GOP bill takes easy way out in immigrant crackdown
Scott Maxwell

State Sen. Carey Baker would exempt private sector from verifying immigration status




December 16, 2009

There are just too many political shenanigans afoot to stick with one topic. We're talking secret e-mails, taxpayer-funded mailings and mounting coups.

But first we take a look at a strange new immigration bill — one that actually targets your wallet much more than it does the problem.

State Sen. Carey Baker, R-Eustis, has filed a bill that asks employers to start verifying the citizenship status of potential hires. That may sound good — until you realize that Baker wants to exempt the entire private sector.

That's right. He only wants state-government employers to run these checks.

And why not the private sector — where the vast majority of illegal immigrants actually work?

"Because," Baker responded Tuesday, "we can't afford to put any additional burden on the private sector."

Apparently we can afford to "burden" taxpayers.

Stop and think about this for a moment. Surely you know that most illegal immigrants are not employed by the state of Florida.

Now where do you think they might be working? Perhaps in agriculture?

And how interesting that Baker is currently running to be the state's agriculture commissioner — courting both votes and dollars from that very industry.

Baker says the two things aren't related. Besides, he countered that "tourism and hospitality" profit off illegal immigrants, too.

Um. OK. But you're not asking them to screen their employees, either.

Essentially, Baker has proposed a crackdown by targeting the one sector that doesn't really contribute to the problem, giving— and asking you to pick up the bill. Meanwhile, the companies that actually lure illegal immigrants to this country, so they can staff cheap workforces, get a free pass.

As for the costs to taxpayers, Baker claimed the beefed-up verification would actually be "rather inexpensive."

And yet, however inexpensive it is, it's apparently it's too much of a "burden" to place on the primary culprits.


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