Here is a thorny issue! We all know about the problem of illegal aliens in this country despite the fact that no one really knows what to do about them.

Illegal aliens are everywhere, especially in the construction trades. Tennessee alone has more than 82,000 illegal aliens by last count.

Federal Law
The following is an overview of federal law on hiring and harboring illegal aliens. Essentially, any person (including a group of persons, business, organization or local government) commits a federal felony when he:

* assists an alien whom he should reasonably know is illegally in the U.S. or who lacks employment authorization, by transporting, sheltering, or assisting him to obtain employment,

* encourages that alien to remain in the U.S., by referring him to an employer, by acting as employer or agent for an employer in any way, or

* knowingly assists illegal aliens due to personal convictions.

Penalties
Penalties upon conviction include criminal fines, imprisonment, and forfeiture of vehicles and real property used to commit the crime. Aliens and employers violating immigration laws are subject to arrest, detention, and seizure of their vehicles or property.

Enforcement
A person or entity having knowledge of a violation or potential violation of employer sanctions provisions may submit a signed written complaint to the INS office with jurisdiction over the business or residence of the potential violator, whether an employer, employee, or agent. The complaint must include the names and addresses of both the complainant and the violator, and detailed factual allegations, including date, time, and place of the potential violation and the specific conduct alleged to be a violation of employer sanctions.

That's all well and good BUT – tell that to independent employers in the construction industry who rely on aliens to do work that (they say) no one else will do. Dr. Ellen adds "at a salary that others will not work for."

Jumbled Laws
The TENNESSEAN, which is middle Tennessee's #1 online new source, said in October 2007 that Tennessee lawmakers proposed more than 40 changes in state law this year, all designed to make life harder for illegal immigrants. It revoked laws on the books granting illegal aliens 'driving certificates.' Other bills (still pending) would make it a crime to sell a car, rent an apartment or even give a ride across the state line to an undocumented worker.

Nationally, 182 bills became law in 43 states this year, double of the number of immigration-related state laws enacted during all of 2006. Still, there are radically different regulations within states and Congress itself sits in gridlock on immigration overhaul.

So Who is an Alien?
Dr. Ellen says that in Tennessee, at least, the most likely culprit is a Mexican in the construction trades who has a driver's license but no green card or proof of US Citizenship, who also speaks little or no English. (duh)

It is commonly inferred that a driver's license means the bearer is legally present in the United States. Therefore the driver's license is regularly used as proof of identify. Indeed, our general contractor and not a few subcontractors here have told me that all they are required to do is ask for a driver's license. No other form of proof of citizenship is currently necessary when hiring, they say.

Many states (including Tennessee, obviously) do not thoroughly verify applicants' identities. Seven states don't even require a Social Security number or – worse yet – they will give applicants a social security number if they don't have one. Lax procedures? You bet!

It is instructive to note(1) that "all of the 911 hijackers had driver's licenses or state non-driver identification cards, which they were able to use when renting housing, opening bank accounts, and boarding planes."

States, by design or otherwise, all too often encourage illegal immigration by eliminating obstacles that would otherwise bar illegal aliens from getting drivers' licenses and other forms of state ID's.

Driver's license reform(2) is critical.

Tennessee Impact
The Federation for American Immigration Reform(3) estimates the illegal alien population in Tennessee in 2005 at 82,000, which ranks 23rd in the U.S. This number is 78.3% above the U.S. government estimate of 46,000 in 2000, and 811% above the 1990 estimate of 9,000. FAIR also estimates in 2004 that the taxpayers of Tennessee spent $156 million per year on illegal aliens and their children in public schools.

So What?
Unsuspecting homeowners are very much a part of this national problem, not just those they hire to build their homes. A 'Don't Ask' policy prevails, just ask around. One day I raised this issue in a collective of 5 or 6 people in the office of our general contractor, all of whom laughed and said that if it weren't for the illegal aliens there wouldn't be anyone to do the stonework that we having done on our Barna home.

I had just enunciated my concerns that the laborers doing our stonework fit the illegal alien profile to a 'T'.

The consensus (only partly in jest) was that I should report the problem as soon as our house was finished. Meaning, don't do it now, or the stonework just wouldn't get done.

That didn't sit very well with me. Later I gave a pile of illegal alien printouts to the stonework subcontractor who, with raised eyebrows, said he would look into it. I even gave him the URL for Web Detective, which allows you to conduct searchs of public records databases by name, business, address, phone number, criminal record, license checks, email, social security numbers and more. This is just one of many resources that are available on the web for this purpose. Another popular site is gov-records.com.

Reverse Social Security Number Lookup assigns you an investigator who will search using the SSN (social security number) you provide to find & locate the subjects address history, phone numbers, possible aliases and death records.

In Conclusion
It is not a pretty picture. So take a look around as you are building your home, and look for companies that have strict policies against hiring undocumented Americans. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know the difference. Look closely at your subcontractors and ask questions.

Understand that illegal immigration produces high levels of crime nationwide(5). According to information obtained through Congressional hearings, small towns and large cities alike find themselves plagued by illegal drugs, violence and gang-related activity. Local law enforcement is simply overwhelmed. The percentage of noncitizens in Federal prisons has increased to more than a quarter of the Federal prison population. Most are illegal aliens, and half of them convicted of drug dealing and drug trafficking. Either through mismanagement or just plain lack of desire, our immigration laws are not being enforced.

You, too, can look the other way when it suits you but is that the right thing to do? That behavior alone suggests that beefed up border parole agencies are not the solution. The State Department should definitely improve its consular operations to grant fewer visas to potential overstayers, and it needs to remove those who overstay their visas.

But American businesses, large and small, including those in the construction trades, also need to stop exploiting cheap labor. They have to take more responsiblity for hiring people with fraudulent identification. Industry helped create this problem and industry needs to help solve it.

Homeowners also can be a first line of defense in worksite enforcement. Collectively, we must demand that our contractors and subcontractors hire documented workers with official immigration papers, not just flimsy driver's licenses.

It's a matter of principle as I see it. __________________________________________________________________

Sources:
(1)
http://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer?pagename=iic_immigrationissuecenterse1df
(2)
http://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer?pagename=iic_immigrationissuecenters32ed
(3)
http://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer?pagename=research_research248c
(4)
http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/judiciary/hju59872.000/hju59872_0f.htm
(5)
http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/judiciary/hju59872.000/hju59872_0f.htm