Question:
Illegal immigration? Employers love it!
Answer:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-cworker20dec2... crackdown on illegal workers could cripple building, farmingindustriesBy Ruth MorrisStaff WriterDecember 20, 2005Since slipping across the Mexican border and making his way to Lake Worth,Ramiro has tried his hand at dry walling and yard work, and even spent a fewmonths stooped over pepper plants as a harvester. But whatever the task athand, there has been one constant during his 18 months of employment: Hisbosses have never asked to see identification."They never ask us for papers, in any job," said Ramiro, who asked to beidentified by his first name only because of his illegal status. "Even ifyou give them a false document, they put you to work."Conservative legislators are seeking to address this legal blind spot withtough new sanctions on employers who hire undocumented workers. But laborand industry groups worry that an undisciplined crackdown could jeopardizekey sectors that depend on the immigrant work force.A bill passed in the House of Representatives on Friday night drasticallyincreases the penalties for employers found to have undocumented workers ontheir payrolls. The most sweeping provision of the bill would require thatall employers in the country, more than 7 million, confirm the authenticityof employees' Social Security numbers against a national database oflegitimate numbers or face stiff new fines of as much as $25,000 perviolation.While a Senate version of the bill likely will take a softer approach whenit is considered in February, including a temporary worker plan, analystscharacterized the House bill as an opening salvo, and Florida employers werequick to take note.Flying low, and largely uncomplaining, about 8 million illegal immigrantscurrently work in the United States under employers who either neglect toverify their workers' immigration status or unquestioningly accept falsedocuments. While the congressional debate focuses mainly on the Southwest,the impact of reform would be significant in Florida, home to an estimated850,000 illegal immigrants, the third-largest number behind California andNew York.The workers do much of the heavy lifting in Florida's construction industryand pick much of the produce in Florida fields."Without some way to temporarily legalize that work force, this could have adevastating effect rather quickly," said Walter Kates, director of laborrelations for the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association in Maitland.While exact numbers are impossible to come by, Kates estimated up to 90percent of the farm workers in some parts of Florida are here illegally, andhe warned that prices would surge on everything from tomatoes to grapefruitto celery stalks if employers were cut off from that labor pool.Those supporting tougher employer sanctions say it's high time employerswere brought to task. Hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants aredeported every year, they say, while only a smattering of companies feelsthe heat. Supporters also hope to eliminate the "jobs magnet" that bringsmore than 500,000 immigrants scrambling across U.S. borders withoutdocuments every year.Current law states that employers cannot knowingly hire illegal immigrants,but it stops short of enforcing the kinds of document checks that would putemployers in the know. A pilot program run by the Department of HomelandSecurity helps employers to identify false documents, such as SocialSecurity cards, but the checks are voluntary and rely on a database with awide margin of error.Not all workers tell the Social Security Administration when they getmarried and change their name, for example, which might prompt an alert.Other parts of the House bill called for tighter border security andextended federal immigration enforcement authority to local police."We think a lot of workers, including U.S. citizens, would lose their jobs,and that this would really disrupt the workplace," said Michelle Waslin, aspokeswoman for the National Council of La Raza civil rights group, whichlobbied against the bill. "Employers would be fearful of hiring anyone wholooks or sounds foreign."Outside the agriculture sector, experts said, landscaping contractors,nurseries and restaurants could be hit with higher labor costs as theycompete for a smaller group of potential employees. Representatives of theconstruction industry said they were already facing labor shortages afterFlorida was battered by several home-wrecking hurricanes this season, andfluctuations in the work force could easily push construction costs higher.That, in turn, could translate into higher prices for homes.Edie Ousley, a spokeswoman for the Florida Home Builders Association, saidthe state's construction industry has 14,000 vacancies for roofers,electricians and other workers. She said the association is in favor ofbolstering border security, but she referred to the employer verificationpush as "an aggressive mandate on employers in an unworkable time frame."Other employers said they would support immigration reform that included atemporary worker program in line with a vague proposal by President Bush.The plan would bring more immigrants to the United States legally, collecttaxes from them and track their crossings. Critics charge the plan amountsto a blanket amnesty for illegal immigrants.Greg Schell, managing attorney for the Migrant Farmworker Justice Project inLake Worth, said regardless of what happens in coming weeks and months,employer sanctions signal an important shift in sentiment towardenforcement-heavy policies."This is not a good time to be an immigrant," he said. But, he added, "Thisis disastrous for employers. If the engine is deprived of fuel, the cargrinds to a halt."--Rep.Murtha:Our military has done everything that has been asked of them.It is time to bring them home
