International Welcome…Internal strife

President Obama’s administration has begun a crackdown on the illegal immigrants issue by conducting raids on the establishments that could be employing such immigrants. They have started the process by targeting the establishments with heavy fines and revoking of licenses, and not directly targeting the workers in question.

After all those months of criticism from the Republicans who spewed venom at President Obama’s policies terming them as soft on the illegal immigrant population, the enforcement of laws by the Obama administration has become strategically clear.

They have initiated a long running investigation of employers which have resulted in convictions, exponential ballooning of fines, as well as jail sentence terms. Although they have not conducted news airtime hogging methods of cracking down physically on the premises of the suspicious establishments, the authorities have exponentially increased the scope of the businesses that could face the dragnet of severe fines and reprimands and sanctions.

End of the Tunnel Solution…: A breakaway from the Bush era was seen initially with the number of cases against immigrants dropping sharply over the past couple of years. Among the employers who faced the music for the violations, A Mexican chain of restaurants, Chuy’s Mesquite Broiler chain which are famous for their laid back ambiance and a typical taste of Mexican cuisine was booked for employing illegal immigrants.

Although many of the employees were screened and their documents taken into custody for investigation, only three of the management were present in the court, at the time of arraignment. A jail term of eighty years each can be served to the trio if the Evensons get convicted on the charges against them. They are being charged on the charges of tax fraud and harboring illegal workers.

The Bush administration frequently ordered raids on the premises of businesses where illegal immigrants were employed with the help of forged documents, which however did decline in the past two years. The record presented by the Obama administration has been fiercely debated in the capital after President Obama announced that he would try against unfavorable odds, to pass an immigration overhaul this year.

…Turns to be the Engine of Oncoming Train: Pointing to the decrease in the arrest of the illegal immigrant workers, Republicans have claimed that the administration has failed in stifling their numbers in spite of native Americans struggling with high
rates of unemployment.

At the Central American Solidarity Association of Maryland office, men wearing sweatshirts and carrying backpacks wait for the next employer to pull up with an offer of a daylong job. Day laborers are usually paid cash at the end of day. The average hourly wage for day laborers is $10, according to a study by the University of California, Los Angeles, University of Illinois at Chicago, and New School University.