Wall Street Journal: It's OK To Break The Law

OpinionJournal.com, the online version of The Journals editorial page, today printed a paragraph that is not only contradictory, but a blatant call for businesses to ignore the American immigration law just to enable the hiring of cheap labor.

Near the end of a piece headlined Immigration (Spin) Control the Journal states:

We get the same message from nearly every business executive who comes through our offices: Without immigrants, they couldn't possibly find enough willing workers to do the available work, no matter what the available wages. Yet Republicans seem intent not merely on increasing border patrols but also on further harassing law-abiding businesses that happen to hire illegals, as if anyone can tell the difference between real and fake immigration documents. Only Republicans would think it's smart politics to punish their supporters for hiring willing workers.

The Journal's theory of turning a blind eye toward the problem is nothing more then a cheap attempt to placate its readership, the big businesses that make a fortune by breaking the law and using illegals.

First, a law abiding company loses this label the second it knowingly or even unknowingly hires an illegal alien. Ignorance is not an excuse. It is a corporation's duty to investigate and ensure that the people they hire are who they say they are. If that requires a call to the Immigration and Naturalization Service then that is easy enough to accomplish. Considering the average employer already takes certain steps with a new hire, such as checking a resume or making sure a potential employee is not a criminal on the run, adding one more step is not that much of a hardship.

If a company, either large or small, were foolish enough to knowingly hire a car thief, burglar or bank robber they would be held accountable for their actions. Just because an illegal alien's crimminal activity is different does not make it correct.

This brings us to President Bush's answer to the problem, the guest worker policy. The Journal also supports this, as if this is an instant cure all for our illegal immigration woes. What this policy's backers refuse to consider is that most illegal aliens will not want come forward to take part in a system that will tax their pay and corporations will not want to hire people that force them to meet Federal pay and safety guidelines.

The entire reason for hiring illegals is to pay them low salaries and treat them like dirt knowing full well that they have no legal recourse. Once that benefit ends companies will either, stop hiring, look elsewhere for workers or simply continue their illegal practices. None of which solves the problem.

The next problem created by the guest worker policy is what to do with the 1o million or so out of work illegal aliens? These people are not going to jsut pack up and go home. They will stay here causing unknown amounts of trouble.

The answer to the illegal alien problem is extremely difficult. There are simply to many aliens to round up and ship home and, as noted, legalizing them does not fix the problem.

Those in favor of taking extreme measures to close our borders possibly have the only solution, but it alone will not work. Stopping the influx of people is the first step. Whether this requires a heavily guarded wall, land mines or the deployment of troops it has to be done. People have to realize that getting into this country is something not to be taken lightly and that once here you are not likely to find a job. In conjunction with tighter security, the U.S. should greatly increase the number of legal aliens allowed in from Cental and South America. Double the amount let in each year, this will keep the low-end of the job pool filled yet be a great deal less then the millions that sneak in each year.

The final step is strictly enforcing hiring practices by all types and sizes of businesses, effectively cutting illegal aliens out of the process. Businesses looking to staff their low paying jobs will have to add the extra burden treating these immigrants like true workers.

Time and the reality of the new situation will eventually take care of the illegals still in the country. Some might go home, some might intermarry with the newcomers, thus gaining their citizenship and others will keep working for companies willing to risk legal problems by taking them on, probably small businesses like landscapers and restaraunts, until they are caught and expelled.