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ACTION PAGE:

What We Really Have Is An Illegal Employer Problem

The plain fact is that until Ronald Reagan called off enforcement of our labor laws we didn't have an immigration problem. The amnesty of 1986, combined with his attacks on the power of labor unions, turned a migrant population into permanent residents, taking what used to be good union jobs away from American citizens.

Under George Bush the situation has grown dramatically worse as work site enforcement has dropped 95%, and the number of employers prosecuted and fines against them have dropped to almost nothing. THAT'S our problem, friends. There is no fence that can seal our borders as long as there are employers scoffing at the law to hire people who shouldn't be here.

The one click form below will send your personal message to all your government representatives selected below, with the subject "Enforce real penalties against employers of undocumented immigrants." At the same time you can send your personal comments only as a letter to the editor of your nearest local daily newspaper if you like. CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION
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Below is a little summation on Illegal Immigration
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Illegal immigration refers to a immigration of people across national borders —in violation of the immigration laws of the country of destination. In politics, the term implies a larger social problem with consequences in other areas of government, such as economy, social welfare, education, healthcare, and costs of government services.

For nationalists (also so-called "natives") or voters illegal immigration connotes a perceived threat to traditional culture as well as having societal and real costs that exceed the possilbe benefits. (See Also Illegal immigration to the United States

 Terminology
There are various terms used to describe a person who either enters a country illegally, or who enters legally but subsequently violates the terms of their visa, permanent resident permit, or refugee permit. The status and rights of such individuals are a controversial topic of debate due to the economic vitality, job availability, and environmental costs of illegal immigration, as well as nationalism, racism, and moral concerns.

Due to the contentiousness of immigration issues, the selection of language to describe certain types of immigrants is a sensitive matter. Terms that refer to immigrants who choose to cross the border, or overstay a visa, and who do not have residency permits to live or work in the new country, include:

alien - migrant - criminal alien - foreign national - illegal immigrant/ migrant/ alien undocumented - immigrant/ migrant/ alien / worker - undocumented resident

 The terms "illegal immigrant" and "illegal alien" are commonly used phrases that refer to the illegality of the action of migration without legal authorization. The term "illegal alien" is conferred legitimacy by its official use in federal statutes. An illegal alien is a foreign national who resides in another country unlawfully, either by entering that country at a place other than a designated port-of-entry or as result of the expiration of a non-immigrant visa. Alternative terms include "illegal immigrant" and the terms "undocumented immigrant", "undocumented worker", and "paperless immigrant".

Those more supportive of the illegal immigrant community tend to replace illegal with undocumented, arguing that it is offensive to describe any human as illegal, whether or not their behavior is illegal. Undocumented worker is often used by supporters to refer to all undocumented individuals, including children and those who do not work. While alien is a term with a specific legal meaning, some argue that the term alien carries with it the negative connotations of extraterrestrials and other meanings of the word alien and is criticized by the pro-illegal immigrant community. George Lakoff, a University of California linguist and progressive strategist, has argued that "the terms 'aliens' and 'illegals' provoke fear, loathing and dread" and should thus be avoided. [1] Meanwhile, border patrol agents and those supporting stronger border controls tend to use illegal alien or the shorter illegals. Illegal immigrant is generally accepted as a neutral term suitable for use in mainstream media according to the AP Stylebook, although the National Association of Hispanic Journalists recommends undocumented immigrant.[2]

State and justice organisations focuses on the (il)legal aspects of immigration. Switzerland offices (IMES, ODR, ODM) use the terms illegal migrants « migrants illégaux »; while the European Union use the term person in illegal stay « personnes en séjour irrégulier » in its French written documents, and use « illegal migrant » in its English written documents. In English the United Nations prefer « undocumented migrants » appelation which refers to the fact that these persons are not registered in the country where they are, without criminalising them. The Organisation Internationale des Migrations (OIM) uses terms like « irregular migrant » and « irregular resident », which imply that their status is not regular but persons are not « illegal » . The organisation focuses on the negative consequences that assimilation of migrants into an illegality notion can have on people.


