It could be argued this
country should enforce existing immigration laws before resorting to a massive
immigration reform plan - this is common sense! Any new, legislation will ultimately boil down to the same
solution. A time limit has to be
established for all these 11 million undocumented persons to make application
for legal status and failure to meet this deadline would lead to
deportation. Federal audits of
employers are necessary to ensure compliance with the law and, of course,
non-compliance by employers would be subject to a penalty. The penalty fines would have to be
severe - maybe $10,000 fine per illegal worker.
Instead of a massive 844 page
document offered by the U.S. Senate, the House of Representatives is proposing
to tackle the immigration issue in bite-size portions beginning with complaints
by American farmers that foreign labor is necessary because field work is
something most Americans do not want to do.
But even as the House is
working on their version of a solution to the 11 million illegals in the U.S.,
some GOP doubters claim that creating legal status to farm workers would result
in massive abandonment of agricultural labor in favor of a better paying and
less physically demanding work.
The implication is America's farmers are better off hiring illegal
immigrants because they cannot seek work elsewhere.
In addition to the farm
worker issue, what about all those self-employed persons and independent
contractors who do gardening work on an individual basis or domestic workers
who cook and babysit in private residences? How are these persons, who are often without legal status,
made to comply with the law? Will
the individual home owner be required to request proof of legal status prior to
hiring them to do domestic work?
And if so, will there be a huge fine for failing to check?
As previously mentioned,
immigration enforcement can occur when an illegal gets in trouble with the
law. Arizona was criticized for
"racial profiling" because a traffic ticket could result in an illegal being
turned over to federal authorities.
In August of 2012, California passed "The Trust Act" (subsequently
vetoed by Governor Brown) which encouraged local authorities to ignore the
Obama Administration's "Secure Communities Program" by failing to send
fingerprints to federal immigration agents for review unless the detention was
a major felony.
Existing law prohibits the
DMV from issuing a driver's license to anyone who cannot submit satisfactory
proof that their presence is authorized under federal law. And yet, local Assemblyman Luis Alejo,
along with many co-authors, has submitted AB 60 which deletes the requirement
of a Social Security number as part of the I.D. requirement and would allow
illegal immigrants to apply for a driver's license even though the applicant's
"presence in the United States is not authorized under federal law."
Theoretically, a traffic
ticket and the lack of a driver's license, could lead to deportation of an
illegal, but might, as well, provide a trail back to all those home owners who
hired this self-employed, "un-documented" person which would result in a huge fine. If the average homeowner uses a
driver's license to determine the legal status of those persons working for
them; and, if an illegal can obtain a driver's license under AB 60, then
establishing legal status becomes more difficult - not only for the traffic
cop, but for the homeowner as well.
As a part of California's
motor-voter law, those licensed for a driver's license can also be registered
as a voter. Does it follow a
person who has no legal status to be in the U.S. will be allowed to vote if AB
60 is passed?
State legislators need to get
out of the way so that Federal Legislation is, in fact, the law of the
land. It is not enough to build a
fence along America's borders. Any
serious effort to stop the flow of illegals into the country goes beyond federal and state cooperation, but
requires the help and support of the man on the street - leaving us to wonder
if the American voter will put up with the all the penalties required by
enforcement?
On the
other hand, if word gets out that the U.S. is enforcing its immigration laws to
include employers (both large and small), then it follows the only path into
America is by securing some form of legal entry.