Leftwing groups complain about immigration enforcement interfering with workers' rights while supporting the situtation

Three leftwing groups [1] have released a report (press release here) complaining about the Department of Homeland Security conducting immigration raids at locations that are considering unionization or otherwise "interfering" with workers' rights. To cut to the chase, visiting "liberals" should consider this anecdote offered by Daphne Eviatar of the Washington Independent (link):

For example, in September 2008, an employer calling itself "Employers All Dry Water Damage Experts" recruited day laborers in New Orleans and transported them to Beaumont, Texas, where the workers claim, according to the report, that they were told to perform dangerous demolition work in an oil refinery. When the employer refused to pay the $13-an-hour rate he had promised and gave the worst assignments to non-white workers, the report documents, the immigrant workers protested. They say they were evicted from the refinery in the middle of the night without pay. Local police were waiting outside for them, accompanied by an ICE agent. Twelve of them were arrested and detained for more than 76 days.

Now, ask yourself: would all that have happened if those workers had been here legally? Didn't the leftwing work with the rightwing and help create this situation by consistently opposing almost any form of immigration enforcement, such as they're trying to do with this report? The far-left doesn't want our laws enforced, except for the labor laws. They're living in a fantasy world if they think that's going to ameliorate the situation; see the enforce labor but not immigration laws page for the details. Did the far-left plan it this way, creating a situtation that serves their interest in several ways including giving them the ability to whine about the situation they helped create? It's either that, or they aren't smart enough to figure out that they're part of the problem.

[1] The groups are the AFL CIO, American Rights at Work and the National Employment Law Project. The second has received funding from George Soros (soros.org/initiatives/usprograms/focus/democracy/grants/idea/grantees/arawef_2009), and at least the Policy Co-Director of the last was a Soros Justice Senior Fellow in 2004 (nelp.org/site/about_us/policy_co_director2).

Tue, 10/27/2009 - 13:27 · · Importance: 4