In an attempt to show face regarding the illegal immigration issue, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) recently began discussing an avenue which they believe shows that they know how to cure the infectious problem. “Silent Raids”, announced as an immense step in immigration reform, is an activity where federal agents quietly audit employee records of companies for possible illegal immigrants on their payroll.
There are many life-sized holes in this objective. The first one is one that stretches an already increasing gap in our nation. As Republican Senator Jeff Sessions said recently about the possible cure, “Even if discovered, illegal aliens are allowed to seek employment elsewhere.” Only one factor of the lawbreakers regarding this is affected by the action and the real criminals we should be concerned about are walking free. ICE may not realize it but there are businesses even they haven’t seen not to mention the reality that most illegal workers do not work within paperwork standards but through Cash and other ways of payment.
Staying on the aspect of employees, a New York Times article discussing the supposed step toward immigration reform stated that one of the culprits that has been caught employing illegal aliens is applying for a federal guest worker program to import 1,200 short-term workers from countries such as Mexico. In 2006, National Public Radio reported nearly half of illegal immigrants overstayed their visas. Hence, the aftermath of this “tough enforcement” is doing nothing more than adding salt to an already infected wound.
Sen. Sessions continued his statement raising yet another gap in this perspective. Jobs which are already scarce are now being threatened by illegal aliens even further as they attempt to find other avenues of work. At a time where general managers of supermarkets have doctorate degrees, now we are going to threaten the small but surviving available jobs. And with the scarcity, the minimum wage availability will plummet with the availability of such cheap labor that, as shown by ICE’s recent actions, can do no wrong.
Finally, when these “silent” searches occur, the result is that the employer is notified of the discovery and told to remove the aliens immediately. This step not only is flawed considering no real demand is made to the companies once an illegal alien is found on their staff books, but no legal replacement is offered to the businessman. Hence, this gives the opportunity for the owners to risk years of litigation and fines if it means their product moves. True, many companies see costs but the reality is not all of them can be watched. Nonetheless, once again the real criminal walks away while the American business is threatened with no replacement and full retribution.
While ICE Chief John Morton calls this the start of “a culture of compliance” for employers, the real criminals walk free. This just once again shows what the administration and its followers really want out of these “work-site roundups.” In a speech discussing this avenue, President Obama stated the program was to start a path for “a legislative overhaul to give legal status to millions of illegal immigrants.” Amnesty is the only word in this man’s dictionary when it comes to immigration and it seems now he is no longer shying from saying it out loud. Although Border Management Strategies President Mark Reed and others may describe this search as one that allows “No trauma, no drama, no families being torn apart,” the nation’s structure may be a different story.
Heather Bachman is a political commentator, broadcaster and New Jersey native. More information can be found at HeatherBachman.com.