JUST weeks after the great illegal immigrant amnesty sham collapsed in the US Senate, Arizona legislators passed the state's new two-strikes law. Businesses throughout Arizona — including truck fleets, storage terminals, transloading facilities, tank wash racks, and cargo tank repair shops — will be affected.
Arizona businesses should have plenty of company, though. Similar versions of the Arizona law are being considered in at least 40 other states. The Arizona law, which takes effect in January 2008, requires every business in the state to verify the legal status of every new employee. Under the law, the first violation can bring suspension of the business license. A second violation can result in permanent loss of license, essentially putting the company out of business.
Arizona didn't really break any new ground with this state law. It already is a federal offense for businesses to hire illegal immigrants, but the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 hasn't been enforced very much. Included in the federal law is an identification verification system, called the Basic Pilot Program. The new Arizona law will require businesses to use that program to check residences against Social Security numbers when verifying the status of job applicants.
Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano said she signed the state legislation into law because the US Congress had failed miserably in its efforts to pass the sort of comprehensive immigration reforms needed in the United States. She might have added that the federal government (especially the Department of Homeland Security) also has done a pathetic job of enforcing existing immigration law.
Historian Victor Davis Hanson recently wrote that the Senate immigration bill failed in June because millions of Americans opposed it largely out of the belief that the legislation provided virtual amnesty to illegal aliens. Americans also were skeptical about the hundreds of pages of new regulations that were to be piled on top of regulations adopted in 1986 that weren't being enforced and were blamed for making the illegal immigration issue worse.
The American public wants the illegal immigration issue to be resolved in an equitable manner. They want the laws of this country to be enforced, and they want our national security to be safeguarded. Make no mistake, illegal immigration is a criminal act, and there are victims.
Illegal immigrants have established entry routes into the United States that also have been used by alleged terrorists, drug smugglers, and criminal gangs. Illegal immigrants help support a widespread criminal network that is involved in document forgery and identity theft.
The illegal immigration pipeline has created a shadow world in which the illegals are victimized by the same criminals who help them enter the United States. Here in Houston, Texas, we see frequent news reports of illegal immigrants being held for ransom by the coyotes. Women in the illegal immigration pipeline are sold into prostitution.
Illegal immigrants do not pay their fair share in taxes, but they use a significant amount of public services. When illegal immigrants need medical care and can't pay for it, the rest of us pick up the tab in the form of higher insurance premiums.
Many illegal immigrants work outside the formal economy. Most send a substantial portion of their income back to their home countries, and that has become a major outflow of dollars from this country. Ultimately, the US economy will suffer.
Unscrupulous US businesses use illegal immigrants simply as a means of driving down wages so the business owners can maximize profits. That may be the biggest crime of all because depressed wages hurt many Americans who can least afford the reduction in income. That includes truck drivers.
It's unfortunate that federal inaction has forced states to take the initiative to rein in illegal immigration. Arizona's law seems to be the right way to go, because it will help cut the jobs that have attracted an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the first place.
Once enforcement begins to show results, we need to launch a new national effort for immigration reform. Industry and government must work together to determine how many foreign workers are needed, how to best document them, and how to expedite the process of getting them here.
This country was built on immigration, and immigrants should still have an opportunity to share in the American dream. However, the American dream won't last if we can't restore the rule of law to the immigration process.