The arm is better.
Last week a federal appeals court threw out Canyon County’s lawsuit charging four agricultural employers and a local migrant activist for hiring undocumented workers under the auspices of federal racketeering law. Cost to taxpayers: at least $20,000 (hat tip: The Unequivocal Notion).
Two observations here: (1) Illegal immigration from Mexico isn’t going away unless real measures are taken to build the Mexican economy. Much of the burden of that is on Mexico. While political conditions there are much better than they were 20 years ago (they at least have a real multi-party democracy there now), there’s a long way to go. The benefits of a strong Mexico in the United States should be obvious. Meanwhile, building a fence across the border, making English the official language and other knee-jerk reactions to the issue here aren’t going to solve anything. They just waste taxpayer money and kill trees.
(2) Using the federal RICO statutes, which are designed to combat organized crime, for purposes like this is a boondoggle at best. Canyon County is a rapidly-growing area; taxpayers there need elected officials who’ll use their resources wisely for long-term benefit, not to score cheap political points.
