While the Boston Globe ran a mostly wonky, chin-stroking Op-Ed on the grotesque abuse of human rights that immigration officials committed in New Bedford this week, the Lowell Sun — yes, the Lowell Sun — grasped the exceedingly harsh reality of the issue:
Massachusetts citizens and lawmakers can now put a face — actually, hundreds of tear-stained, panic-stricken faces — to the complicated problem of illegal immigration and the desperate need for reform.
More than 300 people were swept up and detained for possible deportation in a raid at a New Bedford leather maker Tuesday morning. Most of those working in the sweatshop were women from Guatemala and El Salvador, many also mothers and a few soon-to-be.
At this point, officials don’t know how many children have been left alone in their homes, possibly on the streets, with no idea where their parents have gone or what they should do. Most of the children are U.S. citizens, and some may be too young to care for themselves. It is a deeply troubling situation.
(Thanks to Mimi at Left in Lowell for the steer.)
Of course, even “deeply troubling” can’t really describe the total disregard for human dignity that causes 7-month-old babies to be hospitalized for dehydration. I choose my words carefully: That is immensely fucked-up.
Terrorizing poor people and tiny children simply must not, cannot be the method by which we enforce our confused and conflicted US immigration law.
Who do I mean by the real criminals? Well, here is a list:
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1. Whoever ran the immigration mill that brought these folk in [and I can smell one here].
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2. The forger who created the false documents.
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3. The factory owners and top management.
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And guess what? All of those folk are on the street. An “immigration mill” is an operation that advertises in some fashion in an impoverished county, is paid in cash, and brings people in directly to jobs, meeting them right at the airport in plain sight.
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The criminal mob that runs the immigration mill is still out there collecting bodies in countries like Guatemala and Haiti and scooping up blood money. I remember helping bust one of those folks in 1996 – but that is another story.
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The forger who ran the document forging shop – anyone want to bet he made his cash bail?
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And the owners of Michael Bianco, Inc., well, they are still tooling around in their Mercedes, with expensive attorneys, and a business. Low bidder, on that $92,000,000.00 government contract, I bet they were. It is easier to underbid when you hire workers who do not dare to complain.
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In the meantime, the same hacks who brought shame and misery to this country in the Gulf Coast have brought their mean-spirited incompetence to New Bedford.
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All preliminary processing should have been done at the former Fort Devens. There was plenty of room. And even so-called illegal immigrants should receive reasonable due process, not a home grown version of rendition.
all those DoD inspectors that Bianco claims toured his factory?
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Excuse me: Why do Federal contract assignments not come with a requirement of work authorization verification?
…all employers have for some time been required to do some check to verify that new hires were either citizens or immigrants that were permitted to work in the USofA. Regardless of whether the employers were government contractors. Is that not the case? When I was last hired, I had to present documentation–I used my US passport.
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Or is it the case that the regulations are so lax–regulations regarding documentation that would suffice for the check, that the regulations are virtually useless?
…..is a basic documentary scheme. The employer needs to collect and maintain info verifying eligibility to work in the US. It is only inspected if there is an audit or investigation.
if the federal government were really so concerned about employers hiring aliens illegally, would they not require at least spot checks of this documentation for federal contracts? Once in a while?
govt. is not actually interested in preventing undocumented immigrants from assising in getting military contracts filled, just in occasionally flexing their muscles to appeal to their base.
Wow, the Lowell Sun getting it right. Who would have thought that the Lowell Sun editorial board would ever say:
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But good for them.
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Far more importantly, Charley is absolutely right that our immigration system is completely, in his appropriately chosen words, “fucked up.” But how to improve it?
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In one of my only agreements with my more libertarian friends, I agree completely with the idea of open immigration — I believe that any additional money we spend on making the system more efficient for allowing more immigrants in will pay for itself many times over. The way we treat people who want more than anything to be HERE is disgusting. We should be welcoming immigrants, not arresting them and converting them into outlaw detainees.
That is – add up the costs, make it an installment contract, and let folk pay to come here and earn the right to be citizens. We may be skimming the cream of the crop – and getting those with a work ethic anyway, so why not “nip” the complaints in the bud of those who complain about the monetary costs of immigration, and figure out what the “cost” for legal entry should be [and not only the speciality “millionaire investor” visas – but pay as you go worker visas….and fine those who do not use the legal “pay as you go” entry system to make it unecomonmic.
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Make creating false identity documents for profit a heinous felony of some kind [say mandatory 20 years]…
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After all – the owner of Michael Biano, Inc. got a slap on the wrist, a fine, and to fly to Puerto Rico. What kind of deterrent is THAT?
…one little-known fact is that the H1B visas–I think that’s what they’re called, they’re the ones that were instituted a few years ago to allow foreign high-tech workers to immigrate to the USofA–are beloved by high-tech companies. Why? Because the visas essentially beholden the visa holder to their employer at the time the H1B visa is issued. The employer knows this, and pays the H1B visa holder at a lower pay rate than the employer might have to pay to–say–an American citizen to come work for the employer. That little scam, of course, would discourage American citizens from going into high-tech in the first place.
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In other words, the H1B visa program a scam to benefit USofA based employers at the expense of American citizens.
If you put up enough $$$ you can always enter legally as an investor.
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“Give us your tired, your poor”…
This isn’t a wonky, subtle issue. If you’re separating seven-month-old babies from their parents, you are a monster.
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If you’ve had children, try to remember what a one-year-old is like. Now imagine that neither you nor your spouse can come home. It’s been four days.
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This is not about immigration policy. If they broke the law, lock ’em up or kick ’em out. This is about a grotesque, abysmal failure to take basic steps to protec the weakest and the most innocent people there are.
…If you’re separating seven-month-old babies from their parents, you are a monster.
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But who suggested that GWBush and his malAdministration are not monsters?
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As far as I can tell, nobody in the right wingnut side of things really cares about children, except for when they’re “in utero.” After they’re out of utero, anything goes. According to them.