Freedom from crime, right to work
Freedom from crime and the right to work are two fundamentals that every inhabitant of this fair land cherishes. So why does the federal government seem so bent on subverting those fundamentals? Presently, two federal programs are in place that really does nothing to address the jobs problem nor prevent crime, issues paramount in many minds nowadays. Unfortunately, freedom loving, law-abiding citizens and immigrants are caught in the crosshairs of these two unfortunate, frustrating programs.
Wrong-headed approach
Everybody wants to live in a secure community as free from crime as possible. But you have to wonder what the thinking is behind a program that will soon be federally mandated throughout the states, especially when the program:
• Causes crime victims and witnesses to fear the police.
• Thrusts busy local police officers into the role of immigration agents.
• Promotes racial profiling and other discriminatory practices.
• Rounds up and detains mostly innocents and traffic violators.
Whether purposeful or not, these are some of the unfortunate results of the wrong-headed program, laughingly called “Secure Communities,” brought to you by the Department of Homeland Security. It requires that the fingerprints of anyone arrested for any reason in any town in the nation be run through an immigration database.
Something’s wrong
Just recently, the director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released a hodge-podge of amendments to the Secure Communities directives. Right there is an implicit acknowledgment that something is very wrong with the program. The amendments basically allow ICE lawyers leeway as to determining who should or should not be deported.
On top of that, congressional testimony from local police chiefs and sheriffs has shown that the program actually undermines the ability of local law enforcement entities to ensure the security and protection of their neighborhoods. And it adds another level of bureaucracy and paperwork requirements to their already overwhelming workload. Don’t mention the cost.
Of course, the leaders of immigrant communities are upset with the program because the dragnet will no doubt focus on anyone not white or who speaks with an accent – legal or not. Add to that the growing discomfort state politicians are beginning to feel about the program. Indeed, New York, Illinois and Massachusetts have already said that they doubt they will comply with the program.
And wrong again
So, as it goes about thwarting the security of local communities, the government also turns it attention to stirring up local job markets. A bill under study by Congress, ostensibly to protect the American worker and solve the unemployment problem, would require every employer to register every employee, new and already on the job, in an employee verification database system – E-Verify. The database is already acknowledged to be cumbersome and highly inaccurate.
Some congressional leaders are trying to sell the program as a panacea for the nation’s unemployment problems. Again, what are they thinking? The National Immigration Forum has pointed out a few things such an onerous mandate would incur:
Workers, most of them legal and numbering in the millions, will need to get their records corrected or lose their jobs. Many will lose them anyway, the system is so prone to error.
Businesses will be burdened with another level of bureaucracy, compliance and cost.
Key industries, such as agriculture, hospitality and manufacturing, will suffer.
Consumers will feel a direct hit to their pocketbooks.
Underground economies will grow as more workers, most of them legal, will be forced into taking jobs under the table.
Government will be burdened with a $17 billion drain on the treasury over a 10-year period to maintain the program.
E-Verify is not the answer to the unemployment problem nor to the economic disability it perpetuates. Again, wrong-headed thinking doesn’t address the problem; it just soothes the ignorant though strident few who are convinced that if we kick out immigrants our unemployment and economic problems will be solved.
Abdication of responsibility
Too many congressional leaders, as well as the present so-called enlightened administration, have abdicated their responsibilities out of fear for the next round of election vote gathering. They are supposedly addressing American demands for economic and unemployment solutions, for immigration reform, and for anti-crime measures, by just plastering them over with another dense layer of befuddled bureaucracy, and not really doing anything.
Well, they are doing something: They’re hammering away at American liberties for both individuals and businesses, they’re throwing another wrench into the unemployment problem, and they’re threatening the security of local communities. And they’re putting another drain on the treasury even as they are looking for reductions in federal spending. Scrapping E-Verify and Secure Communities and coming up with some responsible immigration reform legislation would be a surprising but welcome change of course for our disastrously misguided elected officials, both congressional and presidential.
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Lazaro Law Group, Professional Corporation represents immigrants all over the United States and the US Embassy in Manila. The firm’s offices are located in San Francisco, Fremont/Newark/Union City, and Sacramento, California. Attorney Johnson Lazaro can be reached at (415) 800-5775 or toll free at (855) 4-LAZARO. His email is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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This article should not be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. The information is intended to be general and should not be relied upon for any specific situation. This is not meant to create a lawyer-client relationship.
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