Brother vs. Brother...On the Border!

Those trying to defend the recently signed so-called employer-sanctions law have been trying to paint anyone who thinks it's a bad law as supportive of illegal immigration. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The members of the Wake Up Arizona! coalition are against illegal immigration. We believe in workable employer sanctions.

We also believe in standing up against a bad law, even when it's not popular to do so. Let me explain:

We support the rule of law and efforts to get control of our southern border, which includes federal efforts to build a 700-mile fence along our border with Mexico.

We support a beefed-up interior enforcement, which includes cracking down on those who intentionally hire illegal aliens.

We support stiff penalties against "coyotes" or those who smuggle people across the border, and we support Proposition 100, which denies bail to illegal aliens charged with committing serious crimes.

We support these efforts because we obviously have an illegal immigration crisis that needs to be tackled with urgency and dedication. Because Congress can't seem to pass a bill that addresses enforcement as well as labor needs, we're left with a mess. In other words, we're left with the status quo.

If the new Arizona employer-sanctions bill remains the law of the land, legitimate businesses such as ours will willingly comply. But we ought to be honest about the impact of the new law.

While the employer-sanctions bill heaps new regulations on legitimate businesses, it really does nothing to stop the flow of illegal aliens or employers who willingly and knowingly hire them. It does little to encourage the crooked boss to stop ignoring immigration laws.

It does nothing to stop the unscrupulous contractor from picking up day laborers and paying them under the table. The most glaring deficiency is that the law does nothing to address the underground cash economy.

The truth is this new law will accomplish little other than to force lawful businesses that play by the rules to jump through new hoops. Arizona's new employer-sanctions bill, while understandable on its surface, has major flaws that will negatively affect our state's economy.

The bill requires all employers to run new hires through the federal Basic Pilot database to check for valid Social Security numbers. Legitimate businesses send new-hire paperwork to the Social Security Administration. When the numbers don't match, we don't hire that person. The new Arizona law doesn't change anything in that regard other than to require another step for lawful employers and another one for the crooked to ignore.

Unscrupulous employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens will continue to do so. They don't play by the rules today - it's already against the law to hire illegal aliens - so why would they play by them tomorrow?

The penalties for not following the new Arizona law are consequential to legitimate businesses, but again, legitimate businesses aren't the problem. The threat of losing a business license means little to crooked enterprises, because many don't have licenses to begin with.

Law enforcement must crack down on the "under the table" employers: Those who don't pay taxes or withhold taxes and who get away with it every day. For all its fanfare, the new Arizona law doesn't affect them.

Overregulation kills business and jobs. It's been driving businesses out of high-tax, high-regulatory states like California and New Jersey for years. A sensible employer-sanctions law would be effective if it targeted those who refuse to play by the rules. This one continues to ignore them.

Mac Magruder is chairman of Wake Up Arizona! and a Valley fast-food restaurant franchiser.

It is not that I am against ‘Wake Up Arizona!’ I am for protecting the sovereignty of America’s borders and the safety of Arizona citizens: This means enforcing the law and repelling the Illegal Aliens—now. If they cannot work—they will have to go back to where they came from.

Business is directly responsible for this illegal onslaught! The allure of cheap and abundant labor—for the almighty dollar! The citizens pay this tab—directly and indirectly by the fact that hiring illegals:

--places our families in eminent danger from:

• Increased drug trafficking,
• increased violent crimes against citizens and
• terrorism threats and gang violence;

Note:

America is the world’s largest land mass that speaks one distinct language, making communications, commerce and society uniform and inter-productive. (People are welcome, and encouraged to honor their native culture within the home if they choose to. This is not about culture—it is about Country.)

‘Wake Up Arizona!’ Arguments

The enforcement of the illegal alien hiring law is not Business’s responsibility:
The Federal Government is solely responsible! Just who is the ‘Federal Government’? They are the agencies directly controlled by the politicians they spend megabucks convincing voters to support so that business can ‘deal’ through influence.

These illegals do the jobs that no one else will do.
What they mean is: They will do the work for less. There is also an inexhaustible supply of this labor.

What they really fear is the immediate impact of having to attract a ‘different’ labor force to replace the ‘easy street’ they have enjoyed for years. The central issue is not having to increase the wage base because the consumer pays for it in the purchase price.

They have gotten so lazy about labor issues they can’t recall where they they attracted their labor from.

They are now victims of their past ‘illegal’ practices—nothing is ever free These illegals tend to swarm the businesses they work for. In effect—they now dictate the atmosphere of the business.

Americans do not want to work in a ‘Foreign Environment’ and Most of the entry level workers are high school and college age— They want an environment where they feel like they belong, and it is more important than the wage they are offered!

‘Wake Up Arizona!’ latest PR effort as of 07-24-07 states:

They support the rule of law (except when they ‘accidentally’ break it)
They are all for efforts to control the border, including the 700 mile fence
They support beefed up interior enforcement (as long as it does not inconvenience them)
They support stiff penalties against ‘coyotes’ and proposition 100 (no bail for Illegals charged with committing serious crimes)
They support these efforts because they now recognize the Public is riled… however, since Congress cannot get their act together: we are all left with the status quo. (Oh well—too bad.)

With the awesome financial power that business wields, (to keep things as they are because it is good for business), if business didn’t like the status quo, they would have seen to it that the politicians act to correct this problem. The Citizens realize that this more important than the ‘almighty dollar’…it is more important than partisan politics…this is about the future of America…this is about protecting our children! If ‘National politics’ will not protect the Citizens, then the Citizens must demand their State protect them—this is what ‘We the People’ are doing now. ‘Wake Up Arizona!’ decry foul about the fact that, “the employer sanctions bill heaps new regulations on legitimate businesses—“

But, they say they already send new-hire paperwork to the Social Security Adm. Why is it a problem to access the Federal Data Base—before—they hire, for valid Social Security Numbers? (Once they do this, they are protected.)

What they are really whining about is: if THEY actually do have to follow the new law, House Bill 2779 that ACTUALLY does have PENALTIES—it’s just not FAIR, because all those unlicensed business won’t now have to follow the same rules that they NOW have to follow.

“Overregulation kills business and jobs.” --What ‘Wake Up Arizona!’ is really saying is—Anything that inconveniences us will cause us to threaten to leave Arizona…and then you will really be in a financial mess.

If they really cared about the security and safety of Arizona’s families, we would all be on the same side of this problem, working together: --Demanding the President, Senate, Congress, Arizona’s Governor, Attorney General, State Legislators, County and local governments, and ALL law enforcement agencies aggressively enforce the LAW!

‘Wake Up Arizona!’ is often quoted as stating the analogy, “To put this on the backs of the business community is like blaming the weather on the weather person.” The weather person has NO power over the weather. The businesses that hire illegal aliens have absolute CONTROL over what they are doing.

The bottom line is: Their slick PR strategy does not hold water with the citizens of Arizona. They are on the wrong side of this issue—and they are placing our children at risk for the sake of the almighty dollar.

The real issue is this: Are ‘We the People’ going to continue to silently sit by and allow ‘business and politics as usual’, or are we now going to demand action: With phone calls, letters, e-mails—sometimes on a daily basis, citizen initiatives when they do not listen, and lastly—most importantly—the power of our individual VOTE. They all need to understand: NO MORE EXCUSES!!!!!

‘We are mad as hell, and we are not going to take it any more!’

‘We the People’ must demand that government build a complete and effective border barricade, NOW, and not some stupid ‘virtual’ fence that doesn’t actually stop anyone. (vir-tu-al, adj. Existing or resulting in essence or effect though not in actual fact, form or name.)

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