Do you have any comments on this late-breaking story concerning illegal aliens and the U.S. Govt?

Question

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080222/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/immigration_enforcement

Do you have a comment?

(Just want to make sure I actually ask a question, here, as I often ask a question over and over but get deleted for not asking a question.)

Feds to raise fines for hiring illegals

Fri Feb 22, 2:35 PM ET

The government will raise by 25 percent the fines it levies against employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants, officials said Friday.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced the increase, which is the first boost in fines in nearly a decade.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency responsible for investigating illegal hirings, has stepped up its enforcement of the employer sanctions law in the past year, leading to a dozen major busts. Currently, fines range from $275 to $11,000 depending on the offense. The agency says some penalties could include at least six ...

Answer 1

I hate the fact that we need to close or limit our borders to new people... I am not happy that we have neighbors that are opressed and need this country and what it could offer them..... but, we are running out of space, resources, jobs, money to support people, like the old agers, and people with no insurance..... I hate to say it, but I have to, we can not afford insurace, the rate hikes, because we are paying for births , deaths, medical treatments , etc., of those who are not even citizens....... we are paying for their coming here in sooooooo many ways..... I say again, I hate it !!!!! I am the type that would help the world if I could..... but, we can NOT do it !!!!! I also am of the mind that they should stand up and CHANGE their country, the way we did and do !!! There has got to be a way !!! go in peace..... God bless

Answer 2

Zaza and a few others have it desirable - they're finding to cause them to felony - all 12 million right here interior the US - this form, the gratitude from the illegals wil lbe to maintain the Dems in workplace. it relatively is not substantial that they are breaking the regulation - as long because it reward the present administration and Congress. Sickening and disgusting! i do no longer care if people come right here felony - yet all this unlawful and getting away with it relatively is making the US a guffawing inventory to the international. This between different issues - u . s . is a humorous tale the way it relatively is presently being run.

Answer 3

At least its a step in the right direction. You can blame illegal immigrants for coming to the United States, but business that offer them work are just as much to blame for the situation. Personally, I don't think raising the fines will have that great of an effect on hiring illegal workers ... it simply isn't that big of a deterent.



Personally, I think the entire issue is shrouded in the most *** backwards thinking I've ever seen in my life. If you're against illegal immigration you're automatically labeled as a racist/fascist, and if you support it then you also have to go on board with all other kinds of ridiculous programs. Illegal immigration in San Diego is the preverbal "400 pound gorilla in the room" everyone ignores. For instance, the San Diego Sheriff's Department and SDPD routinely send officers to do clandestine patrolling at known illegal immigrant hiring locations. They sit there next to anywhere from one to five dozen people who everyone knows are not in the country legally, and then fine and cite anyone who comes to offer them work without a business license. Isn't that just about the stupidest thing you've ever heard of? "Let's fine these people who are hiring illegals without a business license, but lets do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to the people that are here illegally that are attracting them." This whole country has become so politically correct no one can be a pragmatist anymore ...

Answer 4

Had no idea, that can go to help pay for folks and keep the hospitals open. great article. i have said if the government had to pay instead of the private sector they would really get busy. Take care.

Answer 5

Window dressing. How could anybody be stupid enough to have to pay these fines unless they believed the person was legal? The law was written with a huge loop hole intentionally. Basically, I can hire any undocumented worker I want and give them 90 days to provide proof that they were legal. After that I must fire them. That sounds like a lot of hassle if the job requires any training. Ahh, but a failing memory comes to the rescue. When the person comes back with a different name I can hire them again for 90 days. All perfectly legal



Go ahead laud your law makers in some states, and cities that have made it more illegal to hire illegal workers or even rent them houses. They would have never done it though, if they did not know that the courts would have to shoot it down. States have no right under the constitution to regulate immigration.



The Oklahoma, and Carrolton laws are the worst kind of politics. An illegal law, and you know the lawyers that passed it knew it was illegal. It gets you reelected.



Then just to make sure nobody gets hurt, by having to fight there way to the Oklahoma, or Texas supreme court, we will make the law prove your intentions. How do you prove that the bus, taxi, whatever kind of transportation driver intended to transport illegals? How do you prove that the homeowner that rented a house to them knew they were illegal? The Federal law at least give them authority to ask for papers, but not the State laws, because State do not have the power to give landlords, and taxi drivers the authority to do a background investigation on thier customers.

Answer 6

It's a good first step. Alot more needs to be done though. I feel this is little more than a stall tactic by the Feds in order to make it look like they are trying to do something...

Answer 7

too late now, esp with all 3 pres candidates offering amnesty....its only a matter of time before the flood gates open and all of latin america comes pouring in

Answer 8

A hunter comes back from a bear-hunting expedition and has no bear. Check him out and, well, he's blind.



So, this law gives him a brighter flash-light, sun-glasses and extra ammunition, albeit the ammo is toothpicks.



