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Should employing illegal immigrants result in a jail sentence?

Should employing illegal immigrants result in a jail sentence?


  • Total voters
    12
YES.
As long as it is just a fine it will be seen by employers as "just another cost of doing business".
Throw them in the slammer for a few days and they will understand that we are serious.

Good point. I've seen this thinking in action elsewhere, when a logging contractor skidded their logs through a creek full of spawning pink salmon because they knew ahead what the fine would be and factored it into the arithmetic.
 
If the illegal immigration problem is as dire as some here say it is, should employers of those illegals be jailed?

I believe there should be an e verify system, but necessarily not jail time for employers. This is because false Identification is commonplace and many times employers hire illegals unwittingly. An Employer should be required to run e verify, and if are caught with employees that have not been submitted to e verify, pay a steep fine.
 
I agree with the employer having to pay a fine for hiring illegals. I also believe that the ILLEGALS should be put in jail because they are here ILLEGALLY. If they are not put in jail at least send them back to their homeland and if they get caught being here ILLEGALLY again put them to work at hard labor and that should stem the tide of ILLEGALS entering the country.
 
I agree with the employer having to pay a fine for hiring illegals. I also believe that the ILLEGALS should be put in jail because they are here ILLEGALLY. If they are not put in jail at least send them back to their homeland and if they get caught being here ILLEGALLY again put them to work at hard labor and that should stem the tide of ILLEGALS entering the country.

Yeahbut, they're not in the US because they want a job, they're there because they know they can get one. If they couldn't get a job they'd stop coming, no?
 
Yeahbut, they're not in the US because they want a job, they're there because they know they can get one. If they couldn't get a job they'd stop coming, no?

My whole point is that they are CRIMINALS. They shouldn't have the option to work here. That is why I said I agree with a fine for the employer. Throw them in jail instead of giving them free stuff and they will stop coming here. Laws are laws and the DOJ should enforce the laws.
 
If the illegal immigration problem is as dire as some here say it is, should employers of those illegals be jailed?

Not unless the abuse and exploitation is so rampant as to violate slave labor laws.

Just hiring illegals to work under the table or accepting phony ID for tax info should result in a hefty, and I mean hefty fine.
 
My whole point is that they are CRIMINALS. They shouldn't have the option to work here. That is why I said I agree with a fine for the employer. Throw them in jail instead of giving them free stuff and they will stop coming here. Laws are laws and the DOJ should enforce the laws.

My point it, they're being lured by people who want them to come, people who will make money illegaly as long as they continue coming.
Which is a stronger deterent- six months in jail for a Mexican illegal or six months in jail for a golf course owner?
 
Not unless the abuse and exploitation is so rampant as to violate slave labor laws.

Just hiring illegals to work under the table or accepting phony ID for tax info should result in a hefty, and I mean hefty fine.

Good 'nuff, I can get behind it being a human rights issue instead of the usual 2-dimensional economics boondoggle.
My feeling is, too many simple solutions to complicated problems focus on punishing the most vulnerable people in the equation rather than the ones who are really responsible for the problem.
 
Those of you who don't want illegals to work in the USA, would you prefer they lived solely on government assistance instead?

Like it or not, they're here to stay.
 
My point it, they're being lured by people who want them to come, people who will make money illegaly as long as they continue coming.
Which is a stronger deterent- six months in jail for a Mexican illegal or six months in jail for a golf course owner?

"being lured by people"? They are going to come here in hopes of finding a job anywhere. Throw them both in jail. I can't understand why anyone would want these illegals coming to this country and taking any ones job. There are people who come here legally to work the jobs most Americans would not don't want to do. People are complaining about only making minimum wage in this country. And here we are welcoming in these "poor people" who will gladly work these minimum wage jobs and be very happy to have a job. And then there are the people coming here for a free ride and criminal opportunities. If we abide by the laws of this land and enforce the laws of this land there should be no issues at all then.
 
Good 'nuff, I can get behind it being a human rights issue instead of the usual 2-dimensional economics boondoggle.
My feeling is, too many simple solutions to complicated problems focus on punishing the most vulnerable people in the equation rather than the ones who are really responsible for the problem.

I couldn't agree more. These people wouldn't spend their life's saving... and sometimes their lives... coming here unless they had a "corporate invitation" to do so. Those who hire them for less than their labor is worth, leaving citizens who need those jobs at reasonable wages out in the cold, are the problem, not the poverty-stricken people who come here in desperation.
 
YES.
As long as it is just a fine it will be seen by employers as "just another cost of doing business".
Throw them in the slammer for a few days and they will understand that we are serious.

But if they do that, it'll interrupt the food supply chain, yes?
 
YES.
As long as it is just a fine it will be seen by employers as "just another cost of doing business".
Throw them in the slammer for a few days and they will understand that we are serious.
This is why I support sticking them in prison the first time they hire illegals.It doesn't take a mathematician to figure out that if an employer can save 2 to 10 grand a year by hiring illegals that even paying maximum fines the employer still comes out on top for hiring illegals.
 
