Kansas Work Aid Bill Could Go to Illegal Immigrants

COMMENTARY | While Arizona is cracking down illegal immigrants, dairy and feedlot owners in Kansas want to put them to work, per Kansas Agriculture Secretary Dale Rodman. Depending on a pilot program that could aide the cattle industry in Kansas, illegal immigrants may find themselves able to get work without scrutiny from Homeland Security.

While there isn't much information on the pilot program, those who say they can't find work may have a whole new problem. Just weeks after President Obama said he wants to crack down on illegals entering the country, Rodman wants to use these people to the state's advantage.

There are a few conditions at this time for the proposed pilot program for Kansas farmers and ranchers to hire illegal immigrants if it were to pass. The proposed allocations for illegals to work in Kansas would be as follows:

* Illegals must have lived in Kansas for five years.

* Those with criminal records won't be able to work on farms and ranches.

Those are just two things that have been put on the table by Rodman. Rather than going for the illegals, Rodman should focus more on people living in the state that are unemployed as a way to fill the gaps. That would be the logical thing. When it comes to politics, nothing is logical.

One other thing that was mentioned was those who had expired visas. Those who have been watching that part of immigration felt those people would be the most likely to be able to fill the jobs.

Either way, those who sneaked in and those who came here the legal way and let their visas expire are now illegal immigrants. Rodman and the watchers are wanting to give the jobs to those who don't have a legal right to be in the country.

Rodman doesn't go unopposed. Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is the one who wrote the immigration laws for Alabama and Arizona. He tried to get the same laws passed in Kansas, but the farmers and ranchers found they weren't the only ones wanting to capitalize on the illegal immigrants and lower wages. The bill failed.

It is very likely this work pilot program will fail. The tight restrictions for hiring unskilled illegal immigrant workers was put in place for a reason.