In the United States, 60% of illegal aliens are illegal border crossers, while 40% are visa overstayers.[

Causes of immigration flux
The international migration of people is largely driven by persons who leave perceived relative poverty and poor living conditions in their own country, or political oppression, in hopes of acquiring a better life in a new country. Nations experiencing extremes of weather, high levels of unemployment, civil war or violent political conflict, will often experience periods of emigration. Poor conditions may be a result of nations that lag in stability, security, technological skills, organizational ability, lack resources, knowledge, or political will or cohesion to build a better educated work force or a better economy.

Some immigrate to fill jobs offered by agribusiness, construction, entertainment or other typical low skilled jobs but also high paid jobs. Some immigrate to fill a relative shortage of persons with either a particular skill or training. Many immigrants desire to secure free welfare, free education and free healthcare typically offered by many developed countries for their own citizens or are able to receive these when they arrive. Some corporations seek cheaper labor. Sometimes high unemployment in less-developed nations will cause people to immigrate to find work elsewhere, due to the general imbalance in the world of trade and employment opportunities. Some are trying to escape civil wars, repression, military servitude (such as conscription, or National Service), and sexism in their native country. Advocates of free immigration characterize nearly all migrants as legitimate, implying that the real costs and benefits imposed on the rest of the population are unimportant. Conversely, advocates of restrictions believe it is a given right of citizens to defend and maintain their traditional culture and standard of living without allowing unrestricted immigration. Immigrants are often divided into political migrants and economic migrants. Those who migrate for personal reasons are generally classed as economic migrants, even if living in the new country occasionaly greatly reduces their earning potential.

Classification
Advocates of more restricted immigration divide people into political migrants - i.e. refugees - and economic migrants, while supporters of more open immigration may consider all kind of migrants as refugees. Those who migrate for personal reasons are generally classed as economic migrants, regardless whether living in the new country greatly reduces or increases their earnings potential.

Critics of the "illegal immigrant" status, such as Saskia Sassen in The Global City (1991, revised 2001), have contended that the artificial creation of legal aliens was necessary to insure the reduction of production costs and low-wages policies demanded by the "new economics". Others, such as Giorgio Agamben, have pointed out the similarity between an illegal alien, an "enemy combatant" and a Homo Sacer, a figure of Roman law deprived of any civil rights.

Methods
For a US perspective on this subject please refer to: Illegal immigration to the United States
Some illegal immigrants enter a country legally and then overstay or violate their visa, while others follow underground routes, such as illegally crossing the border without being inspected by an immigration officer at a Port of Entry (POE) with or without a valid passport and visa. The other way of becoming an illegal immigrant being for bureaucratic reasons. For example, one can be allowed to remain in a country - or protected from expulsion - because he/she needs special treatment for a medical condition, etc., without being able to regularize his/her situation and obtain a work and/or residency permit, let alone naturalization. Hence, categories of people being neither illegal immigrants nor legal citizens are created, living in a judicial "no man's land". Another example is formed by children of foreigners born in countries observing jus soli ("right of territory"), such as France. In that country, one may obtain French nationality if he was born in France - but, due to recent legislative changes, he only obtains it at the age of eighteen, and only if he asks for it. Some who, for one reason or another, haven't asked for it, suddenly become illegal aliens on their eighteenth birthday, making them eligible for expulsion by police forces.

Immigrants from nations that do not have an automatic visa agreements, or who would not otherwise qualify for a visa, often cross the borders illegally. In some areas like the U.S.-Mexico border, the Strait of Gibraltar, Fuerteventura and the Strait of Otranto. Because these methods must be extralegal, they are often dangerous. Would-be immigrants suffocate in shipping containers, boxcars, and trucks, sink in unseaworthy vessels, die of dehydration or exposure during long walks without water. Sometimes migrants are abandoned by their human traffickers if there are difficulties, often dying in the process. Others may be victims of intentional killing. The official estimate, for example across the US-Mexican border, is that between 1998 and 2004 there were 1,954 people who died in illegal crossings. These smugglers often charge a hefty fee, and have been known to abuse their customers in attempts to have the debt repaid.

The Snakeheads gang of Fujian, China, has been smuggling labor into Pacific Rim nations for over a century, making Chinatowns frequent centers of illegal immigration.[5]

People smuggling may also be involuntary. Following the close of the legal international slave trade by the European nations and the United States in the early 19th century the illegal importation of slaves into America continued for decades, albeit at much reduced levels.

