It is time to talk about
the elephant in the room, illegal immigrants. That is because President Bush
has thrown down a gauntlet to Congress in the face of its failure to enact comprehensive
immigration reform. He has directed Homeland Security Secretary Michael
Chertoff to create a new enforcement mechanism that will force employers to
fire employees who are using fake social security numbers. Previously,
these employees could rely on the fact there was no enforcement mechanism to
prevent their utilization of false documentation to demonstrate their
employment status.
Congress, when it had the
chance to address the issue of immigration, did what it does best and that was
nothing! The extreme ends of the debate could best be characterized by
those leaders of Congress who wanted to offer amnesty to all the illegal people
in our country, and on the other end, those members who wanted to deport all
the same people and seal the border shut while we were at it.
I never did hear of any plan to deal with the complex problem of
anchor babies and their parents. There was also disagreement over how
serious our efforts would be to secure the border and whether or not a
meaningful guest worker program would be implemented.
President Bush, in his
frustration, has decided to try and force Congress to deal with the
situation. Unfortunately, the president could end up crippling our
national economy, depending how prolific Homeland Security is in sending out
letters to employers that will serve to trigger the requisite mass firings.
I would guestimate that at
least 30,000 illegals live in our county and that is a conservative
estimate. Of course, the major sector ($1 billion) of our local economy is
agriculture and this sector is the major employer of illegals. Other sectors
would be impacted as well, including construction and hospitality (hotel and
food service). In view of the fact that we have a very low unemployment
rate, what do you think would happen to our local economy if some 20,000 or
more of these people suddenly became ineligible to work? Since nobody
works in a vacuum, applying what is referred to as the multiplier effect (in
reverse), there would be a minimum additional 10,000 people out of work in our
county should the illegals lose their jobs! There would be other impacts
as well. Thousands of renters and homeowners would no longer be able to
make their house payments. There would be an immediate shortage of food in
our grocery stores! Does anyone believe these people will just pull up and
leave quietly once they get their pink slip?
I can’t even fathom a guess
as to what would happen in places like Los Angeles! Nationwide there are
more illegals living and employed in major metropolitan areas, in
non-agriculture jobs, than there are in semi-rural communities like our own. I
have to wonder if the president has done the math and what his fall back
position is going to be if Congress doesn’t come through in time to prevent the
chaos that will ensue?
I believe we need to come
up with a guest worker program, eliminate the anchor baby provisions, and seal
our borders. We also need to eliminate the social safety net that
encourages entire extended families to come along with the guest workers. We
need to honor the people waiting in line to get into this country legally. We
also need to come to terms with the fact that our declining birth rates are
going to necessitate a more generous immigration policy. But all these
things need to be phased in over time! I don’t support the president
precipitating an economic and social crisis, as this will do more harm than
good.
Andy Caldwell is the
executive director of the Coalition for Labor Agriculture and Labor (COLAB) and
a 39-year resident of the Central Coast. Contact information is available
at the COLAB website at www.colabsbc.org.