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  #1  
Old 12-21-2006, 10:31 AM
t walgamuth's Avatar
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12/22/06 ruben navarrette jr. column

ruben is one of those right leaning people with hispanic surnames who happens to write for the san diego tribune. his column is syndicated and shows up regularly in the local lafayette paper. since he is right leaning we seldom agree on anything.

today his column deals with a federal prosecution of "the Golden state fence co," located in so. cal. this is a company who has built a significant number of miles of fence at the us/mexico border. it seems that they have been regularly and blatantly hiring illegal immigrants for their work force. the federal fine is over $4,000,000. the top executives will be personally paying $200k and $100k.

i am truly surprised that ruben agrees with me on this since he usually takes a very right lean look at things. we agree that this is the only way to actually stop or slow the flow of illegal workers into our country.

anyone interested can probably find the column on line somewhere.

tom walgamuth

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  #2  
Old 12-21-2006, 09:42 PM
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Originally Posted by t walgamuth View Post
column deals with a federal prosecution of "the Golden state fence co," located in so. cal. this is a company who has built a significant number of miles of fence at the us/mexico border. it seems that they have been regularly and blatantly hiring illegal immigrants for their work force.

tom walgamuth
Now that's ironic.
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  #3  
Old 12-21-2006, 10:24 PM
t walgamuth's Avatar
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yeah.

tom w
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  #4  
Old 12-22-2006, 12:26 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by t walgamuth View Post
i am truly surprised that ruben agrees with me on this since he usually takes a very right lean look at things. we agree that this is the only way to actually stop or slow the flow of illegal workers into our country.

anyone interested can probably find the column on line somewhere.

tom walgamuth
I'm a little confused. Right leaning people, or conservatives, favor enforcing the law as written. The Feds are enforcing the law. So why am I confused about this?

BTW, I am an immigrant who favors strict immigration law enforcement.
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  #5  
Old 12-22-2006, 03:40 AM
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what are you confused about?

although you personally believe certain things does not mean that all "conservatives" believe the same way.

the reality is that most right leaning politicians favor "lasse faire" when it comes to big business, meaning that the illegals are fair game to abuse but the fat cats who make big political contributions are let to operate with a free hand.

and the current crop of republicans are as far from fiscal conservatism as you can get. they are borrow and spenders of your children's money. awarding fat contracts to their political supporters at the tax payer expense.

i suggest you try to find a copy of his column and read it.

tom w
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..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.
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  #6  
Old 12-22-2006, 05:10 AM
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Article

