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Worker permits for illegals aim of bill

March 31, 2012

Two California lawmakers, a Republican and Democrat, have introduced a measure to grant work permits to undocumented immigrants who have been living in the state for years. (Sacramento Bee)

“We’re tired of waiting for a federal solution,” said the pair, Linda Halderman (R-Fresno) and V. Manuel Perez, (D-Coachella), adding that they believe it is time to end the chants of “Deport them all!” from the right, and “Amesty for all!” from the left.

Their plan, AB1544, would create a permit process allowing for workers in industries where not enough California residents are willing to take open jobs, such as janitorial work and housekeeping. The plan wound need endorsement from federal authorities if it passes the statehouse. And participants must undergo a background check and be proficient in, or learning, the English language.

The bill would allow businesses to hire such worked in agriculture and service industries. No hearings on the bill have yet been set.


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A deceitful diversion about immigration enforcement


Rick Oltman


SF Immigration Examiner


http://www.examiner.com/immigration-in-san-francisco/a-lying-diversion


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The plot thickens:


DHS To Grant Illegal Aliens “Unlawful Presence Waivers”


April 02, 2012


In its quest to implement stealth amnesty, the Obama Administration is working behind the scenes to halt the deportation of certain illegal immigrants by granting them “unlawful presence waivers.”


The new measure would apply to illegal aliens who are relatives of American citizens. Here is how it would work, according to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announcement posted in today’s Federal Register, the daily journal of the U.S. government; the agency will grant “unlawful presence waivers” to illegal aliens who can prove they have a relative that’s a U.S. citizen.


More: http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2012/04/dhs-to-grant-illegal-aliens-unlawful-presence-waivers/


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The same faction that decries the illegals in staying in California, under any reason, are the same ones that would whine about having to pay $5.00 per Cantaloupe! Face it, who in the hell is going to bend over all day at close to minimum wage to pick those vegetables so we can have inexpensive produce? Are your children ready to perform this act?


Besides, TRUE Christians have to follow biblical doctrine stated by Jesus Himself, so they cannot support the deporting of this faction in any way whatsoever, and in turn, they’re to help them to their fullest extent, to wit:


Jesus said: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. Protect the rights of all who are helpless.” ( Proverbs 31:8)


“For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’ (Deuteronomy 15:11)


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You’re right Ted. True Christians have to follow biblical doctrine.

Take Romans 13:1 for instance, “Let every soul be a subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.”

My governing authorities have deemed these people as illegal. I am a Christian, who is a respects my governing authority, therefore I fully support deportation for those who are here illegally.


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Excuse my grammar, “I am a Christian, who respects my……..”


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oceanoguy,


Civil government is secular in nature while Christianity is spiritual in the laws of our Christian God.


There is a time when we should intentionally disobey the laws of the land and an example of this is found in Acts 5:27-29, “Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. ‘We gave you strict orders not to teach in this Name,’ he said. ‘Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.’ Peter and the other apostles replied: ‘WE MUST OBEY GOD RATHER THAN MEN!’“ Do you perceive to know more than Peter and the Apostles in this case?


From this, it is clear that as long as the law of the land DOES NOT contradict the law of God, we are bound to obey the law of the land.


But, YOUR GOD has deemed it proper to take care of the poor in Proverbs 31:8, Deuteronomy 15:1, Galatians 2:10, 1 John 3:17-18, Matthew 19:21, and many other examples in the bible. It matters not that they are allegedly illegal, get it?


As the above example provides, as soon as the law of the land contradicts God’s command, we are to disobey the law of the land and obey God’s law. However, even in that instance, we are to accept the government’s ramifications in following God’s laws over man. This is demonstrated by the fact that Peter and John did not protest being flogged, but instead rejoiced that they suffered for obeying God (Acts 5:40-42).


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When our elected officials from the President on down (really down in his case) dont they swear to uphold the laws of this nation? Since when do they get to pick and choose? If those elected dont uphold why arent they arrested or forced from their positions and/or jailed?


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For the same reason they didn’t impeach FDR for drinking in the white house during prohibition.

The law was a sham, just like our immigration laws, widely ignored and unenforced. It proved much better to change the law, just like the moronic war or drugs. It may take some time, but eventually a light bulb will go off and the government will find a way to accommodate these workers while making a pot of taxes off them too.


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All of this is a sham. It is an election year and Obama annouced this week that his administration is going to develop a program to FAST TRACK illegals living here and have family here or are here on work permits to full citizenship. SEND ALL THE ILLEGALS HOME, LET THEM APPLY FOR WORK PERMITS – 9 MONTHS LIKE THE LAW SAYS and then they must go home and reapply. Let one illegal in and 10 more follow that one because no one wants to enforce the laws of this nation. I am absolutely for a Work Program that WORKS. Hire only immigrants on the other side of the border, send the others home after fingerprinting their illegal status and they will no longer be eligible to work or enter the U.S. or receive the benefits if found illegally in our Country. DO IT BY THE LAW – NOT OBAMA OR DEMOCRAT’S LAW BUT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA LAW. Stop all the pandering to special illegal groups whoever they, whoever they pay favors to and whoever they vote for are including the unions!!!!! We waste so much resources on all this illegal activity the goal should be to stop it not enhance it.


