Using Anti-Organized Crime Law to Combat Illegal Immigration

[Norm Abrahamson]

Today's Boston Globe has an interesting article (page A6) about a county in Idaho attempting to use RICO (Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) to recover the cost of illegal immigrants to the community. The RICO act was originally passed to prosecute the Mafia and other organized crime. It adds penalties where two or more illegal acts are part of an organized criminal enterprise.

The theory being used by Canyon County, goes something like this: Illegal immigration costs the county millions of tax dollars each year in educational services, medical services, criminal prosecutions, and even unemployment insurance payments to displaced American workers. They are going after employers who hire illegal immigrants to recover the costs to the county caused by illegal immigrants.

This is a pretty clever, if unintended use of the RICO statute. The idea is that by hiring illegal immigrants for cheap labor, employers encourage illegal immigration and are therefore responsible for the costs of the illegal immigration.

Obviously, the county level politicians were discouraged by the failure or refusal of the Federal Government to enforce immigration laws up to the standards they want.

What do you folks think of this?

Sincerely,

Norm Abrahamson