And the less-than-free market goes on...

When are people going to realize that we NEED these people to work at the wages at which they work. I work at a Greek resteraunt in Phila, for instance, and I can tell you that the people who cook, and clean up after the customers ARN'T GREEK. Scares like this in my area could bring an entire campus to a grinding halt.

Is it lawful that people employ immigrant workers? Often, no. But when your lamb gyro depends on it, maybe it's right.

Maybe they should have thought twice about the fact that those "official documents" justifying the workers' right to work legally were written in crayon

Massachusetts is a long way from our southern border. I'm sure it was an honest mistake. How were they to know that a birth certificate from Guadalajara was Guadalajara Mexico and not Guadalajara Texas.

I have a friend who owns a restaurant, and most of the back-office labor (cooks, dishwashers, etc.) are Hispanic. As the owner, the government requires that my friend have every new hire provide two forms of ID - usually a driver's license and a SS card. Every applicant has those, although it is a well known secret that the SS cards are very likely fakes and many of the applicants are illegal. It is not the business owner's responsibilty to ensure the employees are legal - he only has to have copies of their two forms of ID on file. As long as he does that, the business is safe from any legal action. I'm not saying that the situation is good, but that's how the game is played. And the number of non-hispanic people applying for those jobs? Almost zero.

Kinda funny story - one night a cook cut his finger pretty good, requiring sutures to close it up. My friend offered to drive him to the hispital and pay for the medical help, but the employee absolutely refused to go. Instead, his coworker (also Hispanic) got out the Krazy glue and glued the skin together. The guy with the cut went right back to work. The reason he refused the hospital was that he would have had to provide data on who he is, a big no-no amongst that group.

Yeah, but Jesus never lies, right?

Then again, you'd think that Jesus would know real documents from fakes.

Thanks for the link.

I guess Roy is running a work at your own risk shop there in the great state of Massachusetts.

Interesting.

In at least some states, as long as the prospective employee presents ID, the business owner is forbidden from verifying that it's valid, even if it *looks* obviously fake.

Wheels is correct. I have been involved in hiring decisions where the form I-9 that is used to show elibility to work expressly threatens business owners with legal action if they attempt to go any distance beyond just the documents called out by the I-9. In other words, if the person presents papers called for by the I-9 but you don't think they really establish identity properly, you are not allowed to dig any deeper under penalty of law.

Yeah, but Taylor, we NEED them to be of legal status. I'd rather avoid food cooked, cleaned and prepared by someone who was here by whatever, could not explain who they were if/when asked and would just as easily escape into the night or down an alley when asked to provide a non-forged identification. I mean, it's just an uncomfortable feeling to look at a plate of food, a bowl of soup, a vacuumed rug or a load of clean wash and realize that all sorts of bugs, dishonesty and stealth was involved. I'd rather eat a T.V. Dinner (Swanson makes some great Hungry Man fare) and clean up my place and clothes myself than consider the alternatives.

The country does NOT "need" ten, eleven million people here illegally. We need legal immigrants who want to become Americans and go about meeting the requirements to do so, we don't need people who could care less about legalities and the overall conditions of others and that they negatively impact them.

And that includes unrealiable businesses that hire illegal aliens and then blame it all on the economy and whatever else they can think of when found out. We don't need them, either -- I'd go so far as to suggest a public list of businesses that DO employ illegal aliens so I can stop buying their goods and services.

And, so, Ken's story (^^) is exactly why the idea of food preparation and service of all sorts by illegals should not be allowed. You have to have A HEALTH CERTIFICATE to get jobs in food service and that includes an exam by a physician, chest x-rays and blood tests.

And so does citizenship require a basic health screening, particularly for tuberculosis.

The guy in Ken's story could very well have avoided an E.R. because he knew he was working with some infectious problem -- Hepatitis of some variety or even T.B. You never know unless you do the tests and see the results.

Illegal aliens get forged documents, yes, but they also get FORGED HEALTH CERTIFICATES and God only knows how many people have caught T.B. and Hepatitis and other things by having the food "washed" and prepped and cooked and served up by people with various infections.

~~Oh, but they work cheap. Just doing the work that Americans won't do.~~

You would be suprised at the amount of illegal aliens working in restaurants in the Detroit, and metro Detroit area. If most people know this goes on it is very doubtful the governemnt does not. However, you never hear of much action being taken. Interesting.
Raymond B
www.voteswagon.com

I don't know... If Jesus told me something, I'd probably not check his facts...

Hell dat... If Jesus is telling me anything, then it's time to check my meds!

-S- said: "The country does NOT "need" ten, eleven million people here illegally. We need legal immigrants who want to become Americans and go about meeting the requirements to do so, we don't need people who could care less about legalities and the overall conditions of others and that they negatively impact them."

The problem is their is no line for these people to enter legally. Under U.S. immigration law there's no place for hardworking undereducated workers. Without migrant labor many of our gorwing cities in the South/Southwest would effectively shut down. Our country has run with the tacit understanding that illegal works will be available for such a long period that "kick them all out" isn't a solution.

As a bit of a libertarian I tend to think that free markets and natural rights justify these people laboring where they sow the most rewards. While we could improve the system, enforcing a cartel that excludes workers for being born in the wrong place is not the way to do it.

As a bit of a libertarian I tend to think that free markets and natural rights justify these people laboring where they sow the most rewards.

Unfortunately, "...where they sow the most rewards" includes an education and most medical care paid for by someone else... NOT very libertarian.

scott, illegal immigrants working under forged documents certainly do pay taxes. There's $374 billion in the Social Security earnings suspense file alone.

As I've said previously, when a particular system works, there is little incentive to fix it, even if the system is illegal, corrupt, or just plain wrong. If a guest worker program, or legal immigration was as cost effective as the present system, you would see politicians clamoring for these types of changes. There would be an all-encompasing fence separating our two countries. However the cost/benefit ratio is not conducive to enforcement. No matter what the rhetoric of the week is, from EITHER party.

Unfortunately, it will take a massive cost, possibly due to Al Queda coming over from either the north or the south, before our border protection is taken seriously.