p>Government officials are often accused of behaving hypocritically, but Texas Rep. Debbie Riddle has gone so far as to enshrine her own hypocrisy into law. The Republican representative from Tomball has proposed a bill that would make the deliberate hiring of an illegal immigrant a felony.
On the surface, this sounds just like another harsh law consistent with partisan politics and anti-immigration rhetoric.
The duplicity arises from the fact that the proposed law exempts anyone who hires an undocumented immigrant to work in a single-family residence.
In other words, illegal immigrants can still be hired to do your household chores without you having to fear a felony charge. No one needs to worry about who will mow their lawn, paint their house or serve as their maid.
Backers of the proposal defend it by saying that these types of workers are just too common in Texas and that such employees should be casually overlooked.
Texas Rep. Aaron Pena, a Democrat, said that without the exemption, “her bill will see a large segment of the Texas population in prison.”
Apparently Riddle and other supporters of the bill find the use of undocumented domestic servants too convenient to outlaw.
The ostensible premise of the proposed law is that by taking away the source of jobs, the incentive to cross into the U.S. illegally is removed.
From a legal standpoint, this bill is a hollow proposal. There are already federal laws that prohibit businesses and companies from employing undocumented workers.
With punishment ranging from $10,000 in fines to up to five years in prison, only the most audacious of corporations would risk hiring those who are in the country illegally. The Texas bill simply adds a state penalty on top of the existing consequences.
As it stands, federal law does not cover illegal immigrants in the domestic sector, and the state bill deliberately does not address this area either. Its selective enforcement renders it completely ineffective in curtailing the most prevalent forms of illegal immigrant employment.
In addition to being legally insignificant, this proposal reeks of arrogance and discrimination. It tacitly asserts that illegal immigrants are suitable for low-wage, menial labor, but not for more skilled and higher paying work.
Simply put, they can scrub floors but can’t work on an assembly line. If passed, the law would promote poverty and expose illegal immigrants to abuse and exploitation. Households would be free to continue hiring undocumented workers at below minimum wage, and in some instances, refuse to pay illegal immigrants at all.
Potentially dangerous jobs such as tree cutting and roof repair would remain available. Even workers of less hazardous jobs could essentially end up as indentured servants, with households detaining them under the promise of payment.
In any case, illegal immigrants would still be able to easily find work and would remain drawn to the state for employment opportunities.
Regardless of where one stands on the issue of illegal immigration, everyone should be opposed to Riddle’s self-serving grandstanding.
Her proposal is a disgraceful attempt to win political points from tea-party activists and hard-line Republicans.
If enacted, the law would neither change current hiring practices nor act as a deterrent against illegal immigration. Empty rhetoric has no place in Texas law, and this bill is nothing but thinly veiled pandering.
Idiotic rhetoric. The reasoning behind the bill is sound. If they didn't make such exceptions to the rule then you would probably have more people put behind bars than illegals deported. Hiring a housekeeper does not really justify a 2-year prison sentence. You also make the assumption that illegals are that dumb enough not to be paid for their work, if they are looking for the work then they know how to go about their business. They're the ones who define their wages, otherwise why would they work and why would one hire them if they won't work, let alone for the amount they want for their services? Not to mention you're a total idiot for ignoring the obvious FACT that the bill does CHANGE the current hiring practices seeing as it makes it illegal for illegal immigrants to be hired for everything else besides helping around households, hence the bill in the first place. It goes after major employers who have the means of verifying whether the person in question is illegal or not. The issue being attacked is that such employers knowingly hire illegal immigrants and ergo that takes jobs away from legal citizens who are able to work those jobs.
so wait, an illegal immigrant who cleans bourgeois parasite's house is less deserving of punishment than one who does construction? where does tile installation fall on the zed spectrum of unforgivable labor crimes.
incidentally, i believe all labor should move freely across borders.
ps good to see you, i've had to argue with rickyricardo and that guy sucks
Nope I'm still here bro. Just had a life you know with Spring Break and all. Good to see you aren't hurling huge insults yet and your actually posting some facts.
Anyway, I'm against illegal immigration but I think this bill is just wishful thinking. We should be spending our money on locking down the border and not hunting down every last person that came here illegally. On the other hand, with the majority of people in our prison system being illegals, I think they should be deported immediately. Technically all illegals are criminals but the ones in jail for violent crimes should be returned to their countries post haste.
I'd much rather the bill crack down on all illegal immigrants that are hired to be frank but you then run into the aforementioned problem of the fact that there are so many people who currently and have in the past employed illegal immigrants for tasks like housekeeping and landscaping. I'm not trying to downplay the seriousness of what they've done but the punishment would not fit the crime if the bill were to crack down on everyone who has hired an illegal immigrant. Like I said you'd probably end up with more people in jail than illegal immigrants actually deported. Most of them probably wouldn't have thought much of what they were doing at the time and were probably mostly innocent honest people. Sticking them in prison with actual criminals for such an act wouldn't be right.
Like I said, I don't condone the act of hiring an illegal immigrant for doing household chores, but to put someone in jail for doing such a thing is a bit stupid no matter how you look at it. Pretty much the punishment would be too harsh for normal citizens but appropriate for white-collar criminals who hire illegal immigrants for cheaper labor instead of hiring legal citizens for the minimum wage they're required to pay (which is pretty much what the bill is getting at.) I'd much rather people stop being lazy and do their chores themselves like they're supposed to.
You call illegals stupid with your spelling and grammar? Hiring an illegal is not an indirect act of violence.
I, and many others came to the United States legally. I deeply despise illegal immigration. Illegal immigrants need to be deported. Period. There should be no exceptions. If you think illegal immigrants are "important", then look at Europe, Japan etc. They do perfectly fine without millions of illegals.