Obama's Amnesty Benefits Lawbreaking Employers

By Jon Feere on December 11, 2014

From my latest op-ed posted today at TheHill.com:

President Obama’s decision to grant work permits and Social Security accounts to millions of illegal aliens guts the central enforcement provision of the 1986 amnesty bill and simultaneously illustrates why he cannot be trusted to carry out comprehensive reform of our immigration laws.

It has been illegal to knowingly hire illegal immigrants since the 1986 comprehensive amnesty law, the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), went into effect. While many law-abiding employers have followed the law, some employers have ignored it and knowingly hired people in the country illegally, giving themselves an exploitable workforce that works for less and is okay with being paid under the table. When it comes to placing bids for jobs, the lawbreaking employer is often at an advantage since he can offer a lower bid than the employer who is hiring people legally and paying a decent wage and proper taxes.

Read the rest here.