Thread: Cracking down on illegal immigration can backfire

Cracking down on illegal immigration can backfire

Posted at 12:01 AM on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2010
By Chris Collins / The Fresno Bee

Brian Poulsen fought on the front lines of America's war against illegal immigration for three decades. He patrolled the border near San Diego on horseback, grew a ragged beard to disguise himself as a human smuggler, arrested and deported thousands of illegal immigrants, and tracked down fake document vendors at local flea markets.

His job description was clear: Do everything you can to stop illegal immigrants from coming and kick them out if they get here.

But Poulsen and other agents have discovered it's not easy to enforce immigration laws — especially those that target employers.

Aggressive crackdowns can backfire if they hurt business. A sweep of Midwestern meatpacking plants in the late 1990s, for example, prompted outrage from business and civic leaders. Immigration officials have learned to tread lightly.

Poulsen, who retired this year as the top immigration enforcement official in the central San Joaquin Valley, tried to strike a balance between stopping illegal immigration and protecting farmers' interests. His office rarely conducted audits, never issued a fine and avoided messy, high-profile raids that would permanently shut down a business and separate families.

Employer feels heat from worker audits Immigration facts and figures "There's a little bit of a tightrope. I understand where the farmers are coming from," said Poulsen, who grew up harvesting potatoes in Idaho. "You don't want to see people go out of business, but at the same time, we're sworn to do a job and can't look the other way."

Things may be changing: The Obama administration has stepped up the pace of audits, which are less likely to spark a backlash than workplace raids. For example, of 16 audits conducted in the central San Joaquin Valley over the past eight years, 11 have come since late 2008.

Some agriculture leaders in the Valley are worried about the audits, which can hurt businesses by making them fire all their illegal workers.

But government figures show that the new effort is tame compared to the early 1990s, when immigration officials fined about 900 companies a year and audited thousands. This year, they fined 237.

Many experts say aggressively cracking down on employers will rid the nation of illegal immigrants. Because the vast majority of them come here to work, America would be a much less appealing destination without job opportunities.

But advocates for stricter enforcement say there is little political appetite to sever the co-dependent relationship between businesses and illegal immigrants.

And aggressive enforcement, agents have learned, can backfire.

In the late 1990s, in response to calls for tougher enforcement, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service — which later became Immigration and Customs Enforcement — blanketed Midwestern meat-packing companies with audits that identified thousands of employees suspected of being illegal immigrants.

Frightened workers left in droves, slowing slaughter-line speeds to a crawl and hurting farmers who relied on the meat-packing businesses.

"All hell broke loose," said Mark Reed, a former top INS official who was in charge of the crackdown, dubbed Operation Vanguard. "All of a sudden, these communities that wanted these people out of there realized that they needed them. They didn't realize that the kids who played on their soccer teams and the people they went to church with were going to go. They didn't realize that they were the center of their economy."

http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/11/16/216 ... ation.html

Frightened workers left in droves, slowing slaughter-line speeds to a crawl and hurting farmers who relied on the meat-packing businesses.

Serves them right for hiring illegals. If Americans had been in those jobs, business would have carried on as usual.

"Frightened workers left in droves, slowing slaughter-line speeds to a crawl and hurting farmers who relied on the meat-packing businesses."

"All hell broke loose," said Mark Reed, a former top INS official who was in charge of the crackdown, dubbed Operation Vanguard. "All of a sudden, these communities that wanted these people out of there realized that they needed them. They didn't realize that the kids who played on their soccer teams and the people they went to church with were going to go. They didn't realize that they were the center of their economy."


These companies broke federal law to save money and they get what they deserve! We ALL have to abide by the laws and you businesses that make money on the backs of illegal aliens are not above the law! I hope you go out of business and every stinking business around you suffers. It's your own damn fault!!

Employer feels heat from worker audits Immigration facts and figures "There's a little bit of a tightrope. I understand where the farmers are coming from," said Poulsen, who grew up harvesting potatoes in Idaho. "You don't want to see people go out of business, but at the same time, we're sworn to do a job and can't look the other way."

They need to allow time for the change over from ILLEGAL CRIMINAL WORKERS TO LEGAL WORKERS!

In fact,some of them that knowingly hire ILLEGALS (and we know they do as pointed out in this article and many others) need to be serving time in jail also.

Is that what America has become? The land of criminals and law breakers,but only if it is to make more money? That is what it looks like from here.

Of course look at our politicians!

I'm sorry but I do not remember HELL BREAKING LOOSE AT THAT TIME,but it is about to today....................it has gone way overboard with bowing to illegals and their anchor babies.

Americans eat too many foods like fatty, meat products, anyway. Vegetables can be harvested by machine, as many of them already are. Our need for protein doesn't have to be met from high fat meat sources; fish and small amounts of poultry are just fine.

A lot of the other careers that are typically filled by illegal aliens could just as well be contracted to small entrepreneurs. Seemingly mundane careers like hotel cleaning could be taken off payroll, which entails higher employee expenses, and handled by contracts instead.

Having lived along the border 30+ years I've seen this issue first hand, at one time the illegal came to work in the fields but now it has progressed to a point its building,construction,etc the results are to provide a slave like work force at low wages subsidized by the American Taxpayer.

It's much like the "free" trade we hear about it provides wealth for those at the top but takes from the middle class and workers at the low end.

In truth I feel no sorrow for employers who willing hire illegals to make huge profits at our expense. There may be some innocent folks in this game but I seriously doubt very many.

Free Trade laws,uncontrolled immigration and a corrupt goverment all contribute to our present circumstance.

This country got along just fine , in fact better before half the population of mexico figured out they could steal half this country and get us idiots to pay them to do it.

Aggressive crackdowns can backfire if they hurt business. A sweep of Midwestern meatpacking plants in the late 1990s, for example, prompted outrage from business and civic leaders.

Yeah well the Mafia gets outraged when the feds cracked down on their illegal drug trafficking, I don't see how cracking on illegal hiring employers is any different.

We got along fine without them before the thieving criminals came here we will get along just fine when they leave. There are so many Americans out of work right now, they will fill in just fine. THROW THEM ALL OUT.

In the late 1990s, in response to calls for tougher enforcement, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service — which later became Immigration and Customs Enforcement — blanketed Midwestern meat-packing companies with audits that identified thousands of employees suspected of being illegal immigrants.

Frightened workers left in droves, slowing slaughter-line speeds to a crawl and hurting farmers who relied on the meat-packing businesses.

"All hell broke loose," said Mark Reed, a former top INS official who was in charge of the crackdown, dubbed Operation Vanguard. "All of a sudden, these communities that wanted these people out of there realized that they needed them. They didn't realize that the kids who played on their soccer teams and the people they went to church with were going to go. They didn't realize that they were the center of their economy

BULLCRUD!

During Operation Vanguard Tyson(then known as IBP) in Lexington just told the illegals to go on vacation during the crackdown. Most illegals went to their home countries for a vacation so it was all fun and games for them. As soon as the Operation was over the illegals were told to come on back.

Everyone in town that I knew were happy to have them gone. The soccer teams here that the illegals play on are only for latinos so they weren't missed on the soccer field. The illegals are also notorius for being small or no givers in the Catholic church here plus most have their own churches which are only for their ethnicity so they weren't missed there. They are not the center of the economy because they have their own stores and they only cater to their own ethnicity.

I also know a lot of farmers around here and NONE of them were complaining.