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Obama’s Enforcement Strategy To Eliminate Illegally Employed Workers

In the recent news the Obama administration has replaced immigration raids at factories and farms with a quieter enforcement strategy: sending federal agents to scour companies’ records for illegal immigrant workers.  While the sweeps of the past commonly led to the deportation of such workers, the “silent raids,” as employers call the audits, usually result in the workers being fired, but in many cases they are not deported. Over the past year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has conducted audits of employee files at more than 2,900 companies. The agency has levied a record $3 million in civil fines so far this year on businesses that hired unauthorized immigrants, according to official figures. Thousands of those workers have been fired.

Employers say the audits reach more companies than the work-site roundups of the administration of President George W. Bush. The audits force businesses to fire every suspected illegal immigrant on the payroll— not just those who happened to be on duty at the time of a raid — and make it much harder to hire other unauthorized workers as replacements. While the sweeps of the past commonly led to the deportation of such workers, the “silent raids,” as employers call the audits, usually result in the workers being fired, but in many cases they are not deported. The most inexpensive labour force can be the costliest for an employer if it involves illegal workers, underage workers or child labourers used in hazardous activities. It is illegal and morally wrong to hire these employees. Plus, heavy penalties are imposed on employers violating the labour laws. Regarding each prospective employee, a producer must ask the question: “Is it legal for me to hire this worker?” If the answer is no, it is risky business for the producer who goes ahead with the hiring. Here’s why.

Illegal Immigrants Illegal immigration concerns have resulted in lively congressional debates over solutions to the problem and demands for increased enforcement measures to identify and deport illegal immigrants. Enforcement measures focus more on employers, since most illegal immigrants are drawn to the U.S. for jobs and some employers have taken advantage of unauthorized workers as a cheap labour supply. The priority is to go after employers, but the policy says agents will continue to arrest illegal workers as long as local U.S. attorneys commit to prosecuting cases against their employers. The Obama administration stressed that humanitarian guidelines will be followed in more cases than under President George W. Bush. The prevailing question is the same as what Republicans ask is President Obama talking tough but softening up?

July 21, 2010 Posted by | News | , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

The Immigrant Question

Immigrant rights march for amnesty in downtown Los Angeles, California on May Day, 2006.

Date=May 1, 2006 |Author=Jonathan McIntosh |Permission=CC-BY-2.5

It is always a question especially in democratic and progressive countries where people go to them seeking to migrate into these countries. In some cases there is no problem but is some a multitude of complications arise. In the United States the issue of immigration is a considerable matter that every administration has had to grapple with. The Obama administration is no different. It promised the American people to reform the Immigration policy of the United States. But it got bogged down with health care and economic recovery policies. Now due to public concern and current events the Obama administration is pressured to make good on its promise. President Barack Obama champions reform and seeks to uplift disenfranchised sectors of American Society like the unemployed, the destitute, the racial minority and the immigrant sector. But due to the current priorities as to health care and economic recuperation immigration is something the Obama administration has not touched on. And it has escalated into a notable concern with cases like that of Arizona. The present circumstances facing the Obama Presidency compel it to act on the issue.

In recent news President Obama in a speech touched on the immigration question facing the United States. Now his government shifts gears to deal with the said question. Although it is understandable that his administration has a lot to deal with it is in fact better if he began with immigration and similar social issues. The key to undoing the decline of a political community especially from socio – economic degradation that the United States is faced lie in normalizing the social climate. The immigration issue among other social concerns does present potent barriers to ushering forward governmental reform and economic recovery. After all reforming government and fixing the economy requires that you have a stable social base to work on. Society and the nature of its dynamics are such that concerns as to the value, role and acceptability of certain sectors affect the society as a whole. Society’s social scheme is such that the unresolved social matters often bar changes in government and the economy. The simple truth is society; its government and economy are inter – liked. This means that a complication in the society will eventually and certainly permeate into government and the economy.

He Obama administration’s intention is good but in this case it is a bit misled in the sense that it assumed that it can fix the government and economy without having to deal with the social issues that pervaded American society. The fact about causing change and bringing about sustainable change all begin with society if you can cause and sustain it there then moving it into government and the economy would be an easy matter. Take the lesson learned by Welfare States like Germany, Canada and the Netherlands. They learned that if you take care and solve the societal concerns, as a prelude to dealing all policies the latter will be easy.

July 6, 2010 Posted by | News | , , , , , | Leave a Comment

Gaining Homes

Uploaded on May 31, 2008 by respres

It is a fact that the foremost implication of the American Economic decline is the loss of homes by many of its citizens. In fact the Obama administration has had to deal with the housing problem in the United States as part of its initial steps to curb the social side effects of the economic recession there. Another facet of the problem is that people who have no homes and are purchasing such were caught at a bad time or in some cases those who lost their houses could not acquire new ones.

In recent news the United States Congress backed a bill extending the closing deadline for homebuyers wherein they will have an extension as to the period they need to complete the purchase. This is a notable achievement for the Obama administration in terms of dealing with the foreclosure crisis. However its efforts are beginning to get bogged down by partisan politics and conflicting interests. Despite the good that is behind and that can be attained by the Obama administration’s housing policy it is still subject to attack and contestation. Policies may exist for the people’s benefit but are always an arena for politics. Perhaps the arguments and contention of the republicans against the said policy may be meritorious and based on viable reasons. This however does not discount the fact the existence of underlying reason as to their opposition to such policies. This may be assumptive but in the realm of politics partisan interests do exist and are different from the reasons they often express.

Any and all issues especially in democratically inclined political communities are prone to reducing every issue and very matter of government concern as an avenue for political clashes. This is not because one side handles it badly or poorly. This rather is all about how to get the upper hand. Seeing as the government of the present is run by people who are in the opposing party there is always the pursuit of opportunities to discredit those who are holding the reigns of government. The unfortunate thing is the politicians fight for every inch of influence they have could attain or could loose and the people suffer for it. As Robert Kennedy said in a speech about a pressing matter that involved the country, “this is not the time for politics”. Though politics may be present it must be set aside for the greater good of the polity. Politicians, be they democrat or republican they would in many cases treat the people and the society as a commodity.

They are quick to forget fro whom they acquired their authority and to who does the country really belong to – and it is not to them. The concepts of public service, public trust and accountability should the very values they should reflect. If they do not then they are not fit to serve and they have no place as leaders of the American polity.

July 6, 2010 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , , , | Leave a Comment

   

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