Papers, Please--Unless You're Illegal

That's the philosophy of Massachusetts lawmakers like Rep. Eugene L. O'Flaherty who are proposing a new law to fine people who hire illegal immigrants (if ONLY the sentence stopped there!)...and fail to properly document the terms of their employment.

Rep. O'Flaherty and his allies want to force those who hire illegals to present them with written terms of their employments (hours, wages, required equipment, etc). If the American citizen who hires some guy to mow his lawn doesn't comply, he could face up to $1,250 in fines. And what does the illegal immigrant face for breaking the law in the first place?

Nada.

As he is both an attorney and a legislator, I'm sure Rep. O'Flaherty is aware that it is a federal crime to employ illegal immigrants. But he doesn't want to punish the employers for that, no, no, no. He wants to punish them for not being nice enough to the lawbreakers.

Who will get punished for driving other employers out of business by undercutting them with cheap, illegal, off-the-books labor? And while Rep. O'Flaherty is there making sure the illegals got their proper job descriptions, is he going to make sure they're paying all of their taxes, too?

Not a chance.