Calif. Overlooks Licensed Illegals

Calif. Overlooks Licensed Illegals

By Michael Reagan

The California Contractors State License Board is very proud of itself this week.

It conducted a statewide undercover sting in 12 different locations to catch unlicensed contractors and arrested 76 individuals.

According to a news release many “may face criminal charges after being caught.”

If only the state were as interested in catching undocumented aliens as it is in grabbing unlicensed contractors.

Arrests were made in Riverside County, Los Angeles County, San Diego County, Fresno Count, and Sonoma County — all of which are illegal alien “sanctuary cities.”

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In fact only two of the seven counties where arrests took place don’t give illegals a free pass. The CCSL said, “Suspects were targeted because of tips or previous complaints.”

This makes the board different from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors that ignores citizen complaints.

In a breathtaking display of leftist indifference that board just reaffirmed its sanctuary city policy in spite of the demands it be rescinded after Kate Steinle was gunned down by an illegal.

So why are contractor papers more important to California law enforcement than citizenship papers?

That’s easy: California can charge for contractor licensing so there’s money in that piece of paper, while arresting someone for violating the border has no revenue stream at the end.

California can also charge for not having a contractor license with fines starting at $500 and topping out at $5,000.

There’s also jail time involved for some convictions, but never any charges of “breaking up families” as the counterfeit contractor is led away.

There is something of a revolving door in contractor violations with a round dozen of the arrestees having been apprehended before, yet rather than releasing them and asking if their family needs to be reunited, the CSLB puts them in jail.

CSLB Registrar Cindi Christenson explains, “We can’t stress enough the importance of making sure anyone you hire to work near your home or family has a state license. It only takes a few moments to go to the CSLB website and find a lot of information about them.”

So as far as the board is concerned a contractor needs a license to appear on your doorstep to paint the house, but doesn’t need any papers at all to appear in California.

Getting a license will set a budding entrepreneur back almost $500, assuming he has experience in either the U.S. or points south. And language — like borders — is no barrier.

A budding roofer can request a translator to help take the licensing test.

The only documentation required for the contractor’s license application is a California driver’s license, which is now available to illegal aliens; and a Social Security number, which is available and reasonably priced at many area bodegas.

So the next time you have a home improvement job that will cost more than $500 to complete you are required to use a contractor with a California license, but he’s not required to be a citizen.

Michael Reagan is the son of former President Ronald Reagan and chairman of the League of American Voters. His blog appears on reaganreports.com

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