"This is a whole lot different from our national policy of talking out of both sides of one’s mouth on immigration matters."
Sonora has an immigration problem these days. The government of that Mexican state has been complaining of all those people coming down from “el norte,” Up North.
But it’s not illegal immigration; many of these arrivals are theirs in the first place.
There’s an article in the Los Angeles Times about how Arizona, a favorite entry point for illegal aliens, has essentially replaced its “welcome” mat with a “go away” mat. The state has become downright unfriendly to foreign invaders. It seems to be working a bit, as illegals are leaving the state in droves. Many are in fact leaving the U.S.
Illegal immigration is driven by economics. The folks move up here to find work that pays more than what they can make back home. Pretty basic. U.S. businesses find the “imported” help to be much cheaper than the local product, and these illegals will actually work. What papers? Who needs papers? Again, this is basic stuff. As long as American business looks to the bottom line above all else – including such nonessential things as quality of life, for example – and there’s an incentive to hire illegal help, the problem will continue. And grow.
“The more who leave, the better. They shouldn’t be here in the first place.”
-- Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio
This year, Arizona implemented some new sanctions against businesses hiring illegals, and the penalties have a lot more teeth than the wimpy Simpson-Rodino law back in the late 1980s. Get caught hiring an illegal alien once, your business is on probation. Do it twice, and your business license is revoked.
Job applicants are scanned by the E-Verify database. Unfortunately, there are serious flaws in the system, as E-Verify has listed naturalized U.S. citizens as illegal aliens.
In recent years, Arizona has also barred illegals from posting bail for serious crimes, and from receiving government services – read food stamps and the state’s version of Medicaid here. Illegals are also prevented from claiming punitive damages in lawsuits.
Is this working” Hard to tell, as it’s near impossible to keep a head count on a group of people that places a premium on invisibility. But according to the Times article, illegals are complaining that it’s impossible to find good employment in the state and are heading to where the pastures are greener.
Arizona’s policies tend to take away all the incentives for attracting and keeping illegal aliens, which is crucial if the country really wants to keep secure borders. This is a whole lot different from our national policy of talking out of both sides of one’s mouth on immigration matters.
In the thick of the Arizona action is Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the self-proclaimed “toughest sheriff in America.” Arpaio feeds the county jail inmates corn dogs to cut costs, houses them in military tents, and issues them pink underdrawers. If you get the idea I admire Arpaio, you’re right.
Over the past couple o years, Arpaio’s policy has been to check the immigration status of folks who are stopped for even minor infractions. In two years his department has detained more than 1,000 illegals.
Despite complaints from immigration-rights groups, Arpaio offers no apologies. “The more who leave, the better,” he says. “They shouldn’t be here in the first place.”
You’ll occasionally run across such rhetoric in how the illegal-immigration situation is handled elsewhere, too. This is taken straight from Wikipedia, on San Bernardino, California – a town I’ve known for a long time:
2000 - In December 2000, the City closes the Cypress Inn mobile home park off of Mount Vernon Avenue in the City's Westside. The park is closed by the City's Fire Prevention Unit because of life safety issues involving a gas leak and illegal/unsafe electrical hook-ups. The park is largely inhabited by monolingual Spanish speakers. The City, using money set-aside for redevelopment, relocates the park's inhabitants to local motels. One resident, Valente Duran, complains about the treatment by the City. He says "In Mexico, they treat us better than here." San Bernardino City Attorney James F. Penman writes Valente Duran a letter in English and in Spanish that says in part "The people of this City have no desire to deprive you or your family of what you may believe would be better treatment by the government of Mexico. Therefore, in substitution for the housing, food, and other assistance the City of San Bernardino is voluntarily providing, we want to give you the option of continuing to receive this assistance or accepting our offer to arrange and pay for transportation for you and your family, one way, to Mexico." The letter causes a political firestorm.
You’d think this note would still haunt Penman. Maybe a little; he got smoked in a run-off in the 2006 mayoral election. But he’s still the city attorney. I’ve known him for a while, and he’s far from a racist. Before he went into public office, he was close to San Bernardino’s Latino community, and his resume in human services speaks for itself. But then, the “established” Latinos had a lot less sympathy for illegal aliens than you’d expect – in fact, often referred to them as “wetbacks,” a term no self-respecting Anglo dare use unless he likes to live dangerously.
Although Arizona’s approach appears to be a step backward, maybe there’s nothing wrong with that. The only real “forward” progress in immigration matters has been to welcome the illegals with one hand, with work and government benefits, while complaining about them being here.
If the government is really serious about securing its borders and not just engaging in feel-good, election-year rhetoric, then Arizona’s policies deserve a look. Do it right, or don’t do it at all.
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