Truth in Labeling for American Apparel

By Caroline Espinosa, Tuesday, October 6, 2009, 1:17 PM EDT

The California clothing manufacturer, American Apparel, is firing about 1,800 employees whose identity documents contain irregularities. In other words, they are illegal aliens. The wording in the articles, columns, and editorials written about this would have you believe that the people being fired have done nothing wrong. But they have. They entered the U.S. illegally, overstayed their visas, or are otherwise not permitted to work in the U.S, but are. This doesn’t mean they are bad people, but they are experiencing the consequences of their own actions.

These firings are a gentler effort at enforcement than the much decried workplace raids. Dismissing illegal workers in this manner spares them the ignominy and serious discomforts of detention and deportation. Editorials and columnists are complaining about this type of enforcement now, too. The L.A .Times says that replacing illegal workers with U.S. citizens is a “shell game,â€