It's Not That Complicated

I've got nine employees and every one has been vetted through the federal E-verify system. This is so I don't break federal law by hiring someone unable to legally work for me. It's free and it's not very complicated really. However, there a 1.75 million undocumented workers here in California. How is this possible if I'm required by federal law to only hire people legally able to work?

It's simple, really. Businesses are allowed to get away with this. When government attempts to attack the demand side of labor, these businesses, the businesses complain loudly and government backs off. They used to complain loudly when California was run by Republicans, but Democrats tend not to crack down on such things, so instead they complain loudly in Republican controlled states like Texas.

This happens obviously, because hiring undocumented workers is incredibly lucrative with no significant penalties if you're caught. There is really no red or blue position on this, it's all green. Cash dollars. If the government was serious about immigration reform, it would prosecute businesses that hire undocumented worker. Kill the demand side of this equation.

Because we won't address demand, businesses like mine comply with the law, while big businesses enrich themselves on cheap, illicit labor. We've given these 1.75 million workers a wink and a nudge for pretty much forever, as the southern border has been nothing but a literal line in the sand for hundreds of years. Serious border enforcement is a historically new thing. This is probably difficult for non border state residents to understand.

The border has almost always been porous and border states benefit greatly from this. We have actively encouraged these people to come, to fill 1.75 million jobs. To go after them and their families is to cause great human misery and suffering in denial of how we've not only used them in the past, but how we actively use them right now.  It's a tremendous act of cowardice.

I wrote this because I'm a business owner in California and I want it clear, this is not a complicated issue. This is an issue of greed and turning away from responsibility. We want to have our cake (cheap labor, cheap food, cheap construction, cheap manufactured goods), while also eating it too (whitewashing society and denying these people are part of our communities). It's just pure avarice and cowardice from my perspective. It's not that complicated.