The writer of a letter to the editor recently asked: Whose side is the Chamber [of Commerce] on – American citizens or illegal immigrants?
That's actually a very good question.
For example, if the U.S., state and local Chambers of Commerce were on the side of American citizens they would protect Americans from job related felonies, including illegal alien driven identity theft, which accounts for 15 percent of total identity theft and directly impacts over a million kids in Arizona and 50,000 more in Utah.
They would do everything possible to ensure that unemployed American workers are given priority for jobs especially at a time when unemployment exceeds 10 percent.
They would demand that taxpayer funds never be used to hire illegal aliens and that illegal aliens be prohibited from working on federal, state and local government contracts.
They would prevent illegal-alien gang members from getting jobs rather than allowing them to work by day, often using false documents and stolen identities.
They would want the salaries paid to their workers to be spent in their local communities to stimulate economic growth and development rather than being sent to foreign countries.
They would teach their members that it is not appropriate to shift the health care costs of illegal aliens to Americans with health insurance and they would fight to make sure that American schools were not overwhelmed by the children of illegal aliens.
Special Agent in Charge, Explains IMAGE:
And how would the Chambers do this? Well, a good start would be to encourage all their members to verify the identity and eligibility to work in the United States of each new hire by signing up for E-Verify. In addition, the Chambers could encourage their members to participate in the IMAGE program in order to identify current employees who are using fraudulent documents and Social Security numbers that belong to American citizens.
These programs would put a stop to most employment-related felonies, protect jobs for American citizens, deny illegal-alien gangbangers the cover of a regular job, stop taxpayer funds from going to illegal aliens, help stimulate the American economy through higher spending in local communities, contribute to controlling health care costs and improve public education.
So, what are the Chambers doing to protect American citizens? Virtually nothing. In fact, many Chambers seem determined to do everything possible to harm American citizens and to benefit illegal aliens.
Rather than protecting American children, who are prime targets of illegal-alien job-related identity theft, Chambers of Commerce actually facilitate this felony.
The Chambers fight hard in both in the political arena and in the courts to protect their members’ ability to hire illegal aliens who are committing felonies to obtain jobs.
The Chambers openly attack E-Verify and they give no encouragement to their members to enroll in the IMAGE program.
The Chambers file lawsuit after lawsuit after lawsuit in order to protect their members' access to illegal alien labor.
The Chambers fight for the right of illegal aliens to use the stolen identities of American children in order to get taxpayer-funded jobs while millions of Americans are unemployed.
The Chambers support the transfer of billions of dollars in earnings out of local communities to foreign nations at a time taxpayer funds are being used to stimulate the American economy.
The Chambers support the amnesty components of "comprehensive immigration reform" that give illegal aliens and their employers total forgiveness from serious crimes including identity theft, failure to pay payroll taxes, and knowingly hiring illegal aliens.
The Chambers willingly sacrifice millions of American citizens who have their identities being used by illegal aliens to get jobs. The Chambers couldn't care less if American citizens have their credit ruined, are saddled with arrest records, denied unemployment insurance, have their medical records compromised with life-threatening consequences, and are pursued by the IRS for income earned by illegal aliens using their Social Security numbers as long as their members can profit from illegal-alien labor.
But it doesn't end there. In Utah, the Salt Lake Chamber has developed its own amnesty plan that would allow Utah employers to:
• grant legal status to illegal aliens,
• hire illegal aliens and foreign nationals less expensively than American citizens,
• forgive illegal alien and employer job related crimes, and
• leave the families of 50,000 Utah children whose identities are being used by illegal aliens to clean up their children’s records at their own expense.
And if that weren't enough, Salt Lake Chamber leaders actively support in-state college tuition for illegal aliens while still requiring legal immigrants who play by the rules to pay the much higher out-of-state tuition rates.
So, whose side are Chambers of Commerce on – American citizens or illegal aliens? The record speaks for itself.