Maybe I am mistaken but I thought employers are already fined.

I'm pretty sure that no one around here is getting fined. The problem is that most illegals have a counterfeit (random) social security number and a legal driver's license. Sometimes two or three of them will be using the same SS number. The employer knows that he's getting bogus proof of citizenship, he just plays dumb and says that all of his Latino workers have given him the correct information. Then, when he gets raided, he has all of the illegals scanned SS and DL on file, claiming that he's not an immigration expert.
 
No, make them pay through their noses to teach them to never do something like that again.
 
That sounds fine to me. As long as the employer shows the effort and steps to comply with the law he/she should be fine.

Actually, just following the steps, and then some, will still get you fined big time, regardless if you used every method to check.

They don't care what you did. And the penalties are pretty damn stiff even for a first timer.
 
This is why I support sticking them in prison the first time they hire illegals.It doesn't take a mathematician to figure out that if an employer can save 2 to 10 grand a year by hiring illegals that even paying maximum fines the employer still comes out on top for hiring illegals.

Your hyperbole is so noted.

Let me clarify something. Illegal Immigrants don't walk around wearing a sign or a label. They aren't necessarily Mexican, Honduran or South American. They can speak and look like the average Joe, of all nationalities, races and colors.

Some have very good documents, you wouldn't even know they weren't born here. And even e-verify is not infallible, but the onus is on the employer if someone does slip through.

I've been through both a State and Federal Labor Audit. The penalties were stiff, even though we were not held criminally liable because of the documentation provided.

Funny thing is, I still see one of the employees deemed to be 'illegal' still walking around town, 6 years later.
 
Definately no jail time but my vote would be a fine that is a % of their profits and then this % doubles each time they get caught up until they get to 100%, at which time the last amount fined gets doubled. I am not a law person or a financial person so I acknowledge this may not be doable but I like the idea.

I want to add that this should be rational and if the employer shows that they did everything they could to check then they shouldnt receive a fine.
 
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If the illegal immigration problem is as dire as some here say it is, should employers of those illegals be jailed?


I am a person that believes that our laws in many instances give way to much leeway in many cases. People generally know what is legal and what is illegal and should know better.


I personally would like to see harsher punishments for businesses that hire illegals. I would require a business, when found to be employing non legal employees, to show reasonable effort in trying to establish legal status of said employees prior to employment. If no reasonable effort can be proven then I would fine them for a first offense, a much heavier fine for second offense, and third offense would be the permanent removal of their business license. I would only apply jail time if they (the owners) create a new business are are again found to be hiring illegal employees.
 
Not for the first offense.

Fines, fines, fines.
 
No way! I don't think there should be a penalty at all, but if there must be one it should be limited to a fine. You don't throw peaceful people in cages just because they did you something you don't like. Jail is for people that pose an immediate threat to society (murderers, rapists, thieves, etc), not for business owners that employ individuals born on the other side of a line in the dirt.
 
I think it should be like a liquor license violation. The server and the business are fined, with escalating fines until the business loses it's license.

That would be my vote too.
 
Our prisons are so overfilled that we are having to let murderers and rapists out early. The last thing we should be doing is adding more.
 
Actually, just following the steps, and then some, will still get you fined big time, regardless if you used every method to check.

They don't care what you did. And the penalties are pretty damn stiff even for a first timer.

I'm waitin' to see what they do with Palermos pizza in Milwaukee.
 
Your hyperbole is so noted.

How is what I said hyperbole? You are telling me that employer who deliberately hires illegals because its cheaper to hire them instead of Americans is somehow going to be hurt by measly fines?

Let me clarify something. Illegal Immigrants don't walk around wearing a sign or a label. They aren't necessarily Mexican, Honduran or South American. They can speak and look like the average Joe, of all nationalities, races and colors.

I never said they walked around carrying a sign or of one nationality or race.

Some have very good documents, you wouldn't even know they weren't born here. And even e-verify is not infallible, but the onus is on the employer if someone does slip through.

If the employer does all the checks like background checks, E-verify and SS# check and has documented that they did all those checks then I do not support fining or jailing the employer.Although if it happens on more than one occasion then it is suspicious.
I've been through both a State and Federal Labor Audit. The penalties were stiff, even though we were not held criminally liable because of the documentation provided.

How were the penalties stiff?

Penalties for Employers Hiring Illegal Immigrants | LegalMatch Law Library
What Are the Penalties For Hiring An Illegal Immigrant?

For first offenders, there is a $250-$2,000 fine per illegal employee.

For a second offense, the fine is $2,000-$5,000 per illegal employee.

For employers who have been convicted of hiring illegal immigrants more than twice, the fine can range from $3000-$10,000 per employee. If the employer demonstrates a pervasive pattern of knowingly employing illegal immigrants, he or she could face additional fines, and up to six months in jail.
 
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