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One Reporter's Opinion - Reel in the Big Fish First(Illegal Immigration)
NEWSMAX.COM ^ | 8/27/2004 | George Putnam

Posted on 08/27/2004 11:38:53 AM PDT by kellynla

It is this reporter's opinion that there is one way to shut off and bring a grinding halt to the illegal alien invasion of America... and that is to enforce the Federal Immigration and Nationality Act, Section 8. Let's put meaning into the words:

"Any person who encourages or induces an alien to reside knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that residence is in violation of law shall be punished as provided for each alien in respect to whom such a violation occurs be fined under Title 18, imprisoned more than 5 years, or both." It speaks of a person or group of persons, business or organization that commits a federal felony when assisting an alien by transporting, sheltering or assisting him/her to obtain employment.

There you have it! The key word is EMPLOYMENT.

Our border patrol is proving fairly effective in arresting people who are not in this country legally. What we must have now is effective employer enforcement - the Justice Dept. not looking the other way but enforcing the Federal Immigration and Nationality Act to the letter. It is time to crack down on those in the business of smuggling illegals and employing them, paying the workers cash under the table while the government sits on its hands turning a blind eye to those who hire illegal immigrants to satisfy their insatiable hunger for cheap labor.

Here are some statistics on the federal record:

Since 1998, our federal government has fined only four companies in San Diego County and none in Riverside County, California, for hiring illegal immigrants.

Federal records show that in 2001 only 141 companies all across the country were hit with fines - 15 of these in California.

By the year 2002 those numbers had dropped to 73 and one respectively.

In 2003 15 companies in the U.S. were fined, none of which are in California, and one company in Maryland.

Thirteen companies received fines for such violations in 2001 and only two since.

In our region, not a single Riverside company has been fined in the past decade. Almost every city has at least one designated street corner where the day laborers - illegals - gather waiting for offers of work. The employers hire the illegals and pay rock bottom wages, no benefits, and realize large profits. This is disgraceful! With that kind of impunity, employers or would-be employers are taking advantage of the situation. And since the possibility of being put in jail or of being fined is so remote, neither the laborers nor the employers are worried.

It is difficult to find any statistics concerning investigations conducted on businesses nationwide or the possibility of fines imposed against such activity. Penalties are issued in only the most egregious cases. Instead of fines, the government works with the employers and - get this - teaches the employers how to avoid hiring illegal immigrants. In other cases, government officials negotiate the terms of a sanction with the company and, by the way, those deals are not made public.

Asked why the number of companies that have been fined has dropped so dramatically, one government source cites limited resources and a shift in focus to protecting the country against terrorism. Investigators are distracted by such statements as "National security is at stake when it comes to hiring illegals." But one government employee suggests we take our choice concerning illegals where national security is at stake - contrast seeking out a restaurant employee with those who work at our airports. We have limited resources. Make your choice. The priority is, of course, monitoring sites such as airports and energy and chemical plants.

The decline in arrests of employers of illegals, according to Congressman Darrell Issa, (R - Calif.) is due to an almost complete abandonment of interior enforcement in the two decades following the amnesty of 1986. Prosecution should be easy because many employers have committed a felony by paying workers in cash under the table, and that is a violation of the Internal Revenue code.

One professor of ethnic studies at U.C. Riverside echoes the widespread belief that the federal government sits on its hands, turning a blind eye to those employers who hire illegals because the country needs those workers and we have an insatiable hunger for cheap labor. He believes that if the government really started cracking down on companies that hire these workers, it would result in higher prices, it would create bigger problems and open up an economic Pandora's Box.

On the West Coast we have witnessed howls of protest after a series of rallies in support of our border patrol. The result was a visit by Under Secretary Hutchinson and his calling off of sweeps of Latino communities. It resulted in the federal government doing less rather than more to halt the illegal alien invasion or prosecution of big business hiring.

One long-time Republican activist who dates back to Barry Goldwater blames President Bush and his administration for the continuing flood of illegals crossing the border. He says, "I'll be damned if I am going to work for Bush until he changes his immigration policies and starts enforcing immigration law."

