Posted on 08/22/2004 12:10:57 PM PDT by JackelopeBreeder
Since 1998, the federal government has fined just four companies in San Diego County and none in Riverside County for hiring illegal immigrants ---- and those statistics seem to paint a very different picture than the one recently described by Undersecretary of Homeland Security Asa Hutchinson.
At an Aug. 13 town-hall meeting on illegal immigration held in Temecula, Hutchinson touted the more than 500 investigations of companies the federal government has recently conducted nationwide. Of those, 179 were in Southern California, he said.
And while a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman said last week that the number of investigations has increased since 2001, he acknowledged the number of fines has dropped dramatically in that same period.
Numbers plummet
Federal records show that in 2001, 141 companies across the country were hit with fines, 15 of them in California. By 2002, those numbers had dropped to 73 and one, respectively. In 2003, 15 companies in the United States were fined ---- none of which were in California. And as of May, just one company ---- in Maryland ---- was fined this year.
In Southern California, the numbers are even smaller. Thirteen companies received fines for violations of immigration laws in 2001 ---- and only two since.
In this region, not a single Riverside County company has been fined in the past decade. In San Diego County, just four companies have received fines since 1998 ---- one each in Chula Vista, San Diego, Santee and Vista.
A member of the recently formed Temecula-based Citizens Alliance for a Strong America said last week that when it comes to employer sanctions, the federal government's performance is "disgraceful."
"Somebody needs to get fired for that record," said Freeman Sawyer.
With that kind of impunity, Sawyer said, many employers or would-be employers are taking advantage of the situation.
Almost every city in the region has at least one designated street corner where day laborers gather in the morning waiting for offers of work. Many of the workers who were interviewed for prior articles have admitted to being in the country illegally, saying they have come here to work so they can support their families back home.
"Since the possibility of being put in jail or fined is so remote, (the employers are) not worried about it," he said.
"What are the incentives for obeying the law when it's so profitable not to obey?" he asked, adding that employers who hire illegals pay rock-bottom wages and no benefits, and therefore realize larger profits.
Undersecretary Hutchinson could not be reached for comment last week. However, Russ Knocke, Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Washington spokesman, said Friday that workplace enforcement of immigration laws is ongoing.
The number of investigations the department has conducted of businesses nationwide has increased from 1,595 in 2001 to 2,194 in 2003, Knocke said.
He added that the low number of fines being issued is somewhat misleading, since those penalties are typically issued in only the most egregious cases. Many times, instead of issuing a fine, the government works with the employers, teaching them how to avoid hiring illegal immigrants, he said. In other cases, he added, government officials will negotiate the terms of the sanction with the company, and those deals are not made public.
Tough choices
Asked why the number of companies fined has dropped so dramatically in the past few years, Knocke cited limited resources and a shift in focus to protecting the country against terrorism since 9-11.
"I think (the numbers) show our reprioritization," he said.
Busting employers who hire undocumented immigrants for jobs where national security is not at stake comes much further down the list of priorities, he added.
"Contrast a restaurant versus an airport," said Knocke said. "We have limited resources to carry out our mandate ---- we have to make choices."
He said the government's focus on national security risks is paying significant dividends. In 2002, Homeland Security ---- Immigration and Customs is part of that agency ---- started Operation Tarmac to target employers and unauthorized workers at airports across the county.
Since then, more than 5,800 businesses at 196 airports have been audited, Knocke said. Those audits have resulted in the arrest of 1,058 unauthorized alien workers, and the government has obtained 775 criminal indictments.
With an estimated 8 million illegal immigrants living in the United States, the federal government has its hands full, Knocke said. He said his department doesn't have agents exclusively dedicated to monitoring "traditional" workplaces such as hotels, restaurants or farms. Instead, agents are assigned to work where the needs are greatest. And, for now, Knocke said, the government's No. 1 priority is monitoring sites such as airports, and energy and chemical plants.
Enforcement vacuum creates draw
The decline in arrests of employers of illegal immigrants, said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Temecula, and host of the Aug. 13 town-hall meeting, is due to an almost complete abandonment of interior enforcement in the two decades following an amnesty in 1986.
In addition to resuming sweeps by the Border Patrol, Issa said Immigration Customs Enforcement officers must pursue employers who hire illegal immigrants. Prosecution should be relatively easy, he said, because many such employers already have committed a felony by paying workers in cash under the table ---- a violation of the Internal Revenue code.
And those in the business of smuggling illegal immigrants across the border ---- or "coyotes," as they are sometimes commonly called ---- should be vigorously prosecuted, he said, though they frequently are not because they are not viewed as a danger to the community.
