Spook,
“Are you saying that certain businesses in this country cannot survive unless they are allowed to break the law?”
Sure. Organized crime, drug dealers, black market…
What’s your point? 😉
We had the Bracero program for years because agriculture needed the workers to survive. People were encouraged to come and work in the fields. Then they killed the program without replacing it with any kind of a guest worker program and people just kept coming illegally. So yes, there are some businesses who need these workers, espeically now with unemployment at low levels.
I agree with AJ on this issue and I am sick and tired of the people who do nothing but complain. If the government arrests people they bitch, if the governmnet does not arrest people they bitch. Some people just like to bitch it seems. In recent years the INS has deported millions of people, it happens everyday. Obviously they need to do more, but this is a good thing and I hope the Feds keep it up.
Sorry but given President Bush’s extremely poor record in enforcement, a record that is dismal even when compared against that paragon of law breaking Clinton, this is just sop to throw the base. The arrests mean nothing.
We have to face the fact that President Bush is guilty of only enforcing those laws he agree’s with which in our system of government is a terrible indictment. Our lawmakers do not have the option of only enforcing laws they agree with.
Pierre