The Home Journal

Selfish Policy

Some big employers of labor here are still urging that immigration regulations be relaxed to permit them to import as many workers as they please from Jamaica, Antigua, St. Kitts and other Caribbean islands. Some of them have gone to the extent of suggesting that discrimination in employment here be practiced against our fellow American citizens in Puerto Rico, where a huge labor market exists.

This proposal is motivated by selfishness and greed and is hostile to the best interest of our people.

The regulations that now apply are very loose. Every month hundreds of persons enter St. Thomas from nearby islands on 29-day visits. Most of them work regularly. Some persons slip in illegally.

There is nothing to prevent any employer who can prove inability to obtain certain help from getting permission to import foreign labor for stipulated periods. Under that provision, hundreds of workers have been brought into the islands. This provision gives protection to residents who may otherwise be displaced by newcomers. No one is opposed to the importing of labor when the need exists, and provided they do not displace residents and depress wages. Employers who import help should be required to assume full responsibility for them. The community's housing, water, sanitation, health and other facilities are too overburdened to permit hundreds to come here without restriction. We are sure Gov. Gordon and members of his administration will not hesitate to bring these problems to the attention of Washington officials, and give vigorous representation to the people's interest.