This is just a laughable story really. Some Representatives are shocked that illegal aliens working for a contractor could be admitted to a nuclear power plant. Do these people live under a rock?
Michelle Malkin sums up previous incidents nicely.
Not-so-newsflash: They've also been caught on nuclear sub bases and at airports (most recently, while maintaining passenger and cargo aircraft) and at food plants that manufacture MREs for soldiers. And in construction jobs at air force bases. And refitting Navy aircraft carriers. For starters.
So, for Congress to be shocked and ignorant to the fact that illegals are working in sensitive national security areas is utterly ridiculous.
Washington Times
Illegal aliens using false Social Security numbers were able to enter and work as contract painters at a power plant in Florida, including work near one nuclear reactor.
Officials at Progress Energy, which runs the Crystal River Energy Complex in Citrus County, say they followed federal regulations and that the contractor should have better vetted its employees.
One way to "better vett" the employee's is by following through on California Congressman David Dreier's bill
The Illegal Immigration Enforcement and Social Security Protection Act that
I covered in January. This bill includes an automated system of checking a workers valid status by swiping a card. It's sure to be opposed by those who are friends to illegal aliens such as
MALDEF,
MECha and
La Raza. It will also be opposed by businesses and politicians who are still under the impression that Hispanics here legally will be upset if illegal aliens are tossed out of the country.
So there is already legislation out there, it's just a matter of getting it through Congress and then once in place actually enforcing it which seems to be the Achilles heel to all of our laws against illegal aliens. Some even have the audacity to say that illegal aliens aren't really criminals and that jumping our borders really isn't a crime.
Instead, in the article, Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite simply calls for support of the "REAL ID" act (see more at my entry here), which only addresses drivers licenses and tightening asylum law. It doesn't do much in regards to identifying illegal aliens looking to be employed.
Progress Energy said at least two workers used identification with false Social Security numbers to enter the facility as part of their contract job, and officials at the Florida Gulf Coast Building and Construction Trades Council said the number could be as high as seven.
The individuals worked for Brock Specialty Services, a Texas-based company that was hired to do maintenance at the facility.
Progress Energy spokesman Rick Kimble said the energy company followed the NRC's guidelines. "Point blank, it should not have happened. ... But we followed the regulations that were required. We also think the contractor had an obligation to do pre-screening as well."
Brock officials couldn't be reached for comment.
I wonder why they couldn't be reached?
Mr. Kimble said the NRC requires that persons admitted to power plants have valid government-issued identification, which these workers had. He said the men provided Social Security numbers to be matched against law-enforcement databases, but the false numbers the workers gave didn't raise any red flags.
...
"That doesn't give the local community a very good feeling, if you have a situation where undocumented foreigners can get access to a nuclear power plant and that doesn't violate anything," [Michael J. Jeske, secretary-treasurer for the union] said.
That automated system proposed by David Dreier would at least be a step towards raising red flags on false Social Security numbers and in this case would have raised a red flag for the contractor when he hired the workers.
Other Commentary:
Lonewacko