Do you expect a bear-skin rug now?



hmm...

Answer 9

They'll never collect. As we all know that the Employers and Businesses "never knowingly have hired any illegals".

Answer 10

StoneCold answered best so far. But the unforgettable answer of the day has GOT to be from Chex Mix. ROFLMAO!!!



But the feds pass laws and renig over and over. Thats the only thing we see from them. I wont hold my breath.

Answer 11

they should make the fines 50000 not 11.000 actually the GOV should seize all company assets

Answer 12

its a good start, get rid of the anchor baby option,and then i might think the government is really doing something.

as someone said amnesty, ha bush tried that,failed!

so amnesty isn't gonna jive with the citizens.

they have spoken and results will be shown,or someone is getting fired.

Answer 13

I like that!

others on here are haters! Like Mother of Josyln and Joker.



PS: Who says it doesn't work?



http://www.omninerd.com/news/Oklahoma_Ge...



Oklahoma Gets Tough On Illegal Immigration

Newspaper current event by willwaddell on 07 May 2007, tagged as lawjustice



Oklahoma has passed the country's most rigorous illegal immigration legislation with a bill aimed at excluding illegal aliens from the workforce and preventing them from receiving public aid. The legislation, which seeks to strike at the root causes of illegal immigration, specifically goes after employers who hire illegal aliens knowingly and mandates the use of new technology to verify worker eligibility. It will also keep illegal aliens from receiving ID cards, drivers licenses and will require citizenship/immigration checks before anyone can apply for state/local benefits. Critics argue that Oklahoma does not have the power to trump federal immigration law and that the measure will only embitter the Latino community. Lawmakers in Oklahoma approved the bill by wide majorities, but it remains open to question as to whether or not Gov. Brad Henry will sign or veto the legislation.



It passed and it works.

Note the absence of illegals Latinos on the streets!

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/02/oklahoma.immigration/



TULSA, Oklahoma (CNN) -- Weeks of protests, rallies, lawsuits and candlelight vigils failed to stop a new state immigration bill -- HB 1804 -- from becoming the law in Oklahoma.

art.tulsa.jpg

Vigils like this one in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last week were unable to stop a tough new immigration law.

Click to view previous image

1 of 2

Click to view next image

The law went into effect Thursday and is intended to make life difficult for illegal immigrants in Oklahoma.

Its authors say they're sending a very clear message: If you're an illegal immigrant, you are not welcome.

"I'm convinced illegal aliens will not come to Oklahoma, or any other state, if there are no jobs waiting for them." said state Rep. Randy Terrill, a Republican and the law's author.

"They will not stay here if there are not taxpayer subsidies and they certainly won't stay here if they ever encounter one of our fine state and local law enforcement officials," he added. "They'll be physically detained -- until they're deported."

The new law restricts the ability of illegal immigrants to obtain government IDs or public assistance. It also gives police authority to check the immigration status of anyone arrested, which can lead to deportations.

t doesn't stop at illegal immigrants. The law also makes it a felony for U.S. citizens to knowingly provide shelter, transportation or employment to illegal immigrants.

The message has been received loud and clear. Many in Oklahoma's Latino community say people are staying home, fearful police will arrest and deport them.

"They're afraid they're going to get deported. They're just afraid," said Alex Yoguez, a juice store owner who relies on Latino customers for her business to survive.

Yoguez said her business is normally filled with customers. "We are down 50 percent just today," she said Thursday, the day the law went on the books.

Latino supporters are up in arms about the way the state now views illegal immigrants who have been here for many years.

"You are guilty of ethnic cleansing in this community! You are going against my community!" said the Rev. Miguel Rivera of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy.

The clergy group filed a federal lawsuit against the state saying the state has overstepped its bounds by enforcing immigration law, which is under federal jurisdiction. A hearing in the case is scheduled next week. An earlier attempt to get an injunction to prevent enforcement of the law was turned down by a judge.

It's not yet clear how the law will be enforced. Illegal immigrants in Oklahoma fear police will use the law for roundups of anyone working and living in the state illegally.

"I don't know if we're going to be actively looking for them," said Tulsa Police Capt. Steve Odom, who works in the Latino district of Tulsa. "If we come across them in the course of a call, or a course of an investigation, certainly we'll take the appropriate action."

The Tulsa Police Department said it has not received guidance from the district attorney's office on how to enforce the law. The department points out that suspicion of illegal activity is not enough, and proving the intent of U.S. citizens is a challenge.

Still, many in Oklahoma say Latinos have been leaving by the thousands since the law was passed in May.

"We are losing a lot of business, a lot of business," said Antonio Perez, who owns Mexican grocery stores. "I would say between the four stores we have lost about $300,000 a month in sales."

So far, the absence of the Latinos on the streets may be the only visible result of the law.