I have been hard pressed not to get political with my postings. But sometimes, an issue arises that is simply too important to ignore.
For me, that issue is the manner in which the current administration is handling immigration. At the current time, I employ no one whose legality could be questioned. But there have been times when I have hired someone who might have questionable status.
It has always been incumbent upon employers to vet their hires to the extent of asking for valid identification and Social Security information. But we have all been aware that these documents can easily be forged. It has never been incumbent on us to verify the legitimacy of such documents. If the guy presents an ID and a SS number, we're good to go.
Many of the people I hired became friends. I knew them to be hard working, family oriented people with more respect for our long held values than many of the "legal American" employees I had. So now I am wondering how we are going to react to the idea of guys with guns and badges entering our shops and demanding that our employees present acceptable papers. How are we going to simply stand by while the ICE agents take our employees and friends away? I'm not sure how I would handle this. I don't think I could simply sit by while the cops interrogate my employees.
I am very aware of the need for some rational solution to this issue. But we seem to be moving in a most irrational direction and one that is heartless to boot.
Your thoughts?
D.D.
