Just when I think I am starting to understand the conservative argument, they do something so bizarre it feels like my head is going to explode. In the frantic competition to see which conservative state is the strongest proponent of defending true Americans from illegal immigrants, Texas House Bill 1202 authored by State Representative Debbie Riddle puts Texas in the pole position.
HB 1202 proposes making it a felony for any person to “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly” employ or contract for work with an illegal immigrant except a person who:
employed or contracted with the unauthorized alien, or entered into a contract or subcontract described by Section 40.02(a)(3), for the purpose of obtaining labor or other work to be performed exclusively or primarily at a single-family residence in which the actor resides
In other words, it would not be illegal to employ undocumented workers as housekeepers, maids, nannies or gardeners. I may be wrong but it is easy to surmise that Rep. Riddle’s wealthy constituents would be the primary beneficiary of this exception.
With respect to immigration reform, my naive understanding of the goals is to get the undocumented workers:
- out of the country so they won’t take jobs from Americans
- to pay taxes
- contribute to society in a useful way
Texas conservatives like to talk about penalizing employers of undocumented workers. The theory is if employers don’t hire them the illegals will self-deport. But this new proposal seems to contradict the theory.
Instead of getting this particular set of illegals out of the country, Rep. Riddle seems to want to keep them in Texas in some kind of servitude because historically, undocumented workers in these fields earn below market wages and, if there is a dispute of any kind, the illegals can’t call the cops.
Rep. Riddle’s bill also seems to indicate there aren’t enough qualified Americans to take care of the kids. If there were, why would she want to allow an exception for this job? Could it be the age-old story that immigrants typically take the jobs that no one else wants?
In an interview with the Texas Tribune, Jon English, Rep. Riddle’s Chief of Staff, said
It is an admittedly clumsy first attempt to say, ‘We are really focusing on the big businesses’
But this doesn’t make sense, either as most large companies have large HR departments to ensure their hiring practices follow the laws. It just sounds like a spin to provide cover for a bad policy where a politician is simply helping her wealthy constituents.
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