Bexar County, Texas, Sheriff Javier Salazar has opened an investigation into Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, claiming the Republican violated the law by transporting illegal immigrants out of the Lone Star state for a flight to Massachusetts.
As it turns out, Sheriff Salazar has his own solution to the illegal immigration crisis. There’s just a slight problem, though: It’s exponentially more illegal than anything Salazar is accusing DeSantis of.
In an interview Tuesday with CNN’s Alisyn Camerota, Salazar, a Democrat whose jurisdiction includes San Antonio, said he wants restaurants and other businesses to hire the illegal immigrants who have crossed into the United States under President Joe Biden’s administration.
“I think at some point, you’re going to have to embrace the fact this is happening, to a certain extent,” Salazar said.
Salazar said he would go to restaurants and “I would say: ‘Look, you’ve got people that want to work.
“‘They want to do an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay – not for slave wages, give them an honest day’s pay. And you’ve got a shortage of workers,’” he continued.
“If you go to any restaurant in San Antonio, Texas, right now, you’re going to wait a long time to get your table, even though there are empty tables, because there’s not enough wait staff to wait on you. You’re going to wait a long time for your food because there’s not enough people to cook it in the back. Half the cooks maybe aren’t showing up for work, or they quit.”
Wow. That’ll solve everything! If only it weren’t a blatant violation of federal law.
DeSantis’ campaign posted a video of the interview to Twitter.
Bexar Co Sheriff is tired of long waits for tables, so he urges restaurants in San Antonio to hire the 2 million+ illegal aliens who have crossed during the Biden Border Crisis.
If restaurants took the Sheriff’s advice, they’d be violating federal law.
pic.twitter.com/jasResY1Ji— DeSantis War Room 🐳 (@DeSantisWarRoom) September 20, 2022
In fact, according to the U.S. penal code, an individual or entity “which engages in a pattern or practice of violations” in hiring illegal aliens “shall be fined not more than $3,000 for each unauthorized alien with respect to whom such a violation occurs, imprisoned for not more than six months for the entire pattern or practice, or both, notwithstanding the provisions of any other Federal law relating to fine levels.”
Salazar’s remarks came as data showed unlawful entries into the United States had topped 2 million this year, according to CBS News, a disastrous new record.
Yet, Salazar seems more concerned with investigating DeSantis over 48 illegal immigrants his state flew to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts last week.
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According to The New York Times, Salazar claimed the migrants had been “lured under false pretenses” that they would be getting work and a better quality of life.
“They had a right to walk around the streets just like you and me, and they had a right not to be preyed on and played for a fool and transported halfway across the country, just for the sake of a media event or a video opportunity,” Salazar said. “That’s a tragedy.”
So, instead, what Salazar wants to do is have employers illegally give jobs to illegal immigrants — luring them under false pretenses, one might say.
The irony wasn’t lost on Twitter users:
So the Sheriff is advocating to break the federal laws about hiring illegal immigrants in his city?
And the CNN “journalist” @AlisynCamerota had no follow up on this? https://t.co/agaEy1MKG5
— Justin Edwards (@WolvesWin2022) September 20, 2022
Right? And he has time to go on CNN!
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) September 20, 2022
Let me get this straight… so “these ppl”, who are they? Let them work “legally”, which means? if he is talking about the undocumented, how are they gonna pay taxes if they cannot even have a social security number? And this is the person that wants to sue Desantis?
— Roxana (@roxytango) September 20, 2022
Hire an illegal laborer and break federal law. So @sheriffsalazar can get his prime rib faster.
— Jim Stinson (@jimstinson) September 20, 2022
For his part, DeSantis has been dismissive of the investigations into the Martha’s Vineyard flights: “Give me a break,” he told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Monday.
If any employer is stupid enough to take Sheriff Salazar’s advice, however, they likely won’t be able to dismiss the legal consequences quite so easily.