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SLOBIRD –


Your idea sounds pretty logical but there are questions. Are you suggesting that the immigrants apply in Mexico to come here to work? If so, how do we entice the Mexican government to do all the paperwork & investigations for each applicant? What’s in it for them? Can we trust the Mexican government to follow through on their end? Also, if we send everyone home right now who works for our farmers while this new regulation is being set up & implemented? How do we get our food to our tables?


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celebratepaso-


YES, they apply in Mexico. “…how do we entice the Mexican government…” is the millions of dollars that flow across that border every year. Mexico has a lot to gain in cooperating with us. I don’t want to use and abuse people, I just want the law to be followed. We have become a lawless nation. All we have to do is look around us. Where is Attorney General Holder when the blank panlters put a contract on a citizen, look how MSNBC commentor Sharpton and several congressment are enticing people (with Jesse Jackson) regarding this tragic incident. We have Spike Lee taking cameras to elderly peoples homes, Roseanne Barr tweeting their address and no law stepping up to the plate and doing the right thing. No one is going to do anything about illegals accept to continue to give them benefits, rights and backdoor deals of citizenship and then they move into construction, landscape, restaurant work, etc, and then we need to bring more people over, and repeat this whole cycle and HELLO, we now have 14 million illega immigrants bankruptcing this Country. HELLO AMERICA!


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NO back door amnesty illegal aliens go home.


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Why not call them “illegal aliens”?


Saying “undocumented immigrants” is like saying “uncitizened waifs.”


Some California residents are not willing to take some jobs?


How about this: you don’t work, you don’t eat.


We don’t need to import illegal aliens to do the work that our own people should be doing.


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“We don’t need to import illegal aliens to do the work that our own people should be doing.” ~ The Gimlet Eye


This is a good concept, however, “our own people” do not seem to have been doing these jobs for many years (especially the agricultural work). The “undocumented immigrants”/”illegal aliens” have the work experience needed and the support of the farmers. Possibly more importantly, these workers wish to continue doing these jobs. We really do need to find a good compromise between the right & left establishments. Having said this, it might benefit all of us to hear more details about AB1544 and keep an eye out for a worthwhile compromise.


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Offer pay and benefits that will attract the workers. I don’t see a shortage of workers pumping septic tanks or separating recycle at the landfills. How could those jobs be anymore undesirable than field work? The bottom line is; the growers of this country use a source of labor that is the lowest cost. We all pay a portion of it (the medical and social) and they exploit it to maximize their profits.


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This past fall the “citizen” pickers we hired averaged $12/hour which is about a third more than the minimum wage (guaranteed $80/day). I also gave out gas money for those that needed it plus a battery in one case. They only worked for 6 to 7 hours a day in cool Avila Valley (mid-70’s) and most of them were beat at the end of the day. After figuring out it was costing me 3 times a ton more than normal, I brought in a legal veteran crew, 6 of the 8 were women, and they lapped the 16 citizen crew.


The problem, besides not being use to working in the fields, may have been the repetitiousness nature of picking (and pruning, leaf pulling, tying, etc). I don’t think Americans are use to doing the same menial task hour after hour anymore because we are now hard wired to multi-tasking. We live in an upbeat world. Most of the citizens were checking their email, talking on the phone, and had an ear plug in their ears blasting music – some to a slow waltz the way they moved. They were basically bored and showed no desire to work harder and many quit after a few days.


Once again, a guest worker program is needed with no citizenship, certified wages with deducted social and medical fees (with an incentive of getting some of it back if they don’t use services), criminal background checks, certified grower participation (hell, we have to certified in everything else any more!), must go home a couple of months a year, and other immigration concerns covered. Most growers pay a minimum of $10/hour and much more for piece work (my full time guys get $15/hour for 52 weeks a year with vacations and holidays included) which is a lot more than flipping burgers at a fast food joint.


Also no work – no government dole is not realistic in the real world until there are some real reforms into how and to whom we pay out govenment checks. Twenty of the 80 (men and women) that applied were able body but wanted cash so as to not interfere with their social security, Workman’s Comp, or unemployment income – so they are just gaming the system. Our experiment, which I will try again this year, is just one of many times farmers have tried to use locals to work in the fields that have failed mainly because it is hard work and seasonable which doesn’t work for many people.


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Conditions will get worse and the workers will get hungrier. Meanwhile, you need to keep looking for replacements. If they don’t work out, get rid of them the same as any other employer. Eventually, you will find what you are looking for. Good workers don’t grow on trees, the same as good employers don’t grow on trees.


