Pols want it both ways on immigration, jobs
The Virginian-Pilot © September 13, 2007
POLITICIANS OF BOTH parties brag that Virginia is the nation's "best state for business," a title bestowed by Forbes magazine. Some of those pols seem intent on winning a new moniker for Virginia: the toughest state in the country on illegal immigrants. Candidates for the General Assembly are clawing over each other in a competition to propose the harshest penalties for undocumented workers and the businesses that - knowingly or inadvertently - give them jobs. Can Virginia be business-friendly and strict on illegal immigration? ...
State and local officials are understandably frustrated by the lack of leadership coming from Washington, D.C. But the response by some overzealous legislators has been troubling. Earlier this year, the General Assembly considered two bills that would have allowed local governments to strip the business license of any company that employed a single illegal immigrant, whether or not the violation was willful. Both bills were later killed in the state Senate.
But consider this: Would Peninsula bureaucrats deny Northrop Grumman Newport News a business license if a worker at the company's Mississippi subsidiary didn't have his papers in order? Or, should Smithfield Foods lose its license in Virginia because of the 29 illegal workers discovered at its North Carolina processing plant last month? Most of them had stolen the identities of American citizens. When Republican leaders rolled out their immigration proposals two weeks ago, they were more careful to clarify that businesses would be punished only for willful violations of immigration laws that resulted in criminal convictions. Even so, their pugnacious rhetoric has continued, putting the state's business leaders on edge.
Republicans are trying to fire up their base in a year when their party is under attack at both the state and national levels. ..
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3 comments:
Politicans are lying scum. All they really want is their own power.
Next question.
Bob
Catch more of The World According to Bob at: http://bobstruth.blogspot.com
Dee,
I believe that we should not leave the employers out of this. They know darn well who is legal and who is illegal. A significant fine in the $1,000,000 plus range plus potential jail time would put a stop to illegal hiring almost overnight.
Regarding politicians, it amazes me that so many of them are non-committal on this issue. Number one, they dont want to lose any illegal hispanic votes, Number two they dont want to lose any legal hispanic votes, and Number three they dont want to lose any anti-illegal immigration votes.
Now it may be easy to criticize the few republicans who have come out for very strong anti-illegal laws but before people start blasting them, ask yourselves, what have the democratic leaders (Hillary, Obama, Edwards, Kennedy, etc..) stated as their positions on this issue. Most of them are wishy washy. Well I am looking for a leader who knows how to make a decision. I wish they would have the guts to lay out their plans in a straight forward manner. Until then, I believe nothing will be done about illegal immigration.
Rick, I agree with you. Our politicians are not doing enough. Republicans are backing Big Business. This is the wrong reason. Democrats know this is a hot issue and don´t want to offend anyone.
Something needs to be done. I agree with secure borders. I believe in employer sanctions. I don´t support illegal immigration at all. I would like to see those here identified,even as Guest Workers with a return home once a year for a month or so. There are standard Guest Worker programs like this. Then they won´t be exploited by the employers. The good workers will not be mixed up with the criminals. Our policitians need to come together on this. They cannot be afraid of the severest ANTIs who say anything short of mass deportation is amnesty.
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