Not Everyone in Orange County Hates Undocumented Immigrants

Orange County is a strange place. Its like outer space, with buildings popping up amid the cactus in a kind of unnatural way. I've been here a couple of days and often think about the nearby ICE raids as I see the immigrant workers at the hotel I stay at.

It is so illogical to terrorize the people that keep the county going. Maybe the Orange County Register sees this...


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Friday, October 5, 2007
Editorial: Immigration raids unite sides in uproar
Elsewhere, lawsuit halts feds' plan to order companies check workers Social Security numbers.
An Orange County Register editorial

It is almost impossible to avoid the suspicion that the recent flurry of arrests by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is more symbolic than substantive. Unfortunately, the raids are more likely to exacerbate polarization than to develop a consensus.

Some 1,300 immigrants have been apprehended the past two weeks in Southern California, and, judging by news reports, the campaign has been nationwide. Meanwhile, a program to mail notices to 140,000 employers, informing them that some of their employees' Social Security numbers do not match government records and they would do well to investigate the workers and fire them if they turn out to be illegal immigrants, is on hold, thanks to a lawsuit filed by the AFL-CIO and the ACLU, joined by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and several business groups.

The suspicion is that the Bush administration, frustrated that its "comprehensive" immigration reform failed to get any traction in Congress, is engaging in conspicuous enforcement with the idea that if business relationships are sufficiently disrupted, support for its proposals or something similar will grow. However, the raids instead are providing something for all sides to complain about.

For those who see recent immigration as alarming, arresting 1,300 people – or even some 30,000 nationwide, as figures for the year to date suggest – is but a drop in the bucket compared with the 12 million or so illegal immigrants most authorities believe are in the country now. For those who see immigration as mostly beneficial, the fact that of 62 people arrested in Orange County, for example, only eight were fugitive criminals, and seven were fugitives, suggests that the enforcement net has been cast indiscriminately, creating havoc for people who, despite their immigration status, are working and contributing.

It will probably be a long time, if ever, before a consensus emerges around our editorial position, that the quotas for immigrants are too low, and the best approach would be to allow anybody who wants to come to immigrate (except terrorists and those with infectious diseases), but making it clear that they are not eligible for any government benefits until they have lived, worked and paid taxes here for a reasonable period of time.

But we keep hoping.




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