Once again, the actions of a federal district judge give credence to the belief that businesses and corporations are the ruling class of this country and above the law.

A U.S. District Court delayed the enforcement of parts of Oklahoma House Bill 1804 which passed in 2007 because it unfairly sanctions busnisses that do not comply with the law.

To clarify: Migrant workers who escape dire conditions in their countries--conditions that are created by the increasing proliferation of neo-liberal policies--and come here to find work (albeit, illegally) are criminalized, punished, put in detention centers, left to await death or deportation.

But businesses that encourage the incoming flight of these workers for the purposes of cheap labor and less stringent workplace regulations--profit-making tactics that are illegal (we may also call it the glocalization of indentured servitude), cannot be criminalized and sanctioned because it transfers the burden of the government onto businesses? 

This is neither a victory for undocumented workers and their allies nor the constitution. It is a victory for scandalous businesses who reap the rewards of employing undocumented workers, exploiting them while driving down wages and weakening labor regulations.

Are we taking the 'corporation is a person' and has a right to sue and seek damages under the 14th amendment a bit too far? We are not talking about small-time businesses here but corporations like Agriprocessors, McDonalds, Taco Bell and other food, retail and hotel chains that hire undocumented workers. If indeed, a corporation is a person with the same inalienable rights guaranteed to all persons regardless of citizenship under the 14th amendment, it must be held to the responsibilities that come with those rights.