News, Administration plans immigrant crackdown. (Representatives, illegal immigrants, law, prison)

[John1960]

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration unveiled plans Friday to step up enforcement against illegal immigrants and the businesses that hire them.
The 26-point initiative calls for more Border Patrol agents and strict entry and exit procedures for foreign visitors. It doesn't require congressional approval.

The plan's centerpiece would require employers to fire workers who use fake Social Security numbers. Employers who don't comply will risk hefty fines and possibly criminal sanctions.

"It's death to American agriculture," predicts Maureen Torrey, a 12th-generation vegetable and dairy farmer in Elba, N.Y.

Administration plans immigrant crackdown - USATODAY.com

[happyappy]

IF it actually happens and illegals begin to get sent back, then we'll begin to see some creativity come back into American businesses. All farmers who use illegals are going to be in the same boat, so if there are that many of them, I guess people will pay higher prices for their veggies for awhile. The best farmers with the most creativity will gain market share and prices will stabilize. Those farmers who had no intention of increasing productivity but were only interested in lowering employee costs to line their own bank accounts, will find that taking the easy road and ignoring business efficiencies and productivity will come back to bite them.

Does New York not have 400 prisoners to work this unfortunate farmer's fields? Would New York's tax payers not benefit by this unfortunate farmer paying the State of New York for the help instead of illegal immigrants? I hope she's fined big time if she's employing illegals. I wonder how much she gains from subsidies from government.

Sorry, I'm fresh out of sympathy.

[Old Man Winter]

I agree to certain extent Happy. I have no sympathy for companies that hire illegals to cut costs and employee benefits. The companies are just as guilty as the government and the illegals for the situation. And American farmers were in trouble long before the illegals invaded our country. They can thank the government for that and not blame American workers. It will be interesting to see what comes of it.

[bily4]

I agree to an extent also. The employers are the ones that should be punished, not the people they allow to work for them. I personally think some of the repurcussions in local communities will be more dramatic than some might think. but as Old Man Winter says, let's see what happens.

[RedNC]

It’s the same scare tactics that the politicians use when they are forced to cut back on budgets instead of raising taxes. They always say that they will have to cut police and firemen if they don’t raise taxes.

Now these businesses are going to have to obey the law and the first thing they do is start crying about agriculture. There has never ever been a shortage of farm workers. There has never ever been a problem getting temporary worker permits. This is all about scaring Americans into thinking that without illegal workers they will not have any food. It’s all a bunch of BS.
Don’t let the government and the agriculture conglomerates get away with this. It’s time to hold our governments feet to the fire and make sure they follow through on enforcing the law.
Don’t back down.

[ParkTwain]

Please understand that this VERY BELATED action on the part of DHS is a direct result of the SCREAMING being aimed at G.O.P. members of Congress by their constituents. These incumbents know that they are all DEAD MEN WALKING if Dubya doesn't start doing something positive in the direction of enforcing the existing illegal immigration laws.

This is a very welcome set of actions being announced. The voice of the people is finally being heard by the Dubya Administration.

[ParkTwain]

Originally Posted by happyappy

IF it actually happens and illegals begin to get sent back, then we'll begin to see some creativity come back into American businesses.

You mean, like the way that the Detroit automobile industry has creatively responded to competition from the Japanese for American car-buyers? It may get curiouser and curiouser first!

[happyappy]

Originally Posted by ParkTwain

You mean, like the way that the Detroit automobile industry has creatively responded to competition from the Japanese for American car-buyers? It may get curiouser and curiouser first!

Automobile manufacturers have been non-creative for a very long time. In a system such as ours, poor business decision after poor business decision is not punishable by being driven out of business by competition. There are protections and subsidies and accounting shenanigans--and of course there's the tax system against which poor decisions can be written off, many of such moves actually making stock prices go up so that upper echelon management can pay themselves obscene compensations for . . . poor business decisions.

Yeah, there's a long way to go for the humongous businesses, but the small, medium, and not-so-large can become more creative and grow into exporters.

[Hawkeye48]

Originally Posted by RedNC

It’s the same scare tactics that the politicians use when they are forced to cut back on budgets instead of raising taxes. They always say that they will have to cut police and firemen if they don’t raise taxes.

Now these businesses are going to have to obey the law and the first thing they do is start crying about agriculture. There has never ever been a shortage of farm workers. There has never ever been a problem getting temporary worker permits. This is all about scaring Americans into thinking that without illegal workers they will not have any food. It’s all a bunch of BS.
Don’t let the government and the agriculture conglomerates get away with this. It’s time to hold our governments feet to the fire and make sure they follow through on enforcing the law.
Don’t back down.

Good post! You make some excellent points. But in our political system we allow our businesses and corporations to have more influence over our government than our citizens do. And businesses want the cheap illegal labor. The only way our elected representatives in Washington are going to breakdown and actually represent American citizens and not corporations and businesses is if we force them to. Which means we are going to have to send a whole lot of them packing.

[RedNC]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye48

Good post! You make some excellent points. But in our political system we allow our businesses and corporations to have more influence over our government than our citizens do. And businesses want the cheap illegal labor. The only way our elected representatives in Washington are going to breakdown and actually represent American citizens and not corporations and businesses is if we force them to. Which means we are going to have to send a whole lot of them packing.

I think we got a good start by voicing our opposition to the amnesty bill. That was a real eye opener not only for the politicians, but for Joe public too. I wonder how much impact the public could really have if they organized.