[Jeanfromfillmore]

November 3, 2009
Exclusive: Enforcement of Immigration Laws Benefits the Economy
Michael Cutler
I don't know how many times I have said that, contrary to what our nation’s "leaders" say, immigration is not a single issue but is, in fact, a major factor in nearly every critical challenge confronting our nation today. Politicians may well decry the arrest of illegal aliens, but the immigration laws of this nation were promulgated with the intention of protecting our nation and our citizens from aliens whose presence in the United States is harmful to our citizens and our nation.

It is interesting that this Washington Times article begins with a quote by President Obama:

"If somebody can show me a strategy that's going to work, then we are happy to consider it," the president said before a White House meeting with the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board.

Isn't amazing that after billions of dollars were supposedly pumped into the economy to get the economy moving, the President is concerned that jobs will continue to be lost? What was the point to the economic stimulus program that has mortgaged our children's and our grandchildren's economic futures?

Here is my prescription for an effective strategy: Hire many more special agents for ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and order the special agents of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to arrest and detain illegal aliens working in violation of law in the United States and seek their removal from our country.

Mandate that E-Verify be made permanent and then move to include a biometric component to the program to combat the use of stolen identities by illegal aliens. This would also go a long way to combat identity theft, the white collar crime that has been identified as being the fastest growing white collar crime in the United States.

Finally, have ICE special agents conduct field investigations into the massive number of fraud applications that are filed in conjunction with the immigration benefits program and go after companies and attorneys who engage in conspiracies to provide aliens with H-1b visas for so-called "High Tech" jobs.

Here is a link to a video of a covertly taped conference on June 16, 2007, in which a law firm ran a seminar that instructed other lawyers on the way that the immigration process could be subverted to make certain that qualified United States citizens and lawful immigrants would not be hired – so foreign workers would get those jobs:

The video – which I guarantee will set your blood boiling – was posted on YouTube by the Programmer Guild with the following description:

Immigration attorneys from Cohen & Grigsby explains how they assist employers in running classified ads with the goal of NOT finding any qualified applicants, and the steps they go through to disqualify even the most qualified Americans in order to secure green cards for H-1b workers. See what Bush and Congress really mean by a "shortage of skilled U.S. workers." Microsoft, Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, and thousands of other companies are running fake ads in Sunday newspapers across the country each week.

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) lists aliens who should be excluded from the United States and also lists those categories of aliens who should be removed from our country if they were excludible when they entered our country or if they violate the terms of admission under which they were permitted to enter the United States. In addition to aliens being excludible or deportable from the United States for having dangerous communicable diseases, having been convicted of committing felonies, being associated with terrorist organizations and a list of other such reasons, is the category of aliens who work in the United States without permission.

This last category of excludible and/or deportable aliens (those who work illegally) poses a threat to the jobs of the citizens and lawful resident aliens of our country. (It is also worth noting that in this post 9/11 world, terrorists often seek commonplace jobs that provide them with the ability to embed themselves in the United States and thus "hide in plain sight.")

The issue of foreign workers taking the jobs of Americans was of such concern that prior to World War II, immigration laws were enforced and administered by the Labor Department.

Today, many of our nation's politicians are fixated on facilitating the entry of millions of aliens – legal and illegal – to curry favor with deep pocketed individuals and corporations.

I would like you to consider what Alan Greenspan had to say when he testified before the Senate Immigration Subcommittee on April 30, 2009 at a hearing that was convened by the chairman of that subcommittee, Chuck Schumer. The title of the hearing was, "Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Can We Do It and How?"

Let me share with you my reaction to his testimony. The labor market, in many areas, has a finite need for workers. If most or all of the needs for employees are being met by foreign workers, legal and illegal, who will accept lower wages than their U.S. citizen and resident alien counterparts, the vast majority of employers will simply hire the foreign workers who will accept lower wages and not even consider hiring American workers even if they possess the sort of education that would make them suitable employees.

This, in turn, makes many of the “high tech” professions less attractive. What incentives are their for bright American college students to devote years of their lives to a course of study, often at great financial expense, if the salaries that the profession for which they are studying will not provide them with salaries that are commensurate with their expenditure of time, effort and money?

I think the answer to the question I asked was answered in an obscure manner by Greenspan. Consider this quote from his testimony: