Is our Government Humane to Illegal Immigrants?

There are two sides to every story. The story in the United States concerning employment and immigration; however, seems to have many sides. In an article posted on the Austin American Statesman website under the commentary section, Ruben Navarrette Jr. a writer on staff at The San Diego Union-Tribune displays the differing viewpoints of illegal immigrants inside the American work-force. There appears to be great debate amongst Americans social activist groups, as well as immigrant rights groups about whether or not the Obama administration has discovered a more humane approach to removing illegal immigrants from the workforce.

Many immigrant rights groups complained when Obama took office because he spent the first 18 months of his presidency copying the workplace raids which was a method conducted under former President George W. Bush. These raids are wholly detested because they round up illegal immigrants and deport them even at the cost of breaking up families, especially when they are forced to leave their U.S. born children behind. At the root of the problem, however, is the fact that they raids don’t actually deal with problem of illegal immigrants. The companies involved rarely get punished. In order to institute a kinder gentler way of removing the illegal immigrants, the Obama administration now relies on "silent raids." In a silent raid, federal agents conduct audits of company records looking for illegal immigrants. If they are caught then most of the time the business is fined and the employee is fired but not deported.

Navarrette states that many groups do not necessarily agree that the "silent raids" actually work. Conservatives say that it is pointless because the fired illegal workers will just go down the road and find the next job. Liberals are upset because they feel that the government is being too strict and the unemployed workers cannot provide for their families, and Civil Libertarians believe that as word spreads then companies will not hire anyone they suspect of being an illegal immigrant, thus leading to discrimination of Hispanics.

With that being said, Navarrette agrees that the "silent raids" are a good thing. He says that they lack the drama or detentions and deportations, and they are certainly more humane. The raids attack the problem at exactly the right spot by putting the pressure on the employers, not the illegal immigrants. He says that, yes, the workers will be upset they got fired; however, they broke the law and should not have even been here in the first place. They should not feel entitled to a job. We have enough of these complaints from our own native born workers, and it was those complaints that led to the amount of foreign workers we currently have.

Navarrette’s commentary should be read by all illegal immigrants who feel that they are somehow slighted in our rapidly declining economy. It should also be read by all unemployed Americans who feel they cannot find a job due to the amount or illegal workers. Illegal workers pick up the jobs that unemployed Americans refuse to do because they feel the pay is too small or the work is too great. Unemployed Americans need to realize they are contributing to the increase in foreign workers in our nation. Do I agree with this author? Yes, I do. He makes many valid points. Whether we are illegal immigrants or unemployed Americans, we cannot complain about the lack of jobs. Illegal immigrants should not be here, and Americans should be working any job they need in order to provide for their families.