Thread: Workplace Illegal Immigration Strict Enforcement?

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Workplace Illegal Immigration Strict Enforcement?

John W. Slagle
April 24, 2006
As Congress once again meets to debate issues on Immigration Reform, guest workers, Border control issues and strict employer sanctions, thousands of illegal aliens have entered the county on a daily basis.

Twenty years ago, 2.7 million foreign nationals who entered in violation of U.S.C. 1325 were granted guest worker status and legalized. Strict employer sanctions were imposed on companies hiring illegal aliens after the 1986 IRCA fiasco. It actually worked for a brief period of time with only a few hundred Criminal Investigators nationwide.

Companies soon found that obeying the law or fearing fines was without merit. With very few INS Investigators per state, the chances of work place enforcement was similar to winning a state lottery.

In 2006 with an estimated 12 to 20 million illegal aliens in the United States with the number growing daily in answer to President Bush’s “needed willing worker plan” the country should have an abundance of “cheap labor “ for all agricultural and corporate needs. Strict employer sanctions provisions will then be in effect if another guest worker Amnesty is passed. The question remains who will insure workplace enforcement?

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has only 325 agents dedicated to work place enforcement, director Julie Myers said.President Bush's 2007 budget request for ICE, she said, calls for an additional 171. "The additional resources that we are seeking in '07 will allow us to form dedicated worksite enforcement teams in a number of the (regional) offices," she said. "That's something that we don't have as much now."

"When we find those employers who don't want to do the right thing, we're going to target our criminal efforts and bring all the criminal statutes that we can to bear against them," Myers said. "We've learned all too well, from watching the old INS, that just a small fine or a slap on the wrist is not a deterrent to businesses who want to violate our worksite enforcement laws…

496 ICE Agents dedicated to workplace enforcement nationwide is a giant step from 1986, one major function, what a concept? In the years from 1986 to the formation of ICE under DHS, Immigration Special Agents were spread very thin in every state of the Union. Case loads involved Criminal Aliens, Marriage Frauds, Wanted foreign Felons,Terrorist investigations, False Document Sales, Sexual Predators, Admissions Fraud,Anti-Smuggling Search Warrants to “ workplace compliance enforcement”.

Workplace Enforcement Raids due to political intervention by State and U.S. elected officials was an exercise in “futility” for Investigators as well as the United States Border Patrol who tried to enforce the letter of the law in interior cities.

From the Vidalia Onion Fields of Georgia to City Patrol Operations in California, strict interior enforcement of Immigration Laws was hampered at every opportunity by Elected Officials representing Special Interests.

Hopefully, the new improved Immigration and Customs Enforcement has learned something from the old “defunct” INS. Law Enforcement and politics controlling yet disregarding the law in every State. Strict Employer Sanctions…yet give a Company 24 hours notice prior to a scheduled immigration check.. Slap the wrists of felony

Criminal alien smugglers in the Judicial System who deserve per the law 5 years in prison and $5,000 fine under 8 USC 1324. Allow the U.S. Borders and the nation to be over run by “waving the “The green flag” that the entire world’s populace is welcome to violate immigration laws.

We used to say INS represented “It’s Not Serious”. For Politicians Spanning three decades, the INS, Immigration and Naturalization Service was not serious.

Elected leaders forgot the hundreds of thousands of people legally admitted from every country that followed the rule of law and were naturalized or remained legal residents.

These fine people and others who wait for an opportunity to immigrate in a lawful manner are the true victims of politics, not 20 million law breakers.

I love this nation and have seen “carpet bagging” politicians of both political parties for three decades with little concern for this nation or its people, citizens to legal immigrants.

Old politicians are like old smugglers, they never listen, they operate on their own agenda, have no sense of right or wrong, excel at prevarications and “cry “ the loudest when their lack of integrity, dishonesty is discovered.

I remember the story of how the Georgia onion growers threw a fit when the INS did a raid and rounded up illegals before the growers finished their onion harvest. They called their Senators and Reps. and complained and the INS had to go and find all the apprehended illegals and actually drive them back to the onion fields in order to finish the harvest. The onion growers told the INS it was OK to round up all the illegals, just after the harvest was done, most preferably before they got paid.