The Illegal Elephant in the Room

Hold on with that economic “stimulus” plan! Maybe we don’t need to spend billions of our dollars to “create” new jobs. They are right here under our noses held by illegal aliens.

My 21 year old daughter arrived in Southern California in August to obtain employment. She is an experienced restaurant professional, having worked at all positions in a famous family restaurant in North Carolina. She immediately applied for many positions with no success.

She encountered multiple occasions where it was obvious that Spanish was a requirement for the position and those who spoke the language were given preference.   She discovered that many of the workers in the hospitality industry are Spanish speaking and are illegally employed using “chocolate” papers (forged social security and other ID papers).

My daughter has been unable to secure a permanent position and, like thousands of applicants who have appeared at job fairs and new business openings, has been turned away because of bilingual requirements or because those hiring chose individuals able to converse in Spanish.

Fallacy: Illegal Aliens take jobs that citizens won’t do

In the U.S. there are between 8 and 20 million illegal aliens who comprise 6 million or more of our workforce. According to their own advocates, illegal aliens hold jobs that support their families that “Americans don’t want to do”. When one examines this further, this is not entirely true.

Those here illegally for several years do not just hold menial positions, but many have risen to significant supervisory and managerial roles which command reasonable salaries.   Others establish their own businesses in Southern California such as landscaping and pool maintenance in direct competition with businesses owned by U.S. citizens.

I would suggest that we do not have as much a shortage of jobs as we have a shortage of information as to what jobs might be open if illegal aliens are properly identified in the workforce.

What is needed in the U.S. is a revamping of our labor information system to encompass all jobs in all states. We need to identify those workers who are truly authorized to work here legally.  

Necessary steps to be taken include:

1. Implementation of a system of identification of all workers screening virtually everyone who is employed. The current flawed “e-Verify” system prohibits an employer from examining the nationality and immigration status of existing employees, thus ignoring vast numbers of illegal workers already employed.   The Department of Homeland Security could issue identification cards similar to driver’s licenses which are tamper proof and which instantly authenticate a legal worker. 

2. A new labor information system would allow employers who have positions for lower skilled labor (positions not desired by U.S. workers) to hire non-resident workers who apply for a separate identification card designated for temporary employment only. Employers would have to provide bonding that ensures workers are covered for housing, health insurance and travel to and from the U.S.

Such foreign employees would have to routinely return to their country of origin and accompanying dependents would not move with them.   Employers hiring illegal aliens in violation of these provisions would be subject to strict fines and imprisonment.

3. Cities would have to institute strict guidelines for the issuance of permits and licenses to companies desiring to work within their city limits.   Any city having a policy of not reporting discovered illegal aliens, would be subject to forfeiture of any federal grants or subsidies.

A thoroughly screened workforce would weed out those workers who are not legally in the U.S.   They would ‘self deport’ to their homeland to provide for their families as a routine event, rather than as an anomaly.

U.S. workers deserve a nationwide employment system that ensures all Americans have access to employment before any individual not legally authorized to work here. The Stimulus Plan has avoided a discussion of the significant social and economic impact of illegal workers in the U.S. and promises to hire 1 to 2 million Americans for jobs. 

If illegal aliens are screened out, over 5 millions jobs would be available to our citizens. It is the one illegal elephant in the room that President Obama should tackle as he works to resolve our economic problems.

John Snow

John Snow is a marketing consultant in Southern California and an owner of the website www.immigrationcheck.us , a Department of Homeland Security Designated Agent. He can be reached at snowinpalm@dc.rr.com.