http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mp ... al/3260381

July 10, 2005, 9:22PM
THE WRONG TARGET
Plan by Minutemen to videotape illegal immigrants seeking work in Houston misses the point.
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

If the Minutemen, the group that wants to halt illegal immigration at the border, intends to videotape undocumented workers as they negotiate on the streets of Houston with prospective employers, they had better come armed with crates of cassettes. As anyone who drives North Shepherd or dozens of other streetside job fairs knows, the practice of hiring illegal immigrants as day laborers is widespread, conducted in broad daylight and tolerated by local law enforcement agencies and federal immigration agents.


Exactly what the amateur filmmakers hope to accomplish, beyond getting news coverage, is difficult to fathom. In their well-publicized actions along the U.S.-Mexican border, the Minutemen had the support of local landowners angry over disruptive groups of immigrants invading their property. Their reception here likely will be very different. The cheap labor provided by undocumented workers in Houston and other cities is a fact of life, one embraced by most business interests and an issue few politicians care to tackle.

With an estimated population of 400,000 noncitizens illegally residing in Houston and 11 million nationwide, a coordinated effort by authorities to deny them the ability to earn money to feed themselves and their families would provoke a social and health care crisis not seen since the Depression. Uncontrolled immigration cannot be solved on the local or state level.

The place where the Minutemen should focus their efforts is Washington, D.C., where Congress has yet to approve immigration reform legislation. A bill co-sponsored by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., includes a guest worker program similar to one proposed by President Bush last year. It would allow noncitizens who wish to work in America to apply for U.S. visas after undergoing security checks and medical exams. A database would then match the applicants with prospective employers.

For illegals already here, permanent residency could be earned by demonstrating gainful employment, undergoing security screening, paying a fee and meeting language and civics requirements. "This bill does not provide a free pass to anyone," Kennedy argues.

These are farsighted measures of a kind that are needed to solve the dilemma of illegal immigration in America. The Minutemen and the country would be better served if they focused their videocams on lawmakers rather than hapless job seekers and demanded swift action on meaningful immigration reform.