Thread: Employers stuck in border bind

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/12 ... 143755.txt

Employers stuck in border bind

By: Michael D. Pattinson - CommentaryMichael D. Pattinson

Building fences can get you in big trouble these days.

A federal judge recently slapped a $5 million fine on a local fence company that works for me and every other big home builder in North County. Its executives are facing jail time as well.

Because of the severity of the penalty, some thought they were guilty of assault or fraud or something worse. You be the judge: They hired 10 illegal aliens.

Just hours after news of the outlaw fence company became public, the Escondido City Council rescinded its plan to punish landlords who rent to illegal aliens. They did this in the face of a federal court finding against their measure and the prospect of millions of dollars in legal bills.

Hire an illegal alien and go to jail. Give the same people a place to live and the ACLU will make you a local hero.

If you are not confused, it shows you do not understand the situation.

I just returned from Australia, where the government scrutinizes visas as if they are important. Same with China. Those countries know who should ---- and should not ---- be there. Law enforcement, not business owners, is in charge of enforcing the law, .

When they find illegal aliens in Australia and China, they do not throw employers under the bus. They put unwelcome visitors on the bus ---- and send them to jail.

Just after news of the Escondido council's surrender, the immigration authorities in Washington announced that they were abandoning efforts to track immigrants as they enter and leave our country.

They said it is too difficult to do here what in Australia is routine.

For all the talk, all the posturing, all the outrage, all the promises of action, all the danger from an open border, here is the state of immigration reform in America today:

Every city in California has a policy that prevents police from checking the legal status of people they arrest. Landlords are free to rent to whomever they wish. Don't even think about asking for voter ID to prove you are a citizen.

Employers are the first, last and only line of defense against illegal entry into the country. You don't have to wonder any more why 20 million illegal aliens live here with impunity. Now you know.

So much for good fences making good neighbors.

Careful readers of this column may detect a whiff of hypocrisy here. I have called for tougher enforcement of laws at the border. And I do not condone the hiring of illegal aliens for any reason.

However, there has to be a better solution than arresting business people while letting the people who do violate our laws run free. A solution better than putting American citizens in jail while illegal aliens sleep comfortably in their Escondido rentals.

Some would say it is ironic that a fence company is in trouble because the federal government will not build a decent fence.

That's not irony. That's insanity.

Michael D. Pattinson, a freelance columnist for the North County Times, is president of Barratt American, a builder based in Carlsbad.

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Comments On This Story

Note: Comments reflect the views of readers and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff.

Simon says: wrote on December 25, 2006 9:53 PM:" The fence should go up, illegals should be stopped at the border, city police should determine if a person they have stopped is an illegal and notify ICE, employers are guilty when they hire illegals and landlords should be held responsible for letting space to illegals. If there is probable cause for a felony when an illegal is stopped for a violation by local police, that illegal should be tried locally. The insanity is that Americans are breaking the law across the board for money and nothing is being done about it. "

I think that the California politicians that put into laws or ordinances about not asking those arrested if they are illegal, should be arrested. Just wait until some rich person's or politician's daughter becomes a victim of an illegal and see how quickly they sue and/or get the law changed back. I don't wish bad on anyone but that is what often happens.

Judges are political hacks. What one judge supports another one doesn't. And they usually reflect the political values of the politician that appointed them to the federal bench. However most of these arrests, raids and employer busts are nothing more than window dressing and they will stop soon. Bush supports granting millions of illegals amnesty so with a newly elected House most of these illegals you see on the news will be holding green cards within six months or so. Remember Bush knows we are having between 5 and 10 thousand illegals sneaking into the US every single day. So why would he care if a couple thousand are arrested and sent back every couple of months?

I am more worried that the Democrats will give them their green cards in record time.