There’s Not Going To Be Any Easy Solutions
By: Doug Busselman, Executive Vice President
This account in the Nevada News Bureau got me started to thinking about the overall situation of how the public debate over immigration and the invasion of those who are entering the United States, illegally. I took the opportunity to download the report , presented by the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN) that is mentioned in the Nevada News Bureau story and worked my way through the arguments they make in advancing the cause they wish us to embrace.
From my read of the PLAN report, “The Economic Contribution of Non-Native (Immigrant) Hispanics to Nevada” somehow, I don’t think the interchangeability of terms and the tactical approach of using double-speak language to downplay persons who are here illegally is going to help solve anything. Likewise, it’s hard to buy-in on the logic which uses the invention of an economic basis (that is so blatantly created out of thin air), to justify a premise that seems to be saying that the Non-Native (Immigrant) Hispanics aren’t here illegally – but, if they aren’t legal, we shouldn’t mind because they pay lots of taxes.
When I was in school and needed to show the methods used to come up with the answers to the problems presented, the person reviewing the way the answer was achieved, got to see if I figured it out correctly or just came up with an answer that might have been a guess. The PLAN analysis could take a cue from that requirement in order to build some credibility for its set of recommendations.
Meanwhile, the other extreme in this very polarized issue might also reconsider some of its approaches. While it is easy to agree that someone here illegally has broken the law and should be dealt with accordingly – an employer who was presented with what appears to be legitimate substantiation about a prospective employee’s citizenship can’t be held responsible for being duped that the paperwork was falsified. Those who advance the case that all employers who are hiring illegal workers know that they are doing so and should be punished are as off-base as the champions who support the PLAN way of looking at things.
To a very large extent the agricultural production sector is impacted by the immigrant issue with its own set of very grey conditions. As described in this piece by the Texas Farm Bureau it’s not quite as simple as the polarized extremes would have us believe. Not being as knowledgeable as I should be, I also offer this more complete background presentation by the American Farm Bureau Federation to explain and detail the ideas that our organization is working to achieve.
Given the shouting approach that is involved in making the issue an issue (as opposed to figuring out how to solve what needs to be solved), we probably aren’t going to see a solution emerge any time soon. We may also need a few more variations on the legislative approach taken by Arizona to push the federal government to take its rightful responsibility of following the laws we do have that make illegally entering the United States something which matters.
This account in the Nevada News Bureau got me started to thinking about the overall situation of how the public debate over immigration and the invasion of those who are entering the United States, illegally. I took the opportunity to download the report , presented by the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN) that is mentioned in the Nevada News Bureau story and worked my way through the arguments they make in advancing the cause they wish us to embrace.
From my read of the PLAN report, “The Economic Contribution of Non-Native (Immigrant) Hispanics to Nevada” somehow, I don’t think the interchangeability of terms and the tactical approach of using double-speak language to downplay persons who are here illegally is going to help solve anything. Likewise, it’s hard to buy-in on the logic which uses the invention of an economic basis (that is so blatantly created out of thin air), to justify a premise that seems to be saying that the Non-Native (Immigrant) Hispanics aren’t here illegally – but, if they aren’t legal, we shouldn’t mind because they pay lots of taxes.
When I was in school and needed to show the methods used to come up with the answers to the problems presented, the person reviewing the way the answer was achieved, got to see if I figured it out correctly or just came up with an answer that might have been a guess. The PLAN analysis could take a cue from that requirement in order to build some credibility for its set of recommendations.
Meanwhile, the other extreme in this very polarized issue might also reconsider some of its approaches. While it is easy to agree that someone here illegally has broken the law and should be dealt with accordingly – an employer who was presented with what appears to be legitimate substantiation about a prospective employee’s citizenship can’t be held responsible for being duped that the paperwork was falsified. Those who advance the case that all employers who are hiring illegal workers know that they are doing so and should be punished are as off-base as the champions who support the PLAN way of looking at things.
To a very large extent the agricultural production sector is impacted by the immigrant issue with its own set of very grey conditions. As described in this piece by the Texas Farm Bureau it’s not quite as simple as the polarized extremes would have us believe. Not being as knowledgeable as I should be, I also offer this more complete background presentation by the American Farm Bureau Federation to explain and detail the ideas that our organization is working to achieve.
Given the shouting approach that is involved in making the issue an issue (as opposed to figuring out how to solve what needs to be solved), we probably aren’t going to see a solution emerge any time soon. We may also need a few more variations on the legislative approach taken by Arizona to push the federal government to take its rightful responsibility of following the laws we do have that make illegally entering the United States something which matters.
Posted by Doug Busselman at 5/22/2010 8:06 AM 
Categories: Immigration Reform
Tags: Protection of U.S. Borders Congress Illegal Immigration Undocumented Workers
Categories: Immigration Reform
Tags: Protection of U.S. Borders Congress Illegal Immigration Undocumented Workers
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