Inconsistencies in immigration policy and labor laws
Immigration is a heavily argued topic in public discourse in the midst of our current political and economic environment. While our country undergoes an economic downturn and jobs are at a premium, discussion of undocumented immigrants in the work force has made it to the forefront of debate. Existing immigration policy was enacted in hopes of reducing unauthorized immigration by making the process of employment more difficult for both undocumented workers and employers. Realistically however, there are millions of undocumented workers enmeshed in our economy and conflicts between immigration policy and labor laws allow these workers to be exploited.
Currently, the Fair Labor and Standards Act allows for the protection of workers’ rights regardless of documentation status, while the National Labor Relations Act does not have the ability to protect the rights of workers without proper documentation. The lack of foresight on the part of policy makers, as well as inconsistencies in court rulings, have disallowed for unified policies addressing the protection of human rights regardless of documentation status. This discord in practice and policy allows business owners, stockholders, and consumers to benefit from the labor undocumented workers provide in lower level services, but often at a cost to these workers’ human rights. Policy makers can no longer straddle the line on immigration policy when their compromises permit the exploitation of millions.
Katherine Stritzl
Maplewood
Good God it’s very simple…They are “ILLEGALS”, “Law Breakers” and should not be here. The laws are very clear. There are steps to be taken towards U.S. Citizenship. If they fail to do that, arrest them, deport them and let them come back in using the correct manner. WHY IS THIS SO HARD TO COMPREHEND?
–And you liberal busy-bodies wonder why govt is becoming less and less popular.
–Here’s an idea, give them all govt jobs. Everyone knows it takes 13 of you to do one person’s work anyway, e.g., NEA, Dept of education. After all, it is the only sector in the economy that has grown in the past year.
Since Obama became President there has been a significant increase in US Military casualties in Afghanistan. If you watch the mainstream media you may not know this as troop casualties are not as highly reported as in the Bush days so not to embarrass the Obama administration. But the current administration has also once again put the blame on Bush saying that he didn’t pay enough attention to this war as the reason for this increase. There is most likely another very valid reason. A soldier just returned from Afghanistan.
This brave US soldier says that since Obama has been the “Commander and Chief” US military moral is at the lowest it has been since the Clinton days. He says the biggest reason for the increase in Military casualties in Afghanistan is the largely unreported immediate change in the rules of engagement that Obama insisted on the first week he was in office. No longer are US troops allowed to return fire on suspected terrorist insurgents if any so called civilians are in the area and could come under fire. If they are being fired upon by snipers from a village they are not allowed to return fire especially if any women and children are present.
The Muslim and Taliban insurgents know of this change in our rules of engagement are now using women and children as shields in fire fights with US troops knowing that they will not return fire. One of this recently returned soldier’s best friends was killed in a fire fight by snipers firing from a building in a village where the Taliban had positioned women and children standing in plain view on the roof of the building. His unit was prohibited by Obama’s new orders from returning fire at the snipers. I don’t care how you feel about the war in Iraq or Afghanistan or Bush but to put our brave soldiers in harms way like this and then tie their hands to defend themselves is just wrong!!!
The Republican corporate Chamber of Commerce will do everything possible to keep illegals working in our undocumented national economy.
You want to put an end to illegal immigration? Fine every employer $100,000 for each illegal hired. Instead, Republicans insist that the employer must “knowingly” hire an illegal. Democrats have fought this issue for decades….
Republicans want to protect corporate profits even at the expense of our jobs! When Armour Meat Packing Company hired 600 illegals they claimed it was a surprise to learn the Spanish speaking immigrants were here illegally…..They got a pass from the Bush DOL.
Hell, said one executive…we thought some of them were from Peoria.
Laugh..Laugh.