Issa pointed to a letter sent to Attorney General John Ashcroft on July 30 by 14 members of the California Republican delegation. In it, the delegation expressed concern over the lack of prosecution of alien smugglers and called for a zero-tolerance policy. The letter pointed to the case of the arrest by the Temecula Border Patrol of a suspected coyote with what it called a long, documented record that includes multiple deportation proceedings and numerous arrests. The Justice Department, according to the letter, declined to prosecute and the suspect was released.
"The one thing I know for sure is the Border Patrol proved it is effective in arresting people who are not in this country legally," said Issa, "but we need to have effective employer enforcement, otherwise they create a draw" for illegal workers.
Professor blames middle class
A UC Riverside professor of ethnic studies said last week that he believes the federal government sits on its hands, turning a blind eye to those employers who hire illegal immigrants, because the country needs those workers.
"This country has an insatiable hunger for cheap labor," he said.
If the government started really cracking down on companies that hire those workers, "it would result in higher prices and higher prices create bigger problems ---- it (would) open up an economic Pandora's box," said Professor Armando Navarro, who also serves as coordinator for the National Alliance for Human Rights, an immigrant advocacy group.
He blasted America's middle class for being hypocritical and blamed the immigration problem on "those who have nice homes in Temecula and have their lawns cut by illegal immigrants and patronize restaurants where illegals are employed."
Though Sawyer, with Citizens Alliance for a Strong America, is on the opposite end of the political spectrum from Navarro, he appears to agree that America's middle class shares the blame. Referring to the 141 fines that Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued in 2001, he said: "I would bet there are more housewives than that in Temecula (with) illegal maids and nannies."
Temecula at center of controversy
A firestorm of controversy over illegal immigration recently erupted after allegations surfaced that under pressure from top administrators, agents at the U.S. Border Patrol's Temecula station had ended a series of sweeps in Inland cities stretching from Escondido to Ontario.
The sweeps of Latino communities began in early June and, in a few short weeks, agents had apprehended 492 people. Immigrant rights groups immediately began pressuring Washington legislators to end the operation. While federal officials have said there was no edict to stop the sweeps, several Border Patrol union officials have stated that the roving patrols were halted.
In response, local supporters of the Border Patrol's efforts howled in protest. They held a series of rallies in support of the agents' efforts in the following weeks, resulting in Undersecretary Hutchinson's visit to last week's town-hall meeting in Temecula.
Sawyer said that during the meeting ---- which drew more than 1,000 people ---- Hutchinson was peppered with questions about why the government was not coming down harder on employers of illegal immigrants.
"Asa talked to us about how they are improving, going to work sites and enforcing immigration laws," Sawyer said. "He misspoke ---- the federal government is doing less rather than more."
Bush's performance
Sawyer said he blames President George Bush and his administration for the continuing flood of undocumented workers who cross the border.
A longtime Republican activist, Sawyer said his work for Republican presidential candidates dates back to the 1960s and the Barry Goldwater campaign.
"But I'll be damned if I am going to work for the Bush campaign until he changes his current immigration policies and starts enforcing immigration law," Freeman said.
An expert in immigration at USC defended Bush's record.
"To his credit, Bush has tried to open the door to reform, whether through a 'Bracero' program or amnesty," said Professor Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo. "His efforts haven't gone anywhere with Democrats or Republicans largely because this is seen as too politically volatile on both sides."
Cheap workers across the border - good. Cheap prescription drugs across the border - bad.
"Are they going to "work with" burglars to teach them how not to break into homes and steal goods next?"
The way the Justice dept. is acting they would probably teach them how to steal without getting caught, it might cost too much if they caught them.
Thanks for the ping AND the links, patriot!!!
Ahhh, getting warmer coconutt2000. When in doubt...follow the money.
I'll give ya a big big hint. Ready?
Cheap Labor special interest groups donate thousands to get millions in return.
Right here, in this little story is the TRUTH behind the illegal invasion. All that talk about the one million new hispanic votes this Presidential election is a total smoke screen, a detour for those not paying attention.
BTTT
Hey, that guy in the tan shirt I think it my neighbor.
Thank God, I couldn't take one more night of his obnoxious salsa thumping stereo any more.
Do me a favor and take this contraption to Home Depot on Victory and Fallbrook Ave in West Hills, will ya?
I think we should close our borders, legalize the illegals that are already here... Be extremely harsh on new illegals, and then implement an immigration policy that functions as a brain drain on the rest of the world.
In other words, we increase immigration permits for entrepreneurs, inventors, skilled professionals, and scientists.
