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January 7, 2007
Julie Myers, Labor Unions, and Undocumented Immigrants
On The Nation website (click here), Rick Perlstein has an article discussing the keynote speech at the October University of Chicago Legal Forum immigration symposium by Julie Myers, the chief of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the Department of Homeland Security. Perlstein talks about the following comments that Myers made at the conference:
As labor unions increasingly provide representation for undocumented workers, she said, "we need to look at" unions' violations of the boundary between "charitable assistance and the unlawful employment of aliens." Several lawyers were soon on the phone with labor officials trying to figure out what she meant. Is an ICE crackdown on labor organizing drives imminent? Was one already under way? Were unions harboring undocumented immigrants in violation of the law?
Perlstein calls for a Congressional investigation into what Myers meant by the comments and whether the recent ICE raids of meatpacking plants were focused on undermining union organizing efforts.
On this blog, Jennifer Chacón, who was at the University of Chicago law school event, had an excellent commentary on Myers' comments not long after the conference. Click here to see them.
KJ
January 7, 2007 | Permalink
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Comments
Harboring illegal aliens is a violation of the U.S. code and unions are not exempt from federal law. Ms. Myers is to be commended for her diligence. Any recommendations involving punitive actions against Ms. Myers amounts to intimidation of a federal officer in the performance her duty. Congress would do well to tread lightly in its threats against the Executive Branch power to enforce the law. As long as ICE follows federal law, the advocacy groups are just blowing smoke.
There is good evidence that the unions at Swift and Company were well aware of the illegal aliens in their midst. Millions of Americans watched as a union leader at the Swift plant openly defended criminals who'd used forged IDs and stolen identities to gain employment, giving the government probable cause to believe that the unions were colluding with management.
The solution to eliminating abuse of workers is the elimination of illegal aliens in the workplace. If they're not present, there's no temptation for employers to exploit them. ICE should continue the raids and deportations as mandated by federal code.
Posted by: Horace | Jan 7, 2007 6:33:40 PM
