Meg Whitman Is a Symbol of Republican Hypocrisy on Immigration

Meg Whitman has been working overtime to explain away her maid problem.

But the story is larger than Whitman. It is a symbol of the Republican hypocrisy that is at the heart of the entire immigration debate. The irony is always in the background.

Migrants would not be pouring into the U.S. if there were no employers hiring them. Most of those who take advantage of undocumented workers are business owners - construction contractors, rural farmers, manufacturers, restaurant owners, etc. And the vast majority of them are Republican/Conservative.

They use undocumented immigrants as a way to maximize profits. It is part of the business model for some of these people. For them, it is a way to take advantage of defacto slave labor, with little risk of facing any consequences. Having undocumented workers allows these employers to avoid paying minimum wage, avoid dealing with the IRS (can pay workers under the table in cash), can avoid paying workers the exact amount they are owed for their work, can avoid paying workers compensation expenses, can avoid OSHA regulations, can avoid State and Federal labor regulations, etc. The result is that many of these migrants are in work environments where they are subject to all sorts of abuse.

When will the media start using the term "illegal employers"? When will the focus shift towards those who hire undocumented workers, despite available E-verify technology that can prevent the vast majority of the problem? One main reason is because Republicans in Congress, and their rich Conservative supporters in the business community, really don't want to see any kind of enforcement that targets employers. It is no coincidence that the Chamber of Commerce- basically a Republican group - supports the GOP. The business community wants to maintain the status-quo. I am amazed by the fact that this always seems to be left out of the discussion.

It is interesting to see Republicans on one hand using immigration to rally their base by stirring up xenophobia & racism against Latinos, but on the other hand not really tackling the problem in any meaningful way through immigration reform (obstructing anything Obama proposes on the issue) because what they really want to do is maintain the status quo. Republicans in Congress want to make sure that their benefactors in the business community can continue to reap the benefits from the defacto slavery that currently exists for migrants... because the savings (profits) are just too enticing for them.

This is the elephant in the room that the media never seems to focus on when it comes to immigration. The Republicans are playing the hell out of both sides, and they have been doing a pretty good job fooling the public on this for a long time.

Why blacks must reject "anchor baby" fever: African-Americans and Latinos should be brothers-in-arms in fighting Republican extremism

A young mother has a baby in San Antonio, TX. Minutes later, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents swoop in and place the mother and baby under arrest. The mom goes to jail for “harboring an illegal” while the baby goes to jail for being in the country illegally. Later that day federal agents take them to the border and tell them not to come back.

Read the rest at The Loop.

More Undocumented Sent Home Under Obama

This runs contrary to the Conservative argument that Obama has been doing nothing and wants to open the borders.

Did Congressman Gutierrez Fail Government 101?

Disclaimer: I fully support immigration reform...and have supported it since this latest debate started (under George W. Bush).

However, I have been extremely annoyed recently by Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL) and his verbal attacks aimed at President Obama. Gutierrez and his supporters have been lobbying the President hard to magically make comprehensive immigration reform a reality. But really....what exactly do they want Obama to do? Am I missing something here?

The President can't create and pass legislation. That's the job of the Congress. Obama can't sign into law what doesn't exist. And even if Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, Harry Reid & others were to craft some sort of legislation...it would barely get through the House, and would be dead on arrival in the Senate. The math simply doesn't work and everyone knows it (at least everyone except for Gutierrez). I wrote several months ago that the part of Obama's agenda that dealt with immigration reform was probably unachievable and would likely have to be dropped from his list of goals. It's a lost cause. I never believed it should have been something that President Obama should even try...especially after seeing what happened to George W. Bush (by his own Party). It would be a huge waste of political capital, after he already wasted vast amounts of political capital in his first year, fighting for what ended up being a bad health care reform bill in my view. Obama could waste another year on immigration reform and be left with nothing to show for it in the end. Meanwhile, he would be so weakened by it that he wouldn't be able to get anything else accomplished. If that's not bad enough, his efforts would simply be used as a basis for Republicans to energize their supporters going into the midterm elections... creating even bigger losses for Democrats than would have been the case otherwise.

A Republican President wasn't able to do it with a Republican Congress... Republicans blocked the effort. They are going to be even more aggressive in blocking Obama. Obviously nothing can be done before the mid-terms, and Gutierrez has to know this. Most members of Congress are worried about re-election and aren't going to touch the taboo subject (made taboo by Republicans/Tea Partiers). It's radioactive. There are just certain political and mathematical realities that cannot be ignored.

On the other side of the midterms, Republicans are expected to win back one, if not both Houses of Congress...making the passage of any legislation on comprehensive immigration reform impossible. Even under assessments friendly to the Democrats, Republicans are expected to gain so many seats...that even if they come up short on regaining the majority in the House or Senate, they will still be able to block legislation. So I just don't understand what Gutierrez, and his supporters, are so upset about. Why are they upset with Obama? Do they really believe he is Superman or some sort of political MacGyver? President Obama cannot make a proclamation and declare something to be law. Congressman Gutierrez and his supporters should be lobbying the other members of Congress.... not just the President (and perhaps they shouldn't be focused on the President at all in this case). Gutierrez should target Congressional Republicans in particular. That's where he should focus his anger. Not at the President.

