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VIEWPOINT: Immigration reform not just a national issue |
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By Yvonne D. Hawkins
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Tuesday, 27 March 2007 |
Anyone who still thinks that immigration reform mostly is an issue for farmers or large urban employers isn’t paying attention.
Sioux Falls’ business community is among many that have a keen interest in how the national discussion on immigration unfolds.
Just read recent headlines, and you’ll see what I mean.
For instance, the recent flap involving the Justice Department’s firing of several federal prosecutors supposedly involves how the prosecutors handled cases that the Bush administration considers a priority. And immigration has been named as one of those priorities.
Locally, there’s news of a restaurateur being charged recently with immigration violations. Julio Espino, owner of Inca Mexican Restaurant, and one of Espino’s managers are accused of hiring and harboring illegal aliens.
The firing of federal prosecutors and the filing of criminal charges in the Inca case have no direct correlation.
But the separate events demonstrate that immigration reform is a central issue today that is impacting – in one form or another – the political, business and legal fabric of this country from Washington to Sioux Falls.
And without a consistent, workable, national policy on immigration, Sioux Falls businesses are just as in danger of getting caught in the crossfire of this hotbed of controversy as federal attorneys, farmers or anyone else.
Contact editor Yvonne D. Hawkins at 977-3964 or
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