Overcooked enforcement?

Restaurant sanctions may be warranted, not seizure

By Union-Tribune Editorial Board,
Tuesday, April 27, 2010 at 12:02 a.m.

This editorial page has long called for comprehensive immigration reform – specifically reform that includes not only stronger enforcement at the border, but interior enforcement that involves worksite raids and holding employers accountable for hiring illegal workers.

It is, after all, the availability of jobs that is the magnet that attracts the steady flow of people from Mexico and elsewhere to this country in violation of immigration laws.

Thus, in many ways, we are gratified to see the aggressive stance the federal government has taken against The French Gourmet, a landmark Pacific Beach restaurant and bakery in operation since 1979.

Last week, the U.S. attorney’s office unsealed a 16-count indictment against owner Michel Malécote, his corporation, and pastry chef and manager Richard Kauffmann. The indictment alleges that the defendants continued to employ illegal workers even after receiving “no-matchâ€