http://www.tfponline.com

Monday, June 05, 2006
Bencor subcontractor noted in 1988 illegals case


By Andy Sher
Nashville Bureau

NASHVILLE — Walking alongside a wire fence marking the U.S.-Mexican border, Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Bob Corker vows in his latest television ad to get tough on the problems of illegal immigration.

"There are several things we have to do to solve this problem," Mr. Corker says in the ad. "The first is, secure the border. Allow people to work here, but only if they're legal."

But a construction company formerly partly owned by Mr. Corker, Bencor Corp., evidently had its own problems with illegal immigrants in 1988. According to news accounts at the time, Bencor used a Texas subcontractor that was caught using undocumented Mexican workers during a raid on a project in Memphis.

The 18-year-old incident, in which news accounts said Bencor itself was not faulted by immigration officials, is nonetheless spurring attacks on Mr. Corker by Republican Senate rivals Ed Bryant and Van Hilleary as well as likely Democratic nominee Harold Ford Jr.

"He claims to be tough on hiring illegal immigrants, but the record proves not only did he have illegal immigrants on the job site, but he ignored repeated warnings from public officials not to do so," Mr. Bryant said in a statement.

Corker campaign officials are not disputing the incident in which the then-federal Immigration and Naturalization Service arrested four illegal immigrants at the Riverset Apartments project on Memphis' Mud Island, according to a March 17, 1988, account in the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

"I think this incident 18 years ago dealing with a subcontractor helps illustrate the need for employers to have an instant and tamper-proof means to electronically verify a worker's status," Corker campaign manager Ben Mitchell said.

"I think the other point I have to emphasize is the INS reported in this article that Bencor bent over backward to ensure all subcontractors complied with the law," he said.

Mr. Mitchell also said "no doubt our opponents will try to make an issue here where there is none because they're way behind in the polls."

Mr. Corker, a former Chattanooga mayor, co-founded Bencor in 1978. He sold off the construction portion in 1990.

The use of immigrant labor at the Riverset apartment project first arose when Shelby County Commissioner Julian Bolton and a local union official publicly raised concerns, according to a Jan. 16, 1988, account in the Commercial Appeal.

The project was built with local tax dollars. Developers involved in the project included Chattanooga businessman Jon Kinsey, who later became mayor of Chattanooga.

Bencor's then-president, Rick Lowhorn, was quoted saying the general contractor was using some framing and concrete subcontractors from Texas.

"I've been informed by our subcontractors that everybody is legal," Mr. Lowhorn was quoted saying.

Arrests, 'no fines'

Two months after the complaint, INS agents arrested four illegal immigrants, the Commercial Appeal reported in 1988. INS Special Agent Mickey Sadler at the time said authorities believed the four illegal immigrants were working for a Texas subcontractor.

Mr. Sadler was quoted saying that while under 1986 immigration reforms employers could face fines of up to $10,000, anyone at fault would only be issued a warning because the INS was still in an "education phase" when it came to employers.

He said Bencor "is bending over backward to get the subs to voluntarily comply."

But Commissioner Bolton at the time contended a Bencor official "told me a lie" about workers being properly documented.

Mr. Corker is not mentioned in the article.

Efforts to contact Mr. Bolton, now running for the Democratic nomination in the 9th Congressional District, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday were unsuccessful.

Ron Kidd, a former supervisory special agent for the INS in Memphis at the time, said the 1988 case "wasn't a very significant apprehension for us."

He recalled there had been allegations of as many as 20 illegal aliens at the site but "it ended up being four. As to who the contractors and subcontractors were or anything like that, I couldn't say."

Efforts to obtain the 1988 case file from the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, one of two successor agencies to the INS, were unsuccessful Friday.

"1988? God help us," said ICE regional spokesman Temple Black about finding the documents quickly.
burden of proof

Immigration law expert Robert P. Deasey of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, a pro-immigration group, said that under the 1986 law, the burden of ensuring the legality of workers generally would fall on the subcontractor unless there was blatant abuse by the general contractor.

"If you're setting up a scheme to insulate yourself, then you've got problems," Mr. Deasey said. "But if you're a general contractor and you sub out the electrical work to a regular subcontractor and he comes in and you expect that he's going to have all his ducks in order and he has a working crew and he's the employer ... he (subcontractor) has got the obligation."

Mr. Kidd agreed, saying, "it's going to come back on the subcontractor."

Efforts to contact the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates tighter restrictions on immigration, were unsuccessful last week.

Other Senate campaigns piled on the 1988 incident.

"Once again, Bob Corker's ads say one thing, Bob Corker's records say just the opposite," said Hilleary campaign manager Jennifer Coxe.

Michael Powell, a senior consultant for the Ford campaign, said, "Bob Corker owes the voters of Tennessee an explanation about why he hired illegal workers for the Mud Island project."

Asked if there were other past problems with Corker companies, Mr. Mitchell said, "I think the public record has and will continue to demonstrate that Bob Corker ran his companies in such a way to make sure that all workplace laws and regulations were strictly followed."

Mr. Mitchell also said, "I think that unfortunately for all these years, Congress has failed to implement instant and tamper-proof ID to verify a worker's status. The fact is because Congress has failed to act, some illegal immigrants have exploited the current requirements with forged documents."

Both Mr. Bryant and Mr. Hilleary are former congressmen while U.S. Rep. Ford began serving in the House in 1997.

E-mail Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com