Obama tackles illegal workers.

[RobinFinderson]

I surprised no one mentioned this until now. On Friday, the NYT ran an article on Silent Raids against companies that hire illegal workers. When the audits show illegal workers on the books, the companies receive stiff fines and end up firing their illegal work force. The government doesn't spend capital to deport the workers, but instead attacks the reason the workers come here -- favorable employment.

I think this is a great approach to the problem of illegal immigration, and by going after the corporations that benefit from illegal labor, the policy calls an old Republican bluff, namely that the Republican leaders don't really do anything about illegal immigration because so many of their corporate backers depend on it. If the Republican leadership opposes this policy approach, they look soft on illegal immigration. If they support it, they kick their corporate taskmasters in the nuts. It is really a great policy AND politics by the Obama administration.

One of the key benefits of this approach is that a small team of auditors can effectively root out all of the illegal workers in a company (assuming the company doesn't try to criminally cook the books). Raids at factories and fields are effective against the illegals who are working on that particular day, but deportation is expensive, and the workers just turn around and come right back after a holiday with their family. Attacking the companies that hire illegals is a great way to put an end to the reason illegals come here in the first place.

Bravo to the Obama administration for taking this issue seriously and doing something effective and original to solve the problem!

[Slim]

Is the wage difference between illegals and legals really so great that it is significantly affecting employment rates?

I dont agree with these kinds of actions. We have so many legal Americans here who are not willing to work that it doesn't make sense to me to punish those who come here to work. Legal immigration procedures suck. That is where the change needs to happen. If the worker has stolen someone elses identity then yeah that is a problem. If all they are doing is working then find a way to make what they are doing legal.

I just don't feel that punishing those who are willing to work is the first or best way to tackle the problem.

[fusnik]

I love the idea, but the implementation will be against smaller businesses not large corporations.

[Hallelujah]

I surprised no one mentioned this until now. On Friday, the NYT ran an article on Silent Raids against companies that hire illegal workers. When the audits show illegal workers on the books, the companies receive stiff fines and end up firing their illegal work force. The government doesn't spend capital to deport the workers, but instead attacks the reason the workers come here -- favorable employment.

I think this is a great approach to the problem of illegal immigration, and by going after the corporations that benefit from illegal labor, the policy calls an old Republican bluff, namely that the Republican leaders don't really do anything about illegal immigration because so many of their corporate backers depend on it. If the Republican leadership opposes this policy approach, they look soft on illegal immigration. If they support it, they kick their corporate taskmasters in the nuts. It is really a great policy AND politics by the Obama administration.

One of the key benefits of this approach is that a small team of auditors can effectively root out all of the illegal workers in a company (assuming the company doesn't try to criminally cook the books). Raids at factories and fields are effective against the illegals who are working on that particular day, but deportation is expensive, and the workers just turn around and come right back after a holiday with their family. Attacking the companies that hire illegals is a great way to put an end to the reason illegals come here in the first place.

Bravo to the Obama administration for taking this issue seriously and doing something effective and original to solve the problem!

Neither party wants to deal with illegal immigrants. The Dems want the hispanic vote. The Repubs want the cheap labor. Thus nothing will happen.