The so-called "white slave trade" referred to the smuggling of women, almost always under duress or fraud, for the purposes of forced prostitution. Now more generically called "sexual slavery" it continues to be a problem, particularly in Europe and the Middle East, though there have been increasing cases in the U.S.

Legal and political status
See also: Illegal immigration to the United States, Immigration to the United States, Australian immigration, Immigration to the United Kingdom, Illegal immigrants in Malaysia.
Many countries have or had laws restricting immigration for economic or nationalistic political reasons. Whether a person is permitted to stay in a country legally may be decided on by quotas or point systems or may be based on considerations such as family ties (marriage, elderly mother, etc.). Exceptions relative to political refugees or to sick people are also common. Immigrants who do not participate in these legal proceedings or who are denied permission under them and still enter or stay in the country are considered illegal immigrants.

Most countries also have laws requiring workers to have proper documentation, often intended to prevent the employment of illegal immigrants. However the penalties against employers are not always enforced consistently and fairly, which means that employers can easily use illegal immigrant labor. Agriculture, construction, domestic service, restaurants, resorts, and prostitution are the leading legal and illegal jobs that undocumented workers are most likely to fill.

In response to the outcry following popular knowledge of the Holocaust, the newly-established U.N. held an international conference on refugees, where it was decided that refugees (legally defined to be people who are persecuted in their original country and then enter another country seeking safety) should be exempted from immigration laws. It is, however, up to the countries involved to decide if a particular immigrant is a refugee or not, and hence whether they are subject to the immigration controls.

The right to freedom of movement of an individual within National borders is often contained within the constitution or in a country's human rights legislation, but these rights are restricted to citizens and exclude all others. Some argue that the freedom of movement both within and between countries is a basic human right and that Nationalism and immigration policies of State Governments violate the human right of freedom of movement that those same governments recognise within their own borders. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, fundamental human rights are violated when Citizens are forbidden to leave their country. (Article 13). Of course this only assists immigrants with the first part of their immigration process and does not assist with the second, settling in their new home.

Since immigrants without proper legal status have no valid identity cards or other official identification documents. Thus, they may have reduced or even no access to public health systems, proper housing, education and banks, which may result in the creation or expansion of an illegal underground economy to provide these services.

The presence of illegal immigrants often generates opposition. A perception may exist among some parts of the public in receiving countries linking illegal (or even legal) immigrants to crime increases, an accusation that others may claim is "anti-immigrant" or "xenophobic". When the authorities are overwhelmed in their efforts to stop illegal immigration, they have historically provided amnesty. Amnesties, which are becoming less tolerated by the citizenry,[citation needed] waive the "subject to deportation" clause associated with illegal aliens.

Economic and social involvement
Most countries have laws requiring workers to have proper documentation, often intended to prevent or minimize the employment of unauthorized immigrants. However the penalties against employers are often small and the acceptable identification requirements vague and ill defined as well as being seldom checked or enforced, making it easy for employers to hire unauthorized labor. Agriculture, construction, hotel and motel work, domestic service, restaurants, resorts, and prostitution are the jobs that unauthorized workers, who often have limited education, are most likely to fill. For example, it is estimated by some that 80% of U.S. crop workers (~5% of the unauthorized workers in the U.S.[citation needed]) are without valid legal status. Approximately 5% of all prisoners in jail are also without valid legal status,[citation needed] although studies of Mexican immigrants to the United States have suggested that unauthorized immigration may in fact be associated with decreased crime.[1]Unauthorized immigrants are especially popular with many employers because they can pay less than the legal minimum wage or have unsafe working conditions secure in the knowledge that few unauthorized workers will report them to the authorities. Often the minimum wages in one country can be several times the prevailing wage in the unauthorized immigrant's country making even these jobs attractive to the unauthorized worker. Most unauthorized workers are paid well above minimum wage.

Many members of the public react negatively to the presence of unauthorized immigrants, allegedly taking jobs they would like, crowding their streets, markets, schools, prisons and emergency rooms, and such sentiments are often exploited politically. However, allegations that the presence of unauthorized immigrants means increased costs and increased rates of crime and unemployment with few compensating benefits are conversely attacked by unauthorized immigrant advocates as "anti-immigrant" or "xenophobic." Occasionally, authorities issue amnesties (often called regularization, earned legalization or guest worker programs). More read on this subject CLICK HERE