Thread: Immigration: Country club's ironies abound

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs. ... 08/OPINION

September 15, 2006

Immigration: Country club's ironies abound


The ironies of the big bust of illegal immigrants at Jackson Country Club this week are abundant, showing in microcosm our state and nation's hypocrisy regarding laws dealing with immigration.

First is the irony of the timing - not only occurring as Congress is debating (rather ineffectually) the issue, but falling coincidentally with a seemingly dissimilar event involving the club.

As longtime political columnist Bill Minor recounted Sept. 1 in The Clarion-Ledger ("Mississippi liquor laws passed following a big 'bust' "), it was the raid on illegal alcohol at the same country club in February, 1966, that broke the hypocrisy of prohibition in Mississippi.

Once Hinds County sheriff's deputies took the ax to cases of champagne and fine French wines at the club's Mardi Gras party, with Mississippi's social elite - including statewide elected officials - on hand, wheels began to turn in the Legislature "to repeal the nation's last statewide prohibition law," Minor wrote.

How delicious the irony, as on Wednesday, federal officers arrested 18 suspected illegal immigrants said to be employed there, even as some of the state's (again) political and social elite have been railing about illegal immigration.

Lost, apparently, on those who take the stance that the United States should crack down on immigrants, and even erect more than 700 miles of fence along the Mexico border, as the U.S. House advocates, is that unless these immigrants were employed (illegally, and quite probably for sub-par wages), they wouldn't come to this country.

And, as long as the country club and others employ the immigrants, such statements as by U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., that "The state of our borders is a security crisis," are shown to be pure political boilerplate.

As U.S. Sen. Trent Lott has maintained, America must be realistic - not hypocritical - about immigration: "Without question, Mississippi needs available workers for our poultry houses, Katrina recovery and many other hard jobs."

Unless immigration laws are enforced - regarding employers - the laws of supply and demand will not be repealed

"Without question, Mississippi needs available workers for our poultry houses, Katrina recovery and [b]many other hard jobs.[\b]" The Honorable Trent Lott, Lap Dog Extraordinaire, Cheerleader, Esq, Etc, Etc, ...

Trent Lott's statement is even more racist than his gaff at Strom's 120th
birthday party. This the same racist crap used to justify black americans
having those jobs.

And I didn't know Katrina hit Mexico, but that's where a lot of the
relief dollars will ultimately flow.

Maybe Trent isn't getting good estimates to replace his Gulf Coast
cottage & needs some $12/hr carpentry.