Exhibit #287 in an Administration that Can't Get Anything Right
Effort to Curb Illegal Workers' Hiring Blocked
By Spencer S. Hsu Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, October 11, 2007; 7:32 AM
A federal judge barred the Bush administration yesterday from launching a planned crackdown on U.S. companies that employ illegal immigrants, warning of its potentially "staggering" impact on law-abiding workers and companies.
In a firm rebuke of the White House, U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer of San Francisco granted a preliminary injunction against the president's plan to press employers to fire as many as 8.7 million workers with suspect Social Security numbers, starting this fall.
President Bush made the effort the centerpiece of a re-energized enforcement drive against illegal immigration in August after the Senate rejected his proposal to overhaul immigration laws. But the court ruling -- sought by major American labor, business and farm organizations -- highlighted the chasm that the issue has opened between the Republican Party and its traditional business allies.
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Business no longer has traditional allies, certainly not Republican. Business now buys whatever it needs in the way of legislation from whatever party happens to be in majority. Washington has become a legislative Wal-Mart, immigration legislation over on aisle three, halfway down on the right hand side.
That's not some rant. It's just the way we have allowed it and the Congress has engineered it to be. We're now experiencing the delay impact of the DeLay legislation. Think of it as a delayed-fuse bomb.
Tom giveth and Tom taketh away. Blessed be the name of Tom. He's gone now, but the legacy of his K-Street Machine lingers on.
Fortunately, business now has the tools at hand to do pretty much whatever the hell it wants and (for the time being) whatever the hell it wants includes a handy supply of illegal immigrants.
But if you talk about either party and its traditional allies, you're still wearing a pork-pie hat and driving a Model A.
* For more in-depth articles by Jim on Labor and Management, check out Opinion-Columns.com