McHenry Uses Taxpayer Money to Attack Immigrants

McHenry uses tax payer money to misrepresent his stand on Illegal Immigration and other issues.

Mr. McHenry’s close friends and neo-conservative allies like Tom DeLay, Carl Rove and Dennis Hassert are now gone from Washington, leaving a bad smell behind them. Suddenly Mr. McHenry wants us to believe he has helped Veterans and that he has always been against Illegal Immigration.

And, he uses his “franking” privilege as an incumbent to mail taxpayer funded, high-priced/full-color propaganda pieces to every home. A week or so ago one of these mailers claimed that he had a fantastic record with Veterans Affairs. In fact, a few months ago his voting record, as measured by Veteran’s groups, was amongst the lowest in Congress. It is significant to note that all three of Mr. McHenry’s competitors in this race are men who volunteered and served on active duty.

Last week the glossy full color mailing claimed that Mr. McHenry was adamantly against illegal immigration. “The Fight Against Illegal Immigration” he called it. Before he moved to Gaston County to run for NC House, Mr. McHenry had a patronage job in the Department of Labor in Washington. His boss, the Secretary of Labor was and is the wife of powerful Republican Senator Mitch McConnell. I believe purposefully lax enforcement of our existing labor laws by the Bush administration has been one of the main drivers of illegal immigration. When Mr. McHenry worked for the Department of Labor did he fight against illegal immigration?

Like with drug trafficking, you can treat the “Supply” side of the problem or the “Demand” side. Building fences, etc, attempts to treat the “Supply” side. Consistent application of our existing labor laws treats the “Demand” side. It would not have stopped illegal immigration, but if jobs had not been easily available, the flow would certainly have been less, and the total number in the country far smaller. I have had people personally report seeing across-the-street banners in Mexican farm towns proclaiming, “COME AND WORK IN BEAUTIFUL … NORTH CAROLINA”. We know that chicken-packing plants in our District went to specific South/Central American countries and recruited their labor force.

With Republican control of both the Executive and the Legislative for six years, effective short term, special need, work visa or guest worker systems could have been put in place. I believe visa programs patterned on successful, seasonal, farm work visa programs, did not happen during this period because the Bush Administration wanted this population of mostly hard working, religious, family oriented, proud; but ill-treated people to continue in existence in the fringes and dark corners of our economy.

This is a tough issue; we must go after both the Supply (border control) and the Demand (labor law enforcement) side.

On the Supply side we can build better fences, hire and train more immigration and border agents, diplomatically work our century long good relations with the Mexican and other governments, use the National Guard temporarily for specific problem areas, put effective work visa/guest-worker programs in place, punish in both countries the coyotes who exploit and victimize people looking for a better life, and review our trade policy for agriculture so as not to destroy the Mexican/Latin American small farm as an economic unit.

On the Demand side, we can enforce available labor laws, put real penalties in place for offending employers, extend our monitoring to the sub-contract level, and again put in place legitimate and enforceable defined-term work visa programs for our farms and industries that prove the need for Latin American labor. The people who are really needed here should be here proudly and in the full light of day. No more people being exploited as they sneak across the border or as they remain on the fringes of our work force. We must also be sure that our skill training programs prepare our own citizen workers for the available jobs.

I do not believe in general amnesty programs. The general amnesty for three million done in the Regan years only invited and encouraged millions more illegal immigrants to come. People who wish to become citizens should pursue the existing application program. But I am not sure that we need to penalize desirable applicants who are here under a legitimate work-visa program.

Under a “guest worker” program there are some specific problems to be treated. These problems exist, un-addressed, in the present system with its “blind eye”. First who covers the overhead of these workers? Who covers health care, education, worker’s comp, retirement and social services? Logically it should be those who benefit from or create the program: (a) the workers themselves, (b) the benefiting employers, (c) our federal government if it refuses to enforce the law, or (d) their home national governments (whose economies benefit from remittances). Right now, by and large, the Property Tax Payers (many recently un-employed) are covering the above listed overheads and “benefiting employers” are having less expense than with legal workers.

A second really difficult issue is legacy children. Our constitution gives citizenship to any born here. I know that women, some un-married, are having babies just so they can legally tap into our social service network and in desperation to help cement their own presence in the US. I don’t have a solution for this one yet. But, changing the Constitution is always, to me, a last choice to be used with great care.

In going forward we must not lose sight of the fact that our farms and factories may need some of these workers, or lose sight of the fact that we are a moral nation and that the twelve million or so people, here illegally, can be bought under the law, or encouraged/forced to leave, but must be treated consistent with our Christian values.

Because of the loss of textiles and furniture factories, illegal immigration is particularly an issue for the industrialized parts of the Tenth District. Displaced workers are, or should be, trying to establish new careers. They are justifiably angry to see illegal immigrants taking jobs that they or their children want and need.

Many Republicans, following the style of Carl Rove, claim that Democrats are soft on illegal immigration. In fact the owners of our larger farms and factories (many but not all Republican) are the real beneficiaries of this illegitimate labor force. It can be manipulated and exploited through careless direct hires or contrived sub-contract arrangements. However, working people (many, but not all, Democrat) are the ones who have been most hurt. As I have traveled the district during the last twelve months meeting and talking to thousands of people, I am finding many Democrats who are angry and vocal about this issue. I am also finding businessmen, farmers, and others who fear over-reaction. Democrats are not soft on Illegal Immigration, and Republicans are not the only defenders of our liberty.

Most politicians either dodge this issue entirely or take over-blown, un-realistic, but popular, hard-line stands such as the one Mr. McHenry laid out in his mailer. They agitate people’s concerns but do little to find realistic solutions.

We do not need a Congressman in Washington who panders to our whims or exploit our fears. We need someone who knows the District and leads by a combination of consensus and vision (the art of the possible). I am such a person and invite you to check out my ideas, involvement in the life of my District and related experience on many issues at www.steveivester.com.

This Illegal Immigration issue is a tough one. As with other tough issues, I am working hard with people on all sides to understand the problem and identify potential solutions. I think it is important that a congressman present solutions and not just problems as his platform. I believe he/she should run on, and go to Washington with, elements of workable plans that serve the best interest of our district, our country and our legal Citizens. These ideas should come from and with the voters, not just be dictated by special Interests who may have funded that candidate’s campaign.

Steve Ivester
P.O.Box 1689, Hickory, NC 28603-1689
Tenth District Candidate for US Congress