December 20, 2006
Go After Employers, Not Immigrants

By Ruben Navarrette
SAN DIEGO -- Christmas came early for those of us who believe that the only honest way to combat illegal immigration is to bring criminal charges against the employers who hire illegal immigrants.
That's what happened recently in a case involving Golden State Fence Co., a Southern California-based company that has built fences on the U.S.-Mexico border to keep out illegal immigrants. The company and two of its executives recently pled guilty in U.S. District Court to knowingly hiring illegal immigrants in violation of the Immigration Reform and Control Act.
Perfect. And don't kid yourself. This doesn't seem to be a case of a well-meaning employer who tried to do the right thing but couldn't tell a fake ID from a real one. According to federal investigators, Golden State Fence Co. had repeatedly been warned not to hire illegal immigrants but did so anyway. The company even rehired some workers after being told not to because the workers were here illegally.
How brazen. It's as if company officials either didn't care about the law or perhaps never thought they'd get caught. Now that they have worked out a plea agreement with the government, the company and top executives have openly admitted to repeatedly hiring illegal workers between January 1999 and November 2005.
During roughly the same time period, Golden State Fence Co. -- which now employs about 750 people -- enjoyed a boom in business. According to The Associated Press, sales for the company went from $60 million in 1998 to $150 million in 2004.
As part of the plea, the company agreed to pay a penalty of $4.7 million. In addition, Mel Kay, company founder, chairman and president, will hand over $200,000, and office manager Michael McLaughlin agreed to pay $100,000.
The charges also call for potential jail time, anywhere from six months to five years, for the two executives. Sentencing is set for March 28.
This sort of thing happens only once in a blue moon. Criminal prosecutions of those who hire illegal immigrants are incredibly rare. Much too rare, if you ask me. The law should be rewritten to make it easier for the government to go after employers, even those who aren't as blatant as Golden State Fence Co. about flouting the law. And any federal crackdown shouldn't come with exemptions for the casual user -- those private citizens who have come to depend so heavily on gardeners, nannies and housekeepers.
Still, even the threat of civil penalties is enough to sometimes make employers and those who defend them squeamish.
I've seen tough-talking Republican candidates for Congress stumble and stammer when asked if their crusade against illegal immigrants extended to confiscating the assets of companies that hire illegal immigrants. And I've seen members of the Minutemen, that border vigilante group, stand up at public forums and express heartfelt concern about those poor employers who might have their 4th Amendment rights trampled by authorities in worksite raids.
Some of the most recent raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) occurred just last week. The target was Swift & Co. meatpacking plants in six states: Iowa, Nebraska, Texas, Colorado, Utah and Minnesota. Those raids netted 1,282 illegal immigrants. But the company wasn't charged with any wrongdoing, and neither were any executives or supervisors.
Did company officials know that they had so many illegal immigrants working for them? Believe what you like. But consider this: Swift & Co. executives have said they tried to work with immigration officials to prevent the raid and that -- once they became aware of ICE's interest in their work force in March -- conducted internal interviews of employees. More than 400 workers left the company. According to Swift's general counsel, at one point, ICE asked the company to stop the interviews -- which probably alerted workers that a sweep was coming.
I bet that officials at Golden State Fence Co. are sorry they didn't think of that gimmick. Lawyers for Kay and McLaughlin say they'll ask for leniency at the sentencing hearing. But what the defendants deserve is some time in a jail cell.
It's people like these who are the source of the problem and yet they fly quietly under the radar, making their profits, while opportunistic politicians, law enforcement and border vigilantes are content to pick on illegal immigrants -- who can't vote, usually don't speak English and can't defend themselves.
That's not sporting. In fact, it's just awful, and it runs counter to the best traditions of a country that prides itself on not singling out the little guy while the big guy is free to hire again.
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  #7  
Old 12-22-2006, 10:17 AM
t walgamuth's Avatar
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thanks, man.

that is what i would have done if i was smart enough to figure out how to do it.

tom w
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..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.
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  #8  
Old 12-22-2006, 04:14 PM
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It's definitely is a subject, larger than one would imagine. I have to read a little more. I scanned over Navarrette's articles briefly, he writes pretty well. I got to read more though.
I mean, what's going on in all of this border issue, could make me loose my last hair ...
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  #9  
Old 12-23-2006, 10:00 AM
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It'll be interesting to see how they will get away with it.
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  #10  
Old 12-23-2006, 10:14 AM
t walgamuth's Avatar
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well, it sounds like they have been nailed well and truly.

good as far as i am concerned.

shut them down.

you can't blame starving folks for coming up here to get jobs. shut the job providers down.

this serious fining may help some. it would give me pause if i were an illegall hirer.

tom w
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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.
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  #11  
Old 12-23-2006, 10:20 AM
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Jail time is what makes the difference here.
The fines they maybe able to absorb.
It's up for trail March 28. Thing is, they close down, another pops up.
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  #12  
Old 12-23-2006, 10:46 AM
t walgamuth's Avatar
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still it seems like an honest effort.

compared to the political postureing about illegals in the mid term elections.

what bs.

tom w
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..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.
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  #13  
Old 12-24-2006, 02:15 AM
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Originally Posted by LaRondo View Post
Jail time is what makes the difference here.
The fines they maybe able to absorb.
Absolutely correct! Jail time and you'll even start hearing things about jail reform too!!!

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1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

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