We drain the foreign brain trust and bring them to America. We outsource the low paying jobs, which means less incentive for unskilled illegals to sneak in here, and we focus on owning the top management of every major industry in the world.
Or something nefarious like that.
The other day, I saw a scrawny illegal from a neighboring construction site get very hostile and threatening with one of our security guards, a man who could easily have mopped the pavement with him.
I was called on to translate.
The illegal said he thought the guard was trying to harrass his friends. I informed him that in Texas, private security officers have the same protection as policemen, that is, assaulting one is a first-degree felony and 10+ years in prison. The illegal laughed and said that no "huero" had the guts to fight back. I invited him to back it up and he slunk away.
In my considerable experience, this kind of racism and arrogance is more typical than not for illegals and their citizen-apologists, with the facts of Hispanic bigotry and arrogance laughingly concealed behind the targets' supposed ignorance of the Spanish language, with the liberal double standard helping quite a bit.
This is not to fault the illegals themselves, since racism and bigotry are the default position for ignorant and uneducated people all over the world. Add in a hierachical culture that mistakes kindness for submission and you have a formula for racially motivated hatred and contempt of the rawest kind.
The real fault lies with the educated activists and politicians who allow this to happen. Hispanic political activists are acutely aware of Mexican racism, and will even admit it if you know the language and hold their feet to the fire, but it is part of their racist creed that they are entitled to the benefits of this kind of hypocrisy.
Bush and the Democrats have joined forces to sell this country and degrade its people for cheap labor and cheaper votes respectively.
My advice: learn Spanish (it isn't hard), monitor and report the racism and bigotry of the Spanish language media, and let the invaders from "la raza superior" know that they are being watched by people who know what is really happening.
Never happen, not in this climate. Our only hope is to put pressure on the GOP to strengthen the border. Use the Dems to increase enforcement on businesses that hire them, and point out the Al Qaeda that are slipping in over what isn't enforced. Hopefully in the middle will be trapped those who want to come back and forth over the border. Those that want to stay will anyways, they don't need to be legalized. The LAST thing in the world we want is that (again) because we won't get the other two things you mentioned and you'll end up making things way WAY worse.
I've got a way better idea than the ones you mentioned about importing people,
Reduce welfare eligability and time one can be on it.
Ditto for unemployment benefits,
Question conventional wisdom and push for a LOWERING of the minimum wage.
Lessen regulation on work hours and overtime allowed.
We have a whole lot of people here who aren't working to their capacity. As Rush would say, we've way to many "takers" and not enough "producers" in our nation. The constant importation of undercutting workers outside of the semi-socialist system will only result in turning America the beautiful into a 3rd World nation. We must fix the system, not bring people in from outside of it.
They're importing poverty, disease, ignorance and dependence into America. They've sold their souls and turned their backs on their own country. Dare we call this treason?
The Bush tacit amnesty plan in action.
Employers surely get the point: HIRE ILLEGALS
Yeah, no reason for the Islamofascists to attack us and risk killing themselves, all they have to do is cross our porous southern border in sufficient numbers, take all of the jobs that "Americans don't want", have an advocacy group created to to keep the Feds cowering in a corner and before long this will be the Islamic Republic of America.
"I think we should close our borders, legalize the illegals that are already here... "
No way!
Fine those that employ them and make life so miserable for the illegals that they leave of their own accord!
Too expensive... We legalize the ones here, make them pay taxes.
We take the money you want to spend on outing millions of illegals, and use that to strengthen our borders so we get no more illegals. We implement a tough and extremely harsh border patrol.
We reform our welfare laws so if a legalized alien is on welfare, with no prospects, we ship them out.
Or something like that. Some other people have some good ideas, but trying to oust millions of illegals is more expensive than accepting them, making them pay taxes, and keeping out new illegals.
Expensive! Expensive is letting them be rewarded for their unlawfulness. Just starting prosecutions of illegal aliens' employers would trigger a voluntary mass exodus. Secondary disincentives include denial of all possible services and restrictions on the billions of remittance dollars they send out of the country. No mass roundups, no martial law, no judicial expense; a literal fortune in taxpayer money saved.
The only obstacle is forcing lawmakers to turn a deaf ear to their best contributors pleas as they're being led away. My thoughts on that run along negotiated plea bargaining - make the politicians give up a few until the dogies are stampeding, then taper off. Their incentive lies in heading off investigations that could find them taking the perp walk after their boys.
I can't stop laughing. That is the funniest thing I've heard.
That joke should win you the Last Comic Standing competition hand s down !!!
Good find!
It's clear, those in government have no desire to do anything about this chaos.
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