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What He Said

David Frum, my legal immigrant cousin-in-law,* on illegal border crossing. 

I agree with just about all of it, except extensive use of the terms ”illegal immigrant.”  I’d suggest “illegal alien,” which accurately describes their status in the eyes of the government and doesn’t presume to know their intent: whether to stay here indefinitely or return home with a pile, whether to work or commit other crimes. And because immigration is a term for a legal process that is core to the debate, I’d suggest the recent insistence on using it to launder the image of illegal aliens is oxymoronic.  

* Disclosure: Every one of my American blood relatives is a legal immigrant to this country.  I mean, except for the fact that we’re all white anglo-saxon imperialist warmongers who are historically damned.

Topics: illegals

  Posted by Jules Crittenden at 9:11 am on Sunday, June 10, 2007

9 Responses to “What He Said”

1. corndog Says:
   June 10th, 2007 at 9:39 am

   I still think trying to enforce the border is a losing proposition. Way better to crack down on companies that hire illegal aliens. They won’t cross the border if they know they can’t get jobs.

2. The_Real_JeffS Says:
   June 10th, 2007 at 11:20 am

   And all the Feds need do is enforce existing laws, not ramrod some silly satire piece of contempt inspiring legislation through the system. What a concept, use what you got.

3. saltydog Says:
   June 10th, 2007 at 2:17 pm

   Congress spends an inordinate amount of time creating new legislation that attempts to clean up their own messes. All that happens is a byzantine labyrinth that makes everyone a criminal in one way or another.

   It is interesting that people think it is better to spend the resources to force our own people into the justice system, with all that is involved, while ignoring the illegals. I’m sure that they have big business in mind, since those are the people with “deep pockets”, while ignoring the millions of individuals who hire illegals. Going after the “deep pockets” won’t end the jobs offered to these people and will do very little to stop the flow of illegals. It might be satisfying to see the law sticking it to a corporation on the evening news, however. If that’s how your mind works.

4. heather Says:
   June 10th, 2007 at 3:25 pm

   Once upon a time, I owned - and managed - a business in the USA. As a Canadian, I had a visa giving me the right to do so.

   One of the forms I had to fill out when I employed anyone, was a “W” something, which had a place where the employee and I swore that said employee was a citizen of the USA. Now, this form applied to ALL employers, not only ones like me.

   That form must result from some sort of law… which looks like it is not enforced by the Fed. No? Yes??

5. saltydog Says:
   June 10th, 2007 at 8:31 pm

   One of the biggest businesses in places like L.A. is the black market trade in documents for illegals. Is every business, big and small alike, to spend a small fortune to validate the documents shown to him that “proves” someone is working legally? Is there a government data base that validates such documentation? Does the SS administration go after people who are paying into a bogus SS number? If not, why not? If the government isn’t doing that, in the same way they’re not abiding by the myriad of immigration laws they’ve already passed, why should individuals and businesses be punished for not do so?

   As I said, a byzantine labyrinth.

6. RebeccaH Says:
   June 10th, 2007 at 9:39 pm

   Exactly. Every employee is required to fill out an I-9 form, which lists those documents that must be produced to prove eligibility to work in the U.S. It says right on the form: Employers CANNOT specify which document(s) they will accept from an employee. The list is on the form and must be complied with.

   A lot of small businesses hire “under the table” and pay cash, so day laborers and yard workers and kitchen help might get away with not producing the right documents. But it’s still a requirement. The government isn’t enforcing the requirement, and part of the problem is they don’t have enough enforcers and the budget to pay for them. Blame our illustrious Congress for this.

   The USA’s immigration “policy” is a scandalous mess, but there is plenty of blame to go around.

7. Bill's Bites Says:
   June 11th, 2007 at 1:09 am

   2006.06.09-10 “No Illegal Left Behind” Roundup;It ain’t over till the fat lady goes back to Mexico.

   See previous: ¡¡La shamnistía es muerta!! ¿O es? Updated and bumped. Original timestamp 2007.06.09.01.01 I am sick and damned tired of hearing that not passing the Bush-Kennedy bill amounts to a silent amnesty. The hell it does; we haven’t forgive…

8. El Cid Says:
   June 11th, 2007 at 8:10 am

   Well I’ll be God Damned. I actually agree with poster #1. Those “companies” are owned by folks that vote for centrist parties, left wing parties, and right wing parties.

   My belief is that IF American companies, that have moved the organizations DOWN to Mexico, paid the Mexicans working in them A livable wage with benefits, those Mexicans, would not need to cross the border.

   BUT then the Mexican government doesn’t particularly like that idea I guess, for then the Mexican government woulD

9. El Cid Says:
   June 11th, 2007 at 8:12 am

   SHIT…hit wrong button, OG….would have to be in the business of a functioning goverment, instead of raping their own country.

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