HR 4437 has passed the House, and if enacted into law, makes it a felony to aid anyone who is illegally in this country to remain in this country. Cardinal Mahoney of the Catholic archdiocese in Los Angeles has indicated that he takes this bill to mean that the people at Catholic Charities would be violating the law when they provide assistance to people in need that have illegal immigrants as part of their family . He intends to have them continue to provide assistance to people in need regardless of anyone's immigration status. And he has stated he intends to do the same personally.
Here is the question I raise: Will those persons ultimately providing employment to undocumented workers ever have to face the music if this bill passes? Will they arrest the Chairman of the Board at Hormel because his actions are allowing undocumented workers to find employment in his company's packing plants, an act that aids them to remain in this country illegally? It's a ridiculous question ONLY because we know it will never happen.
The major corporations will argue that they follow the law and never knowingly provide employment to undocumented workers. It's a technically correct, but morally incorrect, assertion. Unless I'm totally out in left field the truth is that these corporations have simply shifted the way in which they engage the services of illegal immigrants since the passage of the last major immigration reform bill in the 1980's.
Prior to the bill in the 80's many corporations DIRECTLY employed a significant percentage of the undocumented workers in the US. They had their own version of "don't ask, don't tell." As long as they were not required to verify the citizenship or immigration status of an applicant they simply took every applicant's word at face value as to whether they had the legal status to be employed by the company. The reform bill of the 80's was supposed to dry up the pool of jobs available to undocumented workers by requiring employers to verify the status of job applicants. Without access to jobs, the argument went, illegal immigration would decline.
The reality is that the companies did not stop employing these workers. They simply shifted to INDIRECTLY engaging their services through contractors. To companies that were flying under the enforcement radar. The INS became overwhelmed by trying to keep track of an exploding number of records it had to check. So the enforcement process became draconian raids that NEVER exposed the corporations to any culpability in the act of employing undocumented workers. They were screened from accountability by subcontracting the work. It's the same process used to evade providing benefits under union contracts. Here, it shielded the corporate officers from the law.
But the bill passed by the House will change things. Under a one interpretation of the law we could hold corporate officers accountable if undocumented workers were found employed on their corporate premises. By providing the employment opportunity, even indirectly, they would be aiding a person who is illegally in this country to remain within the country illegally. Would we ever be able to get a conviction? Don't make me laugh. We'll never see the cuffs on a WalMart store manager, let alone a top officer in the corporation. This despite the fact that a number of WalMart's contractors who were providing janitorial services were found to be almost exclusively employing undocumented workers.
We are a nation of immigrants. It's an overused phrase, but true. There are very few of us who can claim to be indigenous. And even the Native Americans immigrated here from other parts of the world according to the theory that says their ancestors crossed the Bering Straits! So when are we going to stop listening to those who pander to our basest instincts -- appealing to our fears rather than truth? Our security is not enhanced by maintaining a system that is designed to exploit the most vulnerable portions of our communities. A system that increases the power and influence of those who circumvent the law (directly or INDIRECTLY!!!!)
And when are the advocates for undocumented workers going to understand that if we lose the ability to enforce our laws our civil rights are eroded? Our civil rights are sustained by how well we operate as a nation under law, equally and justly applied. Undermine the rule of law and you undermine our civil rights.
People desire to come to our land. And the vast majority of those who come are productive people who would be good additions to our citizenry. They are coming, whether we like it or not. Now how are we going to manage that flow of immigration? By opening our borders to realistic levels of legal immigration? Or by pushing it underground into unregulated channels where the most unscrupulous people benefit and good people are exploited, and even killed?
They're coming, and they're here. So get over it and deal with it! Responsibly. Intelligently. Compassionately. Because if we don't our problems are just beginning.
