Being dominated by beltway insiders, the Washington Post isn't my favorite daily rag. But today they have a good article about the lack of enforcement of immigration laws by Employers.
The best money quote from the article is:
"I know what it takes to get a criminal case," said Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), a former state prosecutor and member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee. ". . . Why is it that hundreds of bar owners can be sanctioned in Missouri every year for letting somebody with a fake ID have a beer, but we can't manage to sanction hundreds of employers for letting people use fake identities to obtain a job?"
Democratic political consultants have advised the party's lawmakers -- who already are on the defensive about immigration policy -- that the Bush administration's failure to more aggressively target powerful corporations may be a vulnerability for Republican candidates who are seeking to make immigration a campaign issue.
The article goes on to reference a Democratic think-tank Democracy Corps. The main purpose of Democracy Corps is the commissioning of policy studies for use by Democratic candidates. One of the more interesting ones is a study on Immigration that focuses on Employer crackdowns rather than punitive Worker enforcement. A key point from the study states:
The workplace and the employer should be a central point in the Democratic narrative. First, it is the starting point for enforcement: four out of five voters favor tougher enforcement to prevent businesses from hiring illegal workers and over three-quarters want to double the number of border patrol agents. Later, we shall see that the Democrats’ strongest critique and message focuses on employers, freed from enforcement, taking advantage in creating a cheap labor force.
It's an informative read, with lot's of detailed polling and policy talking points. I would agree with the authors salient points, and have to wonder if the Democratic Candidates don't have a tin ear on this one. Most of the party rhetoric at present is focused on amnesty - which in itself is a net positive. But the American people also want a long-term solution to illegal immigration. Which means that amnesty needs to be sold with Employer sanctions. Otherwise voter perception is that the problem will only re-occur.
Interesting to note that the report stresses that Democrats ignore the Immigration issue at their peril.
Happy Holidays to all!