Which brings us back to our initial statement. The way to put a stop to the invasion is the absolute uncompromising enforcement of the Federal Immigration and Nationality Act - bring action against persons or businesses that employ illegals thus committing a federal felony with all of its consequences. Nothing could be simpler than that.

Something to think about: An analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies reports that illegal immigrants are costing the federal government more than $10 billion a year. Other estimates run as high as $20-30 billion a year. The cost to California alone is an estimated $5 billion a year! And those figures don't include all the other added benefits counted as a cost of illegal migration.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: aliens; hutchinson; illegalimmigration; immigrantlist; immigration
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To: kellynla

Somehow, I've got this gut-level conviction that no solution will work which does not somehow create conditions which cause the Mexicans to not WANT to come up here.

If it were up to me, I would start from that premise, and then do *whatever* was necessary to create those conditions, beginning as humanely as possible, but stopping at nothing until the "problem" was solved.


21 posted on 08/27/2004 1:15:20 PM PDT by fire_eye (Socialism is the opiate of academia.)
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To: fire_eye

Well I guarantee you that if a very heavy fines were laid on employers then this nonsense would come to a screeching halt! Walmart and the rest of them would have to start hiring American citizens and paying them a living wage! Instead of laying Mexico's problems on our front porch and expecting us to pay for the food stamps, medical care and education of their children while the Waltons fatten their billionaire bank accounts at our expense.


22 posted on 08/27/2004 1:42:33 PM PDT by kellynla (U.S.M.C. 1/5 1st Mar Div. Nam 69&70 Semper Fi http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnkerry.com)
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To: 1_Inch_Group; 2sheep; 2Trievers; 3AngelaD; 4.1O dana super trac pak; 4Freedom; 4ourprogeny; ...

ping


23 posted on 08/27/2004 2:26:29 PM PDT by gubamyster
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To: The Ghost of FReepers Past

And instead of this realistic plan our leaders plan on giving illegals social security benefits....and they need 80% fewer credits to qualify than we citizens do. Ain't it grand?

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1200467/posts


24 posted on 08/27/2004 2:30:23 PM PDT by AuntB ("Go count your blessings and when you're done come complain to me." MY Grandma!!)
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To: Joe Hadenuf

Because George W. Bush hasn't ordered it so... because he doesn't want to.


25 posted on 08/27/2004 2:36:07 PM PDT by StoneColdGOP (Nothing is Bush's fault... Nothing is Bush's fault... Nothing is Bush's fault...)
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To: Canticle_of_Deborah
The government is doing exactly what it wants, regardless of which political party is in power.

I have always thought that there must have been a provision in NAFTA to erase the borders, but of course, WE wouldn't have known about that. Only our congress, who were required to read and approve or disapprove knew.

I guess they didn't read it.

26 posted on 08/27/2004 2:40:40 PM PDT by Jennikins (It matters not what we want, as we are being ruled, not governed.)
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To: kellynla

Since 1/3 of all Federal prisoners are in the US illegally;
a soverign can be hled liable under common law who knew or should have known that damages would be incurred because of their failure to act. Therefore a massive class action against the Federal Gov't by a greedy lawyer on behalf of the injured crime victims should put an end to the problem.


27 posted on 08/27/2004 2:44:40 PM PDT by Henchman (I Hench, therefore I am!)
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To: Canticle_of_Deborah
The government is doing exactly what it wants, regardless of which political party is in power.

I have always thought that there must have been a provision in NAFTA to erase the borders, but of course, WE wouldn't have known about that. Only our congress, who were required to read and approve or disapprove knew.

I guess they didn't read it.

28 posted on 08/27/2004 2:45:06 PM PDT by Jennikins (It matters not what we want, as we are being ruled, not governed.)
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To: tertiary01
At least that what a lot of these people tell me. Many feel that as long as these families maintain their stranglehold on Mexico with the complicity of our government, nothing will change.

This could very well be a factor. Also, a few weeks ago I saw Dr. Condoleeza Rice being questioned about our "porous" southern border. She acknowledged it is a security problem but cannot be completely closed because that would impede "commerce." That is congruent with the theory that an impending "North American Union (NAU)" is the reason the invasion has been allowed.

