eae bed (or Although | admit to being a little grossed out by Dov Charney’s outré, teen-obsessed perversity, | found myself completely incensed last week when | heard the news of the government crackdown on his company, American Ap- parel, and its 1800 insufficiently documented workers. For all his publicized scandals that have given him his bit of infamy, he’s also been the most publicly vocal leader in the fashion industry in the name of immigration reform, with well-known policy of well-reated workers, so it’s more than a bit disturbing to see that his company is the first high profile recipient of the government's new enforcement technique. ‘The now policy of methodical document checking is undoubtedly an improvement. Rather than using the Rambo- style raids of the Bush era, which resulted in thousands of illegal immigrants being surprised at work and put in jail until being deported, the authorities are now targeting the bosses of companies that hire illegal workers, hitting them with forced lay-offs and fines. More reasonable, less spiteful, sure... but targeting American Apparel as the first showpiece company to get hit by this tactic only highlights its shortcomings. ‘The immigration policy so far is still only addressing enforcement issues, without taking any steps to real reform Which would create a sensible immigration policy that admits how fundamental immigrant labor is to driving busi- nesses in the country, and then creates a way for workers to easily become legal. Xenophobia and nationalism do not make economic sense, nor are they acceptable qualities in a country that aims to lead the world. Its time to recognize that immigration reform is good for American businesses, good for a dynamic economy, and good for ev- eryone who lives in the country. American Apparel is a great, public example of clothes that are “Made in USA" because they have pushed the idea as part of their brand strategy, but in fact, there are lots of clothes that are made in the United States, although we think of everything as being made in China or elsewhere these days. Alotis, sure, but the American fashion indus- try also relies heavily on local labor for various stages of production and distribution, not to mention design. In New York, there are factories tucked away in Queens, Chinatown, even in Midtown, where skilled laborers are working away at sewing machines to make samples and productions runs for fashion companies, and this is certainly not limited just to New York. It's time to recognize that the fashion industry depends on immigrant labor, much of i skilled labor that is dificult to find among Americans, who rarely leam to sew with the same dedication to the art that is still taught in Mexico and Central America For a long time the attitude towards working illegal immigrants was an unspoken “don't ask, don't tell" policy, but in recent years there's been a lot of indignation and crackdowns, a lot of fear about immigrants, and protectionist atti- tudes from native-born Americans. We cannot carry on with an inhumane policy based on fear when its implica- tions are actually destructive to the very essence of what we are trying to protect- a strong country that provides a decent foundation for businesses and workers, with humane, transparent laws in place. To see what's going on with immigration reform or to find ways to speak out for change, you can check out www.immigrationforum.org, a great organization devoted to the cause. by Laura Rysman