Magnolia State Immigration Reform Group 'Outing' Companies That Hire Illegals
by Chad Groening
May 9, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A Mississippi-based immigration reform organization wants the public to know which companies in the state are breaking federal law by hiring illegal aliens. The group called the Mississippi Federation for Immigration Reform and Enforcement (MFIRE) was formed to address the growing illegal alien problem in the Magnolia State. Executive director Mike Lott says the group seeks to inform Mississippians about what is going on in their state with regard to illegal immigration and how citizens are affected.
"The number-one problem is lack of enforcement at the border and lack of enforcement of laws dealing with employers and others," Lott contends. "So we're trying to educate Mississippians and to let them know there are employers in this state who are breaking federal law by hiring illegal aliens."
MFIRE's website has begun posting the names of companies that have reportedly hired illegal immigrants. Lott notes that one of the violators listed there is Arkansas-based Tyson Foods, which also has a large operation in Mississippi.
The immigration reform advocate says people will have to make up their own minds about what to do with this kind of information. "We haven't called for a boycott," he points out. "We're just making the information available, educating Mississippians. As adults and as citizens of the state, they can make their own decisions, but we just want them to be aware that this is happening."
Lott says MFIRE is only posting information that it can verify. "We don't just take hearsay," he emphasizes. "We make sure that the information is valid information. And if there are employers that we know -- and can document the source of [the information] -- are either hiring illegals or doing things that are supporting illegal aliens, then we post them on our website for folks to know and have information on."
Lott, who is a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives, adds that he believes most illegal aliens would return home voluntarily if U.S. companies refused to hire them. That is why he insists that cracking down on American companies hiring the unauthorized and undocumented workers must be part of the solution to the illegal immigration problem.
Chad Groening, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
