Site search
sponsored by
News
I hardly noticed him initially, just another Latino man walking east on Lakeshore early each morning. As fall arrived, the days grew short and the temperatures plummeted. Still, each morning he appeared, walking slowly, clothed in multiple drab-appearing, old layers of clothing. He was middle aged, with a scruffy beard and a tired, but purposeful gait. One day, leaving home a little late, I noticed him turn down my street, enter a home remodel work site, and start sweeping, clearing and tidying up. This went on virtually every day of the week for some six months. Twice, in passing, our eyes met. Then he was gone.
Was he one of the 12 million illegal immigrants in this country? I'll never know. I do know that each morning at this time of year scores of young and middle-aged Spanish speaking men are disgorged from vehicles all over Incline Village to clear construction sites, lay flooring, paint walls, apply roofing or otherwise work productively building someone's dream home. And then there are the Spanish-speaking gardeners, nannies, house cleaners and general fix-it fellows. Yes, Hispanics keep Incline humming, legally or otherwise.
President Bush recently tried to get an immigration bill passed by the Congress, but his credibility with the American public in general and his own party in particular has sunk so low that conservative Republicans turned on him. Result? No immigration bill in this Congress.
Politics make strange bedfellows and the failed attempt to build bipartisan consensus for this bill was a world-class example. Big business, in particular agribusiness, and the building trades all thrive on illegal immigrant workers. Nativists who perceive the erosion of American culture and labor advocates who view illegals as depressing wages and taking jobs from Americans were against the bill.
Conservatives who see illegals as breaking the law could not countenance "amnesty" as they cleverly put it, even if it was to take 10 years, many thousands of dollars, an untarnished presence in this country and a trip home before achieving a path to citizenship.
In the end, liberal democrats, moderate republicans, religious activists, humanitarians and civil libertarians were unable to move the bill forward.
So what happens now? Likely, state and local jurisdictions will have their say.
In Arizona, the governor is moving to severely penalize any employer who hires illegal immigrants. In Virginia, one county is trying to curtail social services for illegals. In some jurisdictions there is talk of criminalizing home or apartment rentals to illegal immigrants. There is even talk of refusing medical services in overburdened public hospitals.
While politicians dither and economists continue to debate whether immigration is a net benefit to the economy, there are still many millions of illegal workers in this country and there are many more arriving daily.
So long as the American economy provides manual labor and unskilled jobs, the more enterprising of the world's poor will find their way here. Some will die trying to get here and some will die after they arrive. Others will find their way into the criminal culture and our legal system. But they will keep coming.
Historically, America has been a beacon to the world, a place where, at least in theory if not always in practice, laws rather than kings and/or tyrants govern civil society.
America would no longer be the same country if it gave free passage and jobs to the several billions of the world's poor, but it will no longer be the same country if it denies basic human dignity to those millions of illegal immigrants who are already here and working.
So what can state and counties do until the federal government passes a meaningful immigration reform bill?
First, do no harm. The world, now more than ever, needs a generous and beneficient America.
Provide a state worker identification card to illegal immigrants over the course of the next few months. Then, fine any employer who hires illegals without a card. For those with a card, have all employers with, say, more than five employees, pay into a civic support fund to be used to support additional essential services.
The main burden of this plan falls where it belongs, on the employer who hires illegal immigrants.
Andrew Whyman is a nearly-retired physician who lives in Incline Village. To contact Whyman, email adwhyman@aol.com.
Was he one of the 12 million illegal immigrants in this country? I'll never know. I do know that each morning at this time of year scores of young and middle-aged Spanish speaking men are disgorged from vehicles all over Incline Village to clear construction sites, lay flooring, paint walls, apply roofing or otherwise work productively building someone's dream home. And then there are the Spanish-speaking gardeners, nannies, house cleaners and general fix-it fellows. Yes, Hispanics keep Incline humming, legally or otherwise.
President Bush recently tried to get an immigration bill passed by the Congress, but his credibility with the American public in general and his own party in particular has sunk so low that conservative Republicans turned on him. Result? No immigration bill in this Congress.
Politics make strange bedfellows and the failed attempt to build bipartisan consensus for this bill was a world-class example. Big business, in particular agribusiness, and the building trades all thrive on illegal immigrant workers. Nativists who perceive the erosion of American culture and labor advocates who view illegals as depressing wages and taking jobs from Americans were against the bill.
Conservatives who see illegals as breaking the law could not countenance "amnesty" as they cleverly put it, even if it was to take 10 years, many thousands of dollars, an untarnished presence in this country and a trip home before achieving a path to citizenship.
In the end, liberal democrats, moderate republicans, religious activists, humanitarians and civil libertarians were unable to move the bill forward.
So what happens now? Likely, state and local jurisdictions will have their say.
In Arizona, the governor is moving to severely penalize any employer who hires illegal immigrants. In Virginia, one county is trying to curtail social services for illegals. In some jurisdictions there is talk of criminalizing home or apartment rentals to illegal immigrants. There is even talk of refusing medical services in overburdened public hospitals.
While politicians dither and economists continue to debate whether immigration is a net benefit to the economy, there are still many millions of illegal workers in this country and there are many more arriving daily.
So long as the American economy provides manual labor and unskilled jobs, the more enterprising of the world's poor will find their way here. Some will die trying to get here and some will die after they arrive. Others will find their way into the criminal culture and our legal system. But they will keep coming.
Historically, America has been a beacon to the world, a place where, at least in theory if not always in practice, laws rather than kings and/or tyrants govern civil society.
America would no longer be the same country if it gave free passage and jobs to the several billions of the world's poor, but it will no longer be the same country if it denies basic human dignity to those millions of illegal immigrants who are already here and working.
So what can state and counties do until the federal government passes a meaningful immigration reform bill?
First, do no harm. The world, now more than ever, needs a generous and beneficient America.
Provide a state worker identification card to illegal immigrants over the course of the next few months. Then, fine any employer who hires illegals without a card. For those with a card, have all employers with, say, more than five employees, pay into a civic support fund to be used to support additional essential services.
The main burden of this plan falls where it belongs, on the employer who hires illegal immigrants.
Andrew Whyman is a nearly-retired physician who lives in Incline Village. To contact Whyman, email adwhyman@aol.com.
