SBD
Admiral
Joined: 19 Aug 2004
Posts: 1022
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 Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2005 9:27 pm Post subject: Racketeering Charge to fight illegal immigration?? |
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I think this might actually work!!
| Quote: | Chicago lawyer helping fight against illegal workers
http://www.suntimes.com/output/business/cst-nws-rico17.html
July 17, 2005
BY REBECCA BOONE
BOISE, Idaho -- Faced with the costs of coping with illegal immigrants, one county is looking to the courts for help -- by filing a racketeering lawsuit against the businesses that hire these workers.
The legal theory: that a pattern of immigration violations by employers is costing Canyon County millions for law enforcement, education and social services.
''Their presence lowers the labor wage for American citizens and removes employment opportunities,'' county Commissioner Robert Vasquez, an ambitious politician who just started a bid for Congress, said of the illegal workers. ''Certainly it uses tax dollars to provide them with educational services, medical care, unemployment compensation for those that are injured on the job. They are a drain on the taxpayers of Canyon County, the state of Idaho and the U.S. in general.''
The county's attempt to recoup its expenses would be filed under the federal Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, which has been used against targets that included organized crime and Internet spammers. It would be the first time that a government has sued a business under RICO, enacted in 1970, legal experts say.
Lawsuit first of its kind
The county signed a contract Tuesday with a RICO specialist, Chicago attorney Howard Foster of the firm Johnson and Bell, and Vasquez said the lawsuit was expected to be filed soon.
''There is no such lawsuit ever in American history,'' Foster said. ''I don't know if around the country other county commissioners or governments are really as interested as they should be to protect the rights of their citizens.''
Idaho may seem a strange stage for an immigration test case. The state has 19,000 illegal aliens and ranks 35th among the states, just above Rhode Island, according to estimates from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Canyon County is just southwest of Boise, against the Oregon line.
Vasquez would not say which businesses will be sued until the lawsuit is filed. He estimated the county has spent at least $2 million on costs related to illegal aliens.
Employers say the lawsuit could spell the end of many labor-intensive businesses that rely on immigrant labor, or at least drive up the cost, said Ann Bates, executive director of the Idaho Nursery and Landscape Association.
If Canyon County succeeds, the case could create a legal structure for other governments concerned about undocumented workers.
''Right now people say there's no money in enforcing the law, but now there might be for attorneys and trial lawyers. It could create a vested interest in enforcement,'' said Steven Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, which supports immigration restrictions.
AP |
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