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Trumka: Arizona Suit a First Step, But Not Enough |
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The Obama administration’s suit to stop Arizona from implementing the anti-immigrant law, known as SB1070, is an important first step towards protecting the fundamental civil rights of working people in the state, but does not go far enough, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said.
In a statement late yesterday, Trumka said the administration can— and should—revoke the authority the Department of Justice has delegated to Arizona under agreements in which Homeland Security trains members of eight state and local law enforcement agencies in Arizona, including the state police, which allows the officers to enforce immigration laws.
The Arizona law is “a frustrated response to the lack of federal action on immigration reform,” Trumka said. Immigration is a federal issue and Congress must do its job and fix our broken immigration system, he added.
The solution to our broken immigration system must protect all workers and provide a fair path toward citizenship for undocumented workers already living and working in the United States. It must address the unique circumstances faced by undocumented students who were brought to the United States by their parents long ago. It must include an independent commission to determine our society’s genuine need for more workers that does not afford employers a steady stream of exploitable labor. And it must include a mechanism to ensure that employers are held accountable when they break the law.
Laws like SB1070 will never stop illegal immigration, Trumka said, because they fail to address the problem’s root cause: “U.S. employers’ unquenchable thirst for cheap, disposable workers and failed trade and economic policies that force workers to leave their home countries in search of work.”
Read Trumka’s full statement here.
8 Comments
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I think it is a sad day when the state tax payers of Arizona have to defend themselves against their own Federal tax dollars.In this economy and in a state that is already in the RED from illegal immigration this seems very foolish to me.I can see no winners here.I also would like to correct Brother Trumka our Immigration System is not broken it has worked very well for legal immigrants fo a very long time.The only thing broken about it is the Federal Government refuses to enforce current law on our southern border.
If we do not get our borders contained I can not see how Amnesty can work.If people keep pouring over the border how does anyone benefit legal or non?E-verify and border enforcement and prosecution of illegal employers is all that is required to settle this.More laws and Amenesty will not do it.
I agree with the above. The U.S. government has not done their jobs by protecting America from foriegn invasion. The laws are not broke the government is. Vote out all imcumbents.
I agree mostly with the above. Arizona has the right to fix their own immigration problems since the Obama administration won’t even look at it. This is not something that the AFL-CIO should be involved with. Why doesn’t th ePresident go to Arizona to see for himself. I agree with the Arizona law. Are there illegal immigrants who are members of the AFL-CIO? If there are, then the AFL-CIO should purge them from their roles.
What is being done about the crooked contractors that hire these people? If they would lose their business licenses and face stiff fines, it wouldn’t be a problem any longer.
We taxpayers in AZ, also just voted ourselves a 1% sales tax increase. This tax will last for 3 years. The state is broke. And now this. We need to get out all foreign military entanglements and take care of Americans !!!!
‘What is being done about the crooked contractors that hire these people? If they would lose their business licenses and face stiff fines, it wouldn’t be a problem any longer.’
Haven’t you heard? In 2007, the state of Arizona passed an immigration law that allowed it to revoke the business licenses of businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants. This provision was challenged but upheld in both the district court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
So now the Obama administration has decided to challenge the 2007 Arizona immigration law, arguing that Arizona’s law revoking the business licenses of businesses that knowingly employ illegal immigrants is unconstitutional. He has asked the Supreme Court to overturn the provision. Sound familiar? Guess who was the driving force behind this little fiasco? Elena Kagan, Obama’s SCOTUS nominee!
This administration has no interest in enforcing the immigration laws but wants to stop states who quite legally are trying to do what they can on their own. How can anybody really expect that Obama and Holder will enforce the laws after they get the next amnesty? They won’t and we know it. It will be back-to-back amnesties, with enforcement promised with each one if we are dumb enough to allow this to happen.
Obama is either completely out of touch with reality or he hates US workers.
President Trumka… You do NOT speak for this IBEW 2286, Nor any one single 2286 member out of the 63 members in our department feels the way you represented us. Just the opposite here…The above statement makes it hard for me to support a union that is not in-touch with the people who it supposed to represent.
There should not be a single illegal working under the union period. The AFL-CIO is responsible for making certain that no Illegal’s are working for or being supported by the AFL-CIO.
Wouldn’t our cause be better off when the Illegal’s working for low wages are rightfully deported to their country? How could anyone feel that the illegals who are working for low wages and will continue to even after they granted amnesty… which the current Administrations agenda.. help the Union membership in anyway? I’m located in Port Neches on the Texas upper Gulfcoast about 90 miles from Houston TX which is a free harbor city with Hundreds of thousands of llegals. Texas needs to follow Az. in my opinion.
I can’t believe the president of the AFL-CIO doesn’t get it ! How many work-sites do we as American laborers have to lose to illegal immigrants of all nationalities. First it was NAFTA , then our jobs going over seas to countries that don’t take care or enforce fair and equal pay for there citizens. In these counties there are no environmental laws. My grandparents and my wifes parents immigrated from Italy and Ireland. They learned english , taught there kids to honor the flag , and OBEY THE LAW! They fought for there country , payed taxes , and watched out for each other. ILLEGAL IS JUST WHAT IT IS ……..LEGAL IMMIGRATANTS should get every thing this country has to offer . Start pickeding the construction sites that hire the illegals , and get union labor on the site. THAT’S WHAT THE PRESIDENT OF THE AFL-CIO SHOULD BE DOING ! It’s getting crazy and it’s not getting better. Our brothers and sisters are losing there homes and your worried about people who broke the law getting into this country to get work . For God sakes , It’s time for our elected officials , both union and political to look out for there own !