Having addressed some controversial issues like eBay and the real estate market through a series of posts, one of BloggingStocks most avid (and astute) readers asked me to tackle another tough issue -- Immigration reform.

He directed me to the following September 15 2006 article, "Immigration Raid Makes a Ghost Town." The story points out :

"Last month, the federal government reported that Georgia had the fastest-growing illegal immigrant population in the country. The number more than doubled from an estimated 220,000 in 2000 to 470,000 last year. This year, state lawmakers passed some of the nation's toughest measures targeting illegal immigrants, and Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue last week vowed a statewide crackdown on document fraud."

The article is clearly slanted toward the plight of the people that were hauled away, creating the "ghost town," and is slanted against the government. In this case I may have been swayed by similar feelings, as was our reader. However, I am not one to appreciate the political polarization we create among ourselves and I do not feel this article is balanced in its reporting.

Even in the paragraph I have quoted I would not mention the political affiliation of the Governor. Some might say it is normal to do so, but I say it adds nothing to the story and only fuels the wrong fire. This story will take volumes and I do not know how much energy I have to cover it, but if you do not have your own soap box, I am more than happy to share mine. Perhaps we can thrash out what this all means.

One of the first things that I noted in the article was the use of the term illegal "immigrants" as opposed to illegal "aliens," which by itself is an indication of where one's sympathies may lie.

Wal-Mart recently settled a case for $11 million brought on by the use of undocumented workers in some of its stores, who worked for contractors and not Wal-Mart itself; shining light on a more pressing issue, for all companies. That is, should Wal-Mart itself be responsible for ensuring any worker -- employee or contractor -- has the legal right to work in the U.S.?

According to provision four of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, even Wal-Mart can be responsible for hiring a legally-authorized contractor that then uses undocumented and illegal workers for its services. This specifically pertains to, in this case, cleaning and janitorial workers that performed services in Wal-Mart stores but were actually under the control of a third-party contractor.

Does Wal-Mart not ensure and legally contract with contractors who can prove and verify that its workers are documented U.S. citizens or the equivalent? That fact alone, if true, is unbelievable for the world's largest retailer. If a contract between Wal-Mart and all of its independent contractors states that the contractor will not use undocumented workers on the premises of any Wal-Mart, and must prove the validity of citizenship with all workers assigned to a store, this should not be a problem.

Sure, this is a mountain of paperwork for contractors most likely, but what else is there? If a contractor breaches the contract and gets caught, a contract stipulation should release Wal-Mart itself from any and all liability, plain and simple.