A World Turned Upside Down

Washington State is suing the Motel 6 hotel chain for providing guest lists to ICE (immigration) Agents. Suspected illegals have found themselves deported after checking in to the chain's motels.

In general, I abhor snitches and rats. That said, I am struggling to find fault with the clerks at the hotel. They had knowledge of illegal activity and reported it. If a clerk watched someone rob the McDonald's next door and then run into the hotel, shouldn't they report the suspect to the authorities? If the Motel 6 Manager sees a wreck in the street should they refuse to turn over their security tapes? If the college student stuck doing late-night desk duty sees grainy footage on the news of a convenience store holdup and thinks the perp is staying down in room 218, should she call the police? If one of the guests lacks documentation and appears to be an illegal, why shouldn't ICE be informed?

Some in our society seem to think that breaking the law is OK. If you come in to the country without permission or overstay your visa, you have broken the law. I do not care if you did it 5, 10, or even 20 years ago, you have broken the law. You have not paid income or FICA taxes. You have perpetuated the employment black market. You have stolen from the United States, and in this case, the state of Washington. If a law is wrong, then repeal it. Selective enforcement undermines the rule of law in general.

I am not arguing that we should have a wholesale deportation of every illegal. I blame those who hire them and those who make it easy and attractive to come here and survive illegally.  I think there is an opportunity to forgive those who came here, worked hard and want to become Americans. Substantial fines and a willingness to become American citizens is a path to avoid deportation. The flip side of that coin is identifying the employer who cheated you, me, and America by hiring that illegal guy or girl under the table. For that company, I have no leniency in my heart. They have provided unequal competition to their competitors who played by the rules, paid the taxes, provided the benefits as mandated by the various governments. I think a minimum fine of $100,000 for each and every illegal hired would be a good starting point.

In the meantime, maybe Washington should look into punishing the real law-breakers, not those who report them.