My theory of why Mexicans continue to stream northward is simple greed. I have traveled in Mexico and it's not a bad place. The cities are mostly clean and the residents well-fed and well-groomed. However, El Norte offers the quick buck; the macho man can send back mucho dinero to buy things for the family, impress the rest of the village. As I said, though, it's a theory. Many years have passed since I traveled there.

29 posted on 08/27/2004 2:45:29 PM PDT by KiloLima
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To: kellynla

A remarkable conservative Democrat.


30 posted on 08/27/2004 2:52:55 PM PDT by A CA Guy (God Bless America, God bless and keep safe our fighting men and women.)
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To: Jennikins

"I guess they didn't read it."

I will never forget one night on Larry King during the Nafta "debate". Someone against it read something startling to Rep. Phil Crane, R. He asked, "where are you getting that stuff from?"....the answer was NAFTA. He admitted he didn't read it. But he voted for it. Common practice, sadly.

How do you feel about the bi-partisan effort through the State Dept. and SSAdministration to give Illegal Aliens social security benefits?


31 posted on 08/27/2004 2:55:23 PM PDT by AuntB ("Go count your blessings and when you're done come complain to me." MY Grandma!!)
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To: A CA Guy
A remarkable conservative Democrat
yep, quite a guy...and a Marine too! ;-]
32 posted on 08/27/2004 2:58:04 PM PDT by kellynla (U.S.M.C. 1/5 1st Mar Div. Nam 69&70 Semper Fi http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnkerry.com)
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To: Canticle_of_Deborah
The government is doing exactly what it wants, regardless of which political party is in power.

Bingo!

33 posted on 08/27/2004 3:57:37 PM PDT by Ron H. (It's about time for Christian and social conservatives to start looking for a new party.)
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To: kellynla
But one thing's for sure, the present inaction is not working!!!

Bush and his administration doesn't want to see it enforced, period!

34 posted on 08/27/2004 4:00:10 PM PDT by Ron H. (It's about time for Christian and social conservatives to start looking for a new party.)
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To: tertiary01
Perhaps after the election (especially if it is a close one) we need to start considering the "I" word. If Bush refuses to honor the oath of his office and to the American people and the laws of this nation then just maybe he should be removed!!

We would consider nothing less if it was Clinton doing this to America!

35 posted on 08/27/2004 4:07:23 PM PDT by Ron H. (It's about time for Christian and social conservatives to start looking for a new party.)
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To: kellynla

bttt


36 posted on 08/27/2004 4:32:27 PM PDT by sarcasm (Tancredo 2004)
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To: kellynla

bttt


37 posted on 08/27/2004 4:32:27 PM PDT by sarcasm (Tancredo 2004)
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To: Ron H.

They are refusing to enforce immigration laws.


38 posted on 08/27/2004 5:08:47 PM PDT by television is just wrong
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To: MamaTexan
"They still persons according to law because they're illegals."

My copy of the Declaration of Independence states, "We the people of the United States..."

What's the language in your copy, "We the illegal aliens that violated federal law by sneaking in from Mexico, Libya, Syria and every other nation that hates the United States..."?

LOL!

39 posted on 08/27/2004 5:23:13 PM PDT by 4Freedom (America is no longer the 'Land of Opportunity', it's the 'Land of Illegal Alien Opportunists'!!!)
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To: skeeter
"...just how do you propose to roundup 15 million people?"

Leave it to "George" to ask the same goofy question over and over again.

Here's a partial list of what your fellow FReepers have come up with.

-Go after the employers.

-Give all illegal aliens 90 days to get the hell out of our country, period.

-Then have the Border Patrol start their interior sweeps again and order them to confiscate every last piece of property, car, truck or dollar from every illegal alien that's caught.

The majority of illegal aliens will deport themselves.

There will be a stampede across our borders into Mexico and Canaduh.

40 posted on 08/27/2004 5:40:08 PM PDT by 4Freedom (America is no longer the 'Land of Opportunity', it's the 'Land of Illegal Alien Opportunists'!!!)
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