Letter: Cure for E-Verify woes is decent wage

In the Aug. 1 story “Illegal-labor crackdown feared” on mandatory E-Verify, Burlington berry grower Steve Sakuma says he will go out of business if E-Verify becomes law.

E-Verify is law in Arizona — has anyone gone out of business there because of it?

Like many people, Sakuma wants the law changed to accommodate him.

The truth of the matter is, he is breaking the law by hiring illegal immigrants and should be fined until he stops breaking the law.

His blatantly racist statement that “white America” won’t pick strawberries is ridiculous. This is the same old rhetoric we have heard before. Pay a decent wage and he would have no problems with hiring workers.

He is the one who should be ashamed of himself for taking advantage of illegal workers. He knows they have no option, as they are here illegally, and he and other growers take advantage of that.

Millions of Americans are out of work, yet it seems business owners are worried only about cheap labor and that is the bottom line.

Curt Ross

Washougal