Clifton right to speak up on immigration

[fiberisgoodforyou]

newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2007/1024/Letters/013.html

Clifton right to speak up on immigration

In a letter published in the Oct. 17 News Transcript ("Freeholder Knows County Has No Say on Immigration"), Frank Argote-Freyre accuses Monmouth County Freeholder Robert Clifton of small-minded political pandering.

This pronouncement was apparently motivated by Freeholder Clifton's desire for Monmouth County to ban contractors knowingly employing illegal aliens. Mr. Argote-Freyre blithely goes on to state that "the county has nothing to do with immigration."

On the contrary, the influx of illegal immigrants to our county is everyone's problem, and taxpayers are already paying far too high a price for the resulting unwanted sharp increase in demand for social services (largely provided by county government in New Jersey), health care, law enforcement, education and so forth.

Monmouth County taxpayers should not be unwittingly subsidizing this serious situation.

When contractors who knowingly hire illegal aliens are patronized by public agencies or private individuals the correct description is "aiding and abetting the commission of a crime."

Liberal organizations such as the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey would quickly express righteous indignation if Monmouth freeholders introduced legislation which resulted in our county's failure to conform to the very letter of the law as it relates to equal employment opportunity and the Hispanic community.

Yet Mr. Argote-Freyre (the group's self-identified Monmouth chapter director) predictably demands that Freeholder Clifton turn a blind eye toward national immigration and naturalization statutes. I wonder who the real panderer is in this case.

Mr. Argote-Freyre concludes by suggesting that this is an irrelevant issue. Like beauty, relevancy (or irrelevancy) is in the eye of the beholder. While Mr. Argote-Freyre obviously wishes to distract attention from one of the most critical issues of our time, I would like to commend Freeholder Clifton for respecting the law, upholding his oath of office and taking his responsibility as an elected official seriously.

[fiberisgoodforyou]

The fact is, there are "BAD" contractors who profit by using contraband labor and cheat their competitors by not complying with state and federal fair labor laws. This must be addressed through the combined, coordinated effort of local-municipal, county and state agencies.

So who is fighting for the rights of honest contractors and their honest hard working laborer-employees who deserve a fair and competitive labor market.

Looks Like Robert Clifton is!

[stffgpr2003]

When contractors who knowingly hire illegal aliens are patronized by public agencies or private individuals the correct description is "aiding and abetting the commission of a crime."

It's a sad state of affairs when doing the right thing and upholding our laws is questioned and held in contempt. In fact, the law is supposed to be addressing any and all employers hiring those unauthorized to work in the US.

What was the Immigration Act of 1986 all about, anyway? Why was the I-9 form created, if not to verify an individual's authorization to work? Why have many companies been raided, in recent months, to uncover illegal hiring activity? Why have many other company's hiring records been audited and some given fines for hiring and retaining illegal immigrants?

We don't ignore laws that we don't like. We lobby to get them changed and follow them, while they are still in effect. Do we not pay our full income tax share even while there is talk of income tax reform?

Most Americans are looking to government officials to do what they, themselves, legislated themselves to do - and they took an oath to uphold their own laws. Freeholder Clifton is simply calling for accountability within his own county government structure - and it's the right call.

Don't expect those that want us to believe that standing up to illegal immigration is a hopeless case. With all of their own pandering the best they have managed to do is maintain some of the status quo, while every federal move towards legitimacy has been stalled or killed by Congress. Even in NY State the legislature has stopped Spitzer's plan to grant drivers licenses to illegal immigrants, dead in its tracks.

I personally agree with Freeholder Clifton on his effort to ONLY reward employers that follow the law. We should expect no less.

[petedefonzo]

Marc I couldn't agree with you more. The problem in this country is that when someone disagrees with another's position,the first thing they will do is try to label that person. I don't know if you remember,but when you first started PEOPLE, I told you that your opponents would try to label you as a bigot or worse. Living in Florida, the issues regarding illegals, while not as severe as Freehold, are a concern for most people here. I do love the way those supporting illegal immigration, constantly use the term immigration. There is a BIG difference between legal immigration and illegal immigration. While the last attempt at reform failed, I believe due to a lack of trust that the government would enforce the law,people must continue to push for reform. They must also remember that in order to accomplish anything,sometimes compromises must be made.Keep up the good work !

[stffgpr2003]

The problem in this country is that when someone disagrees with another's position,the first thing they will do is try to label that person.

Pete:

Though I totally disagree with our current President on many issues, I do admire his ability to forge ahead despite all the name calling he has been subected to. You can probably guess how he feels about this. Sure, you can laugh at me all you want. I'm a two term president; somehow have gotten what I wanted; and I still have a slim chance of getting the results I was looking for.

Now, I wish we hadn't been lied to about WMD and forced to go into Iraq, but if the situation continues to improve on the ground, Bush just may come off looking better than he probably deserves to, given the early deceptions.

Bottom-line is that the man isn't swayed by namecalling. Besides... ANYONE who rises above the crowd should expect to be pelted with tomatoes. When that happens, it just means you've done enough to gain someone's attention - probably because you've hit a nerve trying to make a difference.

My 2 cents.