Arizona Threatens To Cut Off L.A.'s Electricity

This would be in retaliation to the L.A. boycott of Arizona's racist immigration law.

What The ***k?!!!!

See for yourself.

I say let em secede. Cut off Federal funding to these jackasses. As a matter of fact. They can have the South if they want it. Can't stand the South. Never liked it. (although I am not ready to give up Florida or Texas.... two of my adoptive home States). I would be ready to fight for Texas or Florida. But the rest, they can have. lol

Both Sides of The Loop Podcast

On this week's episode, Marvin King and Lenny McAllister cover minorities getting the frisk from NYC cops, Arizona's immigration law and civil rights, the anti-incumbent mood in American politics and Elena Kagan's nomination to the Supreme Court.

Arizona Quickly Modifies Immigration Law To Get Around Legal Challenges

The Arizona legislature modified their racist and unconstitutional immigration law earlier this month because they knew that the original law wouldn't hold up in Federal court. The move was made in anticipation of a mountain of lawsuits that would have likely made the legislation null and void in the Federal appeals courts.

The original law would have allowed (and in many cases required) police in Arizona to use an immigration check as the reason to make initial contact with an individual. Now the law states that officers can check immigration status as a consequence of some other violation of the law or some other contact, which could be just about anything. The provisions in the modification, for the most part, always existed. This is currently part of normal police practice across the country. Police officers already contact immigration authorities to report suspects who may be undocumented, when the issue comes up as a consequence of other violations of the law. So if that's the case, why have a law that codifies what is already the normal practice? Because that was not the original intent of the law. Arizona is trying to be slick with this move.

The changes will help the State defend against legal challenges, and will make the law tougher to kill in the courts. However, the law is still racist and unconstitutional. The law will still require some level of racial profiling. It still violates equal protection rights. It would still require a certain segment of the population to show proof of citizenship, while not requiring the same from others. The only way that this law could be constitutional, would be if everyone in Arizona were required to carry proof of citizenship and all were scrutinized equally. Gov. Brewer herself tried to claim that she didn't know what an immigrant looked like (in an attempt to blunt criticism.... and to try to show that the law would be applied to everyone....of course that's a lie. Of course this whole issue is about Mexicans). It is inherently racist...even with the changes....the changes only lessen the degree of the racism. The law also tries to trump Federal laws and Federal jurisdiction, another problem for Arizona as it tries to come up with a defense. Unfortunately those who want to challenge the law will have a steeper hill to climb.

The modifications were aimed at fixing some of the 4th amendment problems. But the problems with the 14th amendment are still there. Fortunately, this law was so horribly bad to begin with, that there are a number of routes to kill it. The modifications only plug one hole in the dam. This is why I believe the law was never really meant to be practical. I think it had more to do with Arizona wanting to send a message to Washington.

Read the Text of the Actual Law with the Modifications

Sometimes, you read things and go 'WOW'. Marco Rubio has made me do that.

hat tip-djchefron

I have to admit, I didn't believe it could be true.

But, the headline confirmed it:

Marco Rubio says deport all the immigrants

Yes, you read right.

Marco Rubio says deport all the immigrants

Are there words?

Here is a quote from Rubio:

Then Rubio explained that he is against letting illegals become legal:

Rubio also rejected the notion of a "path to citizenship" or "amnesty," despite "the human stories."

"There are going to be stories of very young kids that were brought to this country at a very young age who don't even speak Spanish that are going to be sent back to Nicaragua or some other place. And it's gonna feel weird and I understand that," he said, suggesting that those hardships would be a price worth paying.

Hah! That's a quote from Marco Rubio, son of Cuban refugees. Cubans were, for decades, welcome to settle in America without visas or papers or anything, and they are still allowed to enter the the U.S. via Mexico without fear of being deported.

But Nicaraguans? Ugh, no. Marco Rubio says GO HOME.

Ain't that a bitch?

IFFFFF they were from any other country (cough, Haiti, double cough), Cubans would be considered ILLEGAL and SHIPPED BACK.

They aren't here through legal channels.

But, HE and HIS have made it, and the rest of you can go f-yourselves.

All the Latinos in Florida who are thinking of giving Rubio a chance in part because of ' Latino Pride'...

well......

when the chips are down, and he needed to take a stand...

look what stand he took.

Look who he sucked up to.

Look whose ass he kissed...

He's showing you who he is....

we have a term for folks like Rubio in the Black community....one of my current favorite terms is Slave Catcher.

may your vision be clear as you look at Rubio.

Rachel Maddow takes on the architect of the' If you ain't White, you better have papers' Law

hat tip-SouthernGirl2

Rachel Maddow interviews the president of the Federation of American Immigration Reform

Rachel ripped Dan Stein to shreds

from Political Carnival

The president of FAIR (Federation of American Immigration Reform), Dan Stein, was on the Rachel Maddow Show. It was brutal.

Because of this interview (read: tussle; read: battle; read: slaughter), we have a new word: "Steined"... as in, "You've been Steined by Rachel Maddow".

Witness the peerless Rachel "Stein" Stein:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy