Doing The Jobs Americans Should Be Doing

October 21, 2005

 

What's this? Illegal aliens working at U.S. military bases nabbed? That was a recent headline from the Associate Press. It may have been a shock to many but for those of us who follow this issue closely, it was business as usual.

 

Although the illegals worked for private contractors instead of working directly for the government, they were paid with your tax dollars. “The motive of these particular individuals remains unclear,” complained Congressman Robin Hayes whose North Carolina district includes Fort Bragg. “However, my greatest concern is that they were able to gain access to the installation at all.”

 

Indeed.

 

In the wake of September 11, it's inexcusable that any illegal alien should gain access to our military installations but the report said 150 had been caught in the past year.

 

That's not the only area in which your tax dollars are being shelled out to illegal aliens. The clean up and rebuilding of the devastated Gulf Coast region, especially New Orleans, is being farmed out to many contractors who hire illegal aliens. I've heard complaints from all over the region about illegals being bussed in while American workers who traveled to the area specifically for jobs are being turned away. The billions upon billions of dollars you hear about on a regular basis being funneled to that region are paying for these illegal aliens, to the detriment of Americans looking for work.

 

If that weren't enough of a kick in the teeth, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) reports that government estimates put the number of displaced workers from the Gulf Coast at around 400,000. These displaced workers, who are seeking jobs in other parts of the country, are finding those jobs filled by illegal aliens. So much for the theory that illegals are doing the work Americans won't do, they write.

 

FAIR has been at the forefront of the illegal immigration reform movement and they've just released their recommendations for measures that must be taken to solve this problem. Many of their suggestions mirror exactly what we have been saying in the Demagnetize Tennessee movement.

 

Among FAIR's suggestions: Mandatory work eligibility requirements. In other words, put a system in place where an employer can call one number and verify a Social Security number to ensure the person applying for the job is legal. That system is already in place. FAIR proposes making its use by employers mandatory. They also want to tack on tough penalties for those who don't comply. They also want to enable individuals to sue employers who either displace them or refuse to hire them because of an illegal alien. This added scrutiny would surely put needed pressure on employers to do the right thing.

 

FAIR also advocates limits on the use of the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). This number is not only used by illegal aliens in lieu of a Social Security number, it is used to obtain mortgages from companies who purposely go after the illegal alien market. These loans, by the way, are insured by your tax dollars. They want to put an end to in-state tuition for illegals as well as require verification of citizenship in order to receive Medicaid.

 

These are just a few of their proposals. The rest can be found on their website at fairus.org.

 

The debate over illegal immigration in Congress will be heating up soon. Many want to contain the debate to how much more ground will be given to the illegal alien advocates. As Americans, we must demand more. It's time we stopped giving ground on this issue and started taking some back.