There’s one factor that I don’t think you have considered, however. Your laborers are subsidized by the state and federal governments. I’m talking about medical, welfare, etc. How long do you think that the taxpayers can keep paying for this stuff? What happens when those subsidies run out?


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Sorry to dissappoint you but there are people here doing these jobs.

Then constantly being undercut by the illegals.

I have been doing houskeeping in SLO county for 34 years and frankly I am tired of all the cheap skates that only want a slave. I have some wonderful clients that pay me what I am worth(to them I am grateful) and have for over 20 years but then there are those that say “I can get 2 mexicans for your price”. Of course I say to them…check your quality and trustworthyness and then get back to me. Most of them do come back to me later and then I won’t work for them because I know they will not be honest with me.

Scrubbing toilets is not glorious work but it is honest hard work and I am proud to be the best at it.

If there were more people really interested in quality of daily living instead of “keeping up with the neighbors” and going on cruises and buying $5 Starbucks everyday, they would be able to afford the best housekeepers money could buy and still keep their manicures nice.


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Newt calls it the ” inherent dignity of work” Great rhetoric


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There are 2 other problems you all may not be considering…..

The work is usually seasonal and most of us that would love to work hard at any job also need that job to be all year round so we can pay our bills which are year round.

The second thing is that most of us live several miles from some of these fields and vinyards. There are busses used in some cases to transport to and from a central location…if you aren’t illegal just try to find out where that might be. It is a national secret aparently and most of us average folks can’t afford the gas anymore than anyone else.

I would be happy to pick grapes or whatever if you could keep me busy all year not just till the crop was in and offer to compensate me for gas since you don’t want to(or can’t) pay much.

Get rid of the welfare and maybe all people will get more creative with solutions!!!!


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Do me a favor and click on my piece on water rights running now in Opinion and scroll down to a previous piece “We need a guest worker program”. We honestly tried hard to hired all legal, all citizen pickers and ended up with over a 90% failure rate. You are not going to get a half million citizens to work in the fields even under the best of circumstances like we offered. So something has to be done for these jobs.


Get a guest worker program where the workers must go home for a month or two a year and you will see after a couple of years they won’t be back, replaced by others, because they can put together a grubstake to start a business back home where they want to be in the first place. This was common during the Bracero Program. No citizenship needed, make them pay into a medical fund and other social deducts and if they don’t use them then maybe a deal whereby they get all or some of their money back. You just can’t say”you don’t work, you don’t eat” because the do-gooders will find a way to protect the poor darlings from getting their hands dirty.


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It is not just the unwillingness of workers which is stopping you from finding workers.


IT IS THE WELFARE STATE WHICH IS ENABLING THEM TO AVOID THIS WORK.


Take that away, and the workers will fall into your vineyards like snowflakes.


Or, is starvation an option?


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As Russ J stated, pay more and workers will show. Then food costs will double and we all starve


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This all could be a moot point in the near future if the price of shipping to market becomes unsustainable to the farmer.

When the grocery shelves are empty because the trucks aren’t getting there…..we may all have to be in the fields picking our own food and paying by the road side. :-)

Actually that sounds damn good to me.

I’m in.


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You don’t realize what you are saying.


Believe me, that could not possibly work, though I’m all for people having gardens and being reasonably “self-reliant” in daily life.


But what you are suggesting is altogether different. If the grocery shelves are going to be “empty,” then a lot of other shelves are going to be empty, too.


If everyone is going to be TOTALLY independent, that would mean elimination of the “division of labor,” and that would mean a cessation of civilization itself.


You can’t do everything yourself and expect to live in a modern civilization as you have known it with its high standard of living. You can’t have a civilization without the “division of labor,” which is a prerequisite of an economic system.


To move in the opposite direction would be tantamount to returning to a state of “nature,” or primitivism, with no economic exchanges between people, everyone producing all his needed products for himself, but not for anyone else.


Imagine that! Think of all the modern conveniences that you would have to give up if you did that!


I’m willing to bet that even cave men swapped things with each other, first in their own little groups, then with their neighbors. They probably never got anywhere good in life until this trade took off to higher and more complex levels.


So, no, that would not be an option, unless you are willing to live like a primitive.


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I am with you on this one….I have a niece that married a man and didn’t know he was illegal (or so she says), he was here for over 20 years and got caught doing cash jobs. Needless to say he was deported and has spent the last year and a half with my niece and their children living in Tecate just below the border where she commutes to the San Diego area for a job every other day.

I love them but I say tough ta ta’s….do it right the first time with pride and save us all some money and hassle.

Now they are working with our government to get his status to come here through legal channels!!!

They are Illegal aliens to this soil if they did not go through the proper established channels to get here and break our laws,period, end of discussion. Politically correct nicieties are getting us no where.


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