Both Sides of the Equation Need Solving

Illegal immigration has two sides: supply, and demand. For a long time, critics of building a wall have claimed that employers should be punished for hiring illegal aliens. I agree. The wall is the supply side; punishing employers who knowingly or negligently hire illegal aliens is the demand side. We need to fix both of these to have any hope.

Unfortunately, a bill that would punish employers just went down to defeat in the Idaho legislature. From the March 7, 2008 Idaho Statesman:

The House State Affairs Committee unanimously rejected a bill Friday that would have required employers to verify workers' immigration status. Companies could have had their business licenses suspended or revoked for hiring people unauthorized to work in the United States.

The proposal is modeled on a law passed last year in Arizona to weaken economic incentives for immigrants to sneak across the border. That law, which took effect on Jan. 1, has already caused scores of immigrants to go to other states or back to their homelands.

"It's a problem not being dealt with in the way it should be," said Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, one of the bill's supporters. "If (the employer) can show that he did make a good faith effort, there would be no penalty."

States across the country are responding to calls from constituents for tougher anti-immigration laws. Oklahoma passed a similar law to Arizona's last year, and the Mississippi Legislature approved a bill this week. Alabama, South Carolina, Indiana and other states are also considering legislation this year.