Thread: Wichita Eagle: Business, faith leaders right on immigration

Business, faith leaders right on immigration

Eagle Editorials

For all the heat generated by legislative hearings on illegal immigration last week, there is reason to hope that the Legislature won't do more harm than good on the issue this session. Leaders in the faith and business communities are to be praised for stepping forward and saying what needed to be said: That illegal immigration is a federal problem, and that the Legislature should not pass costly, unenforceable laws that would turn caring clergy into criminals, treat local law enforcement officers like immigration agents, punish children for their parents' decisions, and imperil the state's work force and economy.

The Kansas Chamber of Commerce, the Kansas Farm Bureau, the Kansas Building Industry Association and nearly 30 other groups recently urged the Legislature not to penalize agriculture and business for trying to follow federal guidelines. They also have questioned the accuracy of the identity verification system on which the legislation depends. It's prone to false positives, they say, which puts businesses at risk of being penalized for the federal system's mistakes.

Plus, "there's already federal law" that does what the state might do, Tim Witsman, president of the Wichita Independent Business Association, told The Eagle editorial board last week.

"From our perspective, this is a work force issue," Witsman said.

Lawmakers cannot act against illegal immigration without worsening the worker shortages being seen in some counties in the state, which has a 4 percent unemployment rate.

In recent days, the leaders of the United Methodist Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas called on Kansans "to reject demagoguery that is spreading its own kind of fear and terror." Earlier, Bishop Michael Jackels of the Catholic Diocese of Wichita counseled lawmakers to seek "laws that respect the dignity of the human person and that are tempered with compassion."

After several days' worth of testimony end this week, maybe lawmakers will decide there is a need for legislation to underscore the consequences for the few Kansas businesses that routinely and willfully hire illegal immigrants, including some that also deal in fake ID documents. Kansas needs jobs and workers, but it doesn't need companies that exploit and prey on the undocumented. There remains some bipartisan interest in such measures.

But to those who suggest that nearby states' crackdowns have forced Kansas to do likewise, said Pete Schrepferman, owner of Johnstone Supply and a former WIBA chairman: "Personally, I think -- ignore what they're doing and do what we think is right."

For decades, leaders of both political parties looked the other way and let the undocumented population grow. When a comprehensive solution seemed at hand last year, members of Congress buckled and opted to pander and procrastinate. Neither their inaction nor the misguided actions among states change the fact that illegal immigration is a federal problem.

If the Legislature shows restraint, as it should, disappointed Kansans should focus their frustration on Washington, D.C. --not on those who overstayed visas and slipped across borders in search of better jobs and lives, and whose labors are now as much a part of the U.S. economy as Americans' own.

For the editorial board, Rhonda Holman
http://www.kansas.com:80/611/story/328480.html

Okay, do we really have this many naive people in this country? This goes well beyond compassion for illegals, history teaches us this about our very existence. Do these bleeding heart types think they'll be spared when Mexicans decide to rid themselves of the evil white man? Mexicans are killing innocent blacks in Los Angeles as part of an ethnic cleansing campaign, the same blacks who welcomed them to their neighborhoods are now being killed and the msm hardly says a word about it.

The talk about how the state needs these workers is meaningless when you consider that 80% of the growth we've seen is from illegals. Common sense tells us we would need far less workers if we had far less growth. If 70% of the kids born in the US are from illegals, how long does it take for our population to be 70% Latino? How long before there is a vote making Spanish the official language?

So my question to all the bleeding heart types is "Why are you supporting your own demise?.."

Expendable
You're absolutely right.


As long as people are allowed to say "its a federal problem" and we can't or should not do anything about it, its a disservice to the American people. And a lie. Illegal immigration touches all our everyday lives and is the responsibility of every law enforcement person and politician in this country. These people are sworn to uphold the constitution and to "protect and serve". The have the guns and the power. They are supposed to defend our way of life and protect us from the problems illegal immigration bring to us. They do not.
If they won't do the job.............quit. I or many others will.

Take note of who is in favor of "undocumented workers":

The Kansas Chamber of Commerce, the Kansas Farm Bureau, the Kansas Building Industry Association

and take note of the list of liberal semi-secularist churches who want to

seek "laws that respect the dignity of the human person and that are tempered with compassion."

leaders of the United Methodist Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas

Consider this:

The talk about how the state needs these workers is meaningless when you consider that 80% of the growth we've seen is from illegals. Common sense tells us we would need far less workers if we had far less growth.

This number

a 4 percent unemployment rate

is going to grow as a result of inflation coupled with recession in 2008 and beyond. What effect will adding more and more illegal aliens to your population have if you

"ignore what they're (the states around you) doing and do what we think is right."

North Carolina politicians have the same self-destructive policy that your leaders are espousing, so I guess it's a race then to see who ends up with a majority illegal alien state as they leave those states where the people still have a voice. We're hovering at number 9 on the list right now, so see if you can catch up Kansas!

Personally, I'd suggest you reject the idea being "suggested" to you that immigration is a "federal" problem and get real with the issues at the local and state level. The Feds have their own agenda and it doesn't appear to reflect the best interests or demands of the people. That means you should get proactive now and consider rejecting and ejecting some of your current policy makers while you still can.