A Texas Republican state legislator has introduced a bill that makes hiring of undocumented workers a crime in which the employer could be punished by up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine unless they were hired to do household chores, like maid, caretaker, lawn worker, or any type of house worker.
Because you know how hard it is so hard to get good help these days…
Well, it’s the principle of the thing. Illegal immigrants are a scourge on society, a drain of our resources, parasites on our job market, and a threat to our security…unless they’re bettering themselves by working as menial domestic labor, in which case it’s ok, because they know their place.
This is just a hypothesis, but it could be possible that the legislator in question or some of her wealthy campaign backers employ illegal immigrants for such purposes. In that case, making it illegal would certainly be an inconvenience to them. It is also possible that this idea is just a product of my natural cynicism and distrust for politicians.
Matthew,
I think your assessment is quite realistic. We only have to look at how many people, when under some scrutiny because they are seeking high office, suddenly ‘discover’ that their domestic aides are undocumented.
Mathew I agree. This was a heated issue during the California governor’s race. It’s possible that campaign supporters want to avoid a similar situation in the future. The entire bill is hypocritical.
I will grant them that it really shouldn’t be up to the average citizen to ascertain whether or not a domestic employee is legally authorized to work in the US. I don’t know that I could determine that. But I’m amazed that lawmakers would be so brazen as to offer this exemption for themselves. The fact that they are promoting this at all shows how hypocritical they are.