The Real Political Purpose of The Ice Raids By David Bacon

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/speakout/david_bacon.cfm


David Bacon

For the last several months, agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have carried out well-publicized immigration raids in factories, meatpacking plants, janitorial services, and other workplaces employing immigrants. ICE calls the workers criminals, because immigration law forbids employers to hire them.

But while workers get deported, and often must leave their children with relatives, or even strangers, don't expect to see their employers to go to jail. Further, ICE can't, and won't, deport all 12 million undocumented workers in the country. This would quickly halt many industries. Instead, these raids have a political purpose.

Last fall, after agents raided Swift & Co. meatpacking plants, Homeland Secretary Michael Chertoff told the media the deportations would show Congress the need for "stronger border security, effective interior enforcement and a temporary-worker program.'' Bush wants, he said, "a program that would allow businesses that need foreign workers, because they can't otherwise satisfy their labor needs, to be able to get those workers in a regulated program."

In his recent visit to Mexico, President Bush again proposed new guest worker programs. He proposed to allow corporations and contractors to recruit hundreds of thousands of workers a year outside of the US, and put them to work here on temporary, employment-based visas.

Two weeks ago, Congressmen Luis Gutierrez and Jeff Flake introduced a bill into Congress which would set up the kind of guest worker program the President called for. Corporations could bring in 400,000 guest workers annually, while the kind of sanctions that have led to the wave of workplace raids would be put on steroids.

Then last week, the administration and Republican Senator Jon Cornyn proposed to eliminate all family-based immigration visas, and allow people to come to the U.S. only as a result of recruitment by corporate employers. All immigrants would become guest workers.

Labor schemes like this have a long history. From 1942 to 1964 the bracero program recruited temporary immigrants, who were exploited, cheated, and deported if they tried to go on strike. Growers pitted them against workers already in the country to drive down wages. Cesar Chavez and other Latino leaders campaigned to get the program repealed.

FULL article at link.

[annabanana]

1. This sounds about right.

When they can't outsource the jobs, they'll just in-source the cheapest labor possible.

[peacetalksforall]

2. Really Republican - pit brother against brother for profit and control.

Their is no Christian in the Republican Party - it's tragic movable slavery. Horrible.