Interesting article on illegal immigration

The above yahoo news link of an article from the Christian Science Monitor makes some valid points as we have discussed here in the past on the topic of illegal immigration.

Some selected portions:

The 1986 reform called for criminal and civil punishment of employers who knowingly hire unauthorized workers. But laws and fines are meaningless unless they're applied.

Republicans and Democrats alike have buckled under pincer like pressure from businesses which rely on cheap labor and from advocacy groups which watch out for illegals.

Sanctions against violators have dropped steeply, with the feds notifying only three employers of fines in 2004. And hardly anyone's walking the worksite police beat - just 65 federal agents were assigned to worksites in 2004. Considering the roughly 7 million illegal aliens working in the US, that effort isn't laughable, it's a crying shame - and a taint on employers who play this game.

Enforcement to me is important, punishing those who come here looking for work isn't a solution and hasn't worked. It will never work, the only way to deal with illegal immigration is to deal with the source of the jobs. Reduce the hiring of illegal immigrants and you reduce the reason for their coming here in the first place.


(OT - Yes I got thru my dad's birthday without being a wreck this year and was busy being prolific on Glass City Jungle. I finally got my new prescription so hopefully will be an even more focused and pain free me in a day or so...look out (lol)