Illegal workers: A sad reality for Reno-Sparks and the nation
Posted: 10/3/2007
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Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations came to a screeching halt when Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers (ICE) raided 11 McDonald's restaurants in Reno. The arrests of 54 suspected illegal workers brought to light the fact that many illegal immigrants are not in "the shadows" but instead working in jobs that you and I interface with daily. The day after the arrests, I attended a meeting to understand the gravity of the situation. While many protest and accuse elected officials of destroying families, we need to educate and enforce the laws that we do have. Otherwise, we will become like one of the countries that many abandon.
Hispanic Heritage month occurs between Sept. 15 and Oct. 15. In Nevada, Hispanics from across the state held a celebratory dinner at the Governor's Mansion on Sept. 21. The weekend before, I attended another celebration to present a Hispanic nursing student with an annual scholarship. The month seemed joyous as we celebrated the contributions of Hispanics in our state. Then on Thursday, I watched the McDonald's ICE raids on the news. This raid and many others across the nation are an austere reality of what is occurring daily in our nation.
In March, immigration agents arrested 300 illegal immigrants in a factory in New Bedford, Mass. The company received millions in U.S. Defense contracts and used illegal immigrants to produce safety vests and backpacks for the military. This company is currently being investigated for cheating workers out of overtime and deducting up to 15 to 30 minutes of pay when they were even one minute late. Two years ago, Wal-Mart agreed to pay $11 million to settle accusations that they hired and mistreated illegal immigrants. Last year, ICE agents arrested nine executives and 1,000 illegal workers of IFCO Systems, a company with plants in eight states that produced crates and pallets. The truth of the matter is that as long as these companies employ individuals with forged documents, this will continue to happen. Everyone needs to understand the laws and consequences.
Last Friday, 29 women released from Washoe County jail sat quietly as immigration lawyers explained their fate. Others in attendance were concerned family members, who did not know where their loved ones were, and volunteers, who had worked night and day to get information for them. The attorneys with the American Immigration Lawyers Association had been attending a conference in the area. They heard about the arrests, and volunteered their time to help these people.
The lawyers explained the process that the arrested individuals would go through, such as a hearing in front of an immigration judge, and their rights to legal representation. I was surprised when a young woman stood and asked one lawyer, "How are we supposed to get work if we do not use false papers?" The lawyer was honest and replied, "I am not the government, but the government does have laws in place." They also stated that while they did not want to remove all of their hopes, they wanted to share the truth about their current situation. Many illegal immigrants spend thousands of dollars trying to become legal. They fall prey to individuals who represent themselves as wanting to help, but who in fact cannot.
Hispanic leaders who are demanding boycotts and blaming elected officials for "ripping families apart" would accomplish more if they understood the laws. The reality is that if a person uses forged or stolen documents to gain employment, this is a crime. It is a crime to represent oneself as an American when one is not. If a person who has been deported re-enters the country, this is a crime. Lying to an officer or agent of the U.S. is a crime. Employers who hire illegal immigrants are committing a crime. The list is long and we should all understand the consequences.
I once wrote about a window cleaner who robbed me while I was home. When I asked him why he had taken money from my purse, he answered, "I have a wife and children to feed." Honestly, his desperate situation did not give him the right to commit a crime. He went to jail for six months. Where did this leave his family?
I have written in the past about the need to revamp immigration laws to include more visas in the labor category. These jobs help our country thrive and keep our gross domestic product growing. Yet, until these laws are changed, everyone entering this country must abide by the current laws. It was a sad Hispanic Heritage Month.
Ellie Lopez-Bowlan is a nurse practitioner and a regular contributor to Voices.

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