Here are two links to stories about Anne Arundel County Executive Leopold and his stance against illegal aliens.

He is taking a lot of heat.

What do you think about his action?

Links: http://lastreporter.typepad.com/my_weblog/...ands-immig.html

http://lastreporter.typepad.com/my_weblog/...arundel-co.html

well, some may think his measures a bit extreme, but i know anne arundel and surrounding areas have a HUGE problem with illegals. My dad works for a company that does landscaping and irrigation and whatnot in that area, and he said they have to check 3 and 4 different sources of id when hiring, because so many illegals can get ahold of fake VA drivers liscences and come to MD to try to get work... that's just one small example, but that sort of thing starts to take a toll on the economy and housing of the area...

I have heard the same thing from various business owners. When other contractors use illegals, it really makes it difficult for the contractors living by the rules to compete.

They're faced with the decision to either hire American citizens and go out of busines or join the other contractors and pay illegals under the table.

Our government should never allow us to be put in that situation.

It's disgraceful.

As a lifetime member of the NAACP, I think Gustavo Torres of Casa de Maryland is way out of line suggesting an executive order that urges companies to comply with federal law, is somehow discriminatory toward Hispanics. This is a slap in the face to the civil rights movements. Equality can not be accomplished using these tactics and in fact cause more harm to race relations than help.

What about companies that violate federal discrimination laws, or environmental laws, or tax laws, or campaign finance laws, or anti-terrorism laws... Is he going to pull all those contracts too? And who's going to complete those jobs when the company has been discovered to be in violation and kicked out? Are they going to renegotiate the contracts?

The idea is ridiculous, which no doubt means it will be very popular.

you forgot to add "with republicans". <3

I don't think the idea of obeying the law is ridiculous. If the immigrants are legal, then there's nothing to worry about. If they're illegal, either go through the process that is in place to become legal, or pack your bags and GTF out. Since the federal government is doing very little to fix the problem, I have absolutely no problem with another level of government being proactive for once to solve this problem.

Coma,

I'm with you. The problem is really mushrooming. What Leopold did was a Bandaid, but at least he did something. I can't say the same for other Maryland officals like Gov. O"Malley etc.

I'm with you too Coma and anyone who would suggest that this is just an issue with Republicans, is sadly mistaken because it affects every business complying with the law. A lot of times the small business owner can't compete not because they don't provide a good service, but because companies that are not in compliance with the law under bid on contract opportunities. The impact on the American economy and American businesses is far reaching and contributes to an unstable economy.

i didnt say its only an issue with republicans... i said the solution on the table was one that would appeal to republicans.

x2.

I think Id is afraid of losing some of his best workers!

I don't have any but you're right, if I did they would probably be the best.

Maybe it is a good thing. I know that Bechtel is a big contractor in Anne Arundel county. They build roads, bridges, tunnels, prisons, schools, you name it. Over the years they've either pleaded guilty or been convicted of federal crimes involving hundreds of millions of dollars in fines. For the last 4 years they've been listed by Source Watch and other watchdog groups as the worst war profiteer in the world. They also have been reported to have financial ties to Osama bin Laden. All this time Anne Arundel county hasn't had any problem with them. I'd be willing to bet a month's pay that they also employ undocumented workers. I can't wait to see AAC pull their contracts.


I won't hold my breath though.

Well its not like there is a shortage of contractors looking for steady work. I don't think pulling contracts would be much of an issue other than ruffling some feathers.

So cracking down on employers that hire illegals is a bad thing because the companies are breaking other laws.

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 expressly forbids local jurisdictions from punishing businesses directly for failure to comply. So they are going to break a federal law themselves in order to punish a company that may or may not ever be charged with a crime. All at increased costs to the taxpayer.


Maybe this guy should run for president.

Maybe this guy just needs to be more creative. How about arresting the company presidents for aiding and abetting a criminal.

If he needs any advice on getting around the rules he could always call Bush.

If they start pulling contracts, which I seriously doubt will ever happen, the only feathers that will be ruffled are the taxpayer's because of the massive construction delays and cost over-runs it will likely cause.

My guess is that he probably made some promises last year in a close election and now he's trying to save face and this was the best he could come up with. All he had to do was watch 60 Minutes. Remember the Hazelton, PA episode? At least a half dozen other communities have tried similar measures. The problem is that the Hazelton law was recently ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge who made it clear that this is a federal issue.


This idea is not only ridiculous, it was ill-conceived and poorly thought out. At least the officials in Herndon, VA weren't stupid enough to believe their own rhetoric.

You're in construction aren't you Ud? How many large firms would you guess that there are in the Baltimore Washington area that don't use undocumented workers?

Truthfully, I couldn't tell you I don't work in that area we stay local.

I can't even figure out what employers use the illegal day labors, around here employers that need temp. help would use someone from Labor Ready.

I think it's mainly small subcontractors that use the day labors.

Undocumented workers? All of the Hispanics I work around have documents the problem is they are to easy to forge, we make copies of what they give us when they fill out their I-9 form.

Occasionally we get a call from social security about numbers and names not matching up if the employee can't get it fixed we will fire him.

So I would say that the large firms have documents for all their employees. The better question would be how many large firms have illegal aliens working for them, I would say about 90% of them do.

I think Hazelton and Herndon are good examples of local governments getting fed up the federal governments inability or unwillingness to act.

no one told me about the site i found , ill post it again , read it and see if this might be true, the site is, grassfire.org if its true then i see why the border fence is so slow being built, along with everything else,

It's a right wing site just like Dailykos is a left wing site.

I wouldn't totally believe everything I read on either site.

I'm sure it works the same down there. So the big firms can contract with the county and then use small subcontractors or temp services who hire illegals and not be in violation of the contract. Isn't that what Fresh Del Monte did in Oregon?

Exactly, the general contractor would be the one that has the contract with the county.

Most of the time the general contractor will have the least amount of employees on the job site.

From the Statute
"The provisions of this section preempt any State or local law imposing civil or criminal sanctions (other than through licensing and similar laws) upon those who employ, or recruit or refer for a fee for employment, unauthorized aliens."

Seems like the actions are covered as there are no fines applied to the employing company.

Worse than Halliburton???? Is this possible???? From Id no less?????

Next, pigs flying...

i'm going to go into business making extra wide brimmed hats, to protect innocent pedestrians from the poo bombs that will inevitibly result from the Flight of the Pigs.


seriously though... "worst war profiteer in the world"? not exactly something you put on the team tshirts for MUDD Volleyball, now is it?

whats a few million in fines, they make billions.