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Gaming

Casinos no haven for illegal immigrants

By Liz Benston / Staff Writer


In the politically charged immigration reform debate, casinos have become the elephant in the room — megalithic employers who are harboring large numbers of illegal immigrants.

The state's dominant industry depends on the hard work of tens of thousands of maids, dishwashers, food servers and others who perform manual labor. At least 40 percent of the estimated 60,000 members of the Culinary Union, which represents the vast majority of hospitality workers on the Strip, are Hispanic.

If the feds were to raid the Strip for undocumented workers, critics say, the casinos — and Nevada's economic engine — would crumble like so many old properties long past their prime.

It makes for an eye-grabbing headline. But casino companies and their strongest ally — the Culinary — say it's a myth.

The major casino companies not only ask prospective employees for multiple forms of identification, they also do criminal background checks on all workers, whether they bus tables or make beds.

At MGM Mirage, the state's largest employer, applicants who provide a special, nonstandard Social Security card — those typically issued to immigrants with work papers — the company asks for additional documentation from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services bureau (the agency formerly known as INS).

Both employers and workers are wary about being caught. Casinos don't want to risk breaking the law, jeopardizing their coveted gaming licenses. Workers don't want to risk being deported.

It's hard to buy that story. Fake but authentic-looking Social Security cards with stolen or made-up numbers are widely available on the black market. Employers aren't obligated to confirm those numbers with government agencies, though one proposal circulating in Congress would require companies to do so.

Not all casino venues are operated by the casino companies that own the properties. Some, like restaurants and retail stores, are managed by outside companies that may have more lax hiring standards.

It's a situation that can be loosely compared with the much less regulated construction industry, where illegal immigrants are often hired by subcontractors that work for bosses that are several steps removed from the construction company of record.

Even so, one expert on immigration law says the casino business in Las Vegas isn't a hotbed of illegal activity.

The vast majority of Hispanic immigrants working in casinos are people who have been in the country for several years and have completed or are close to completing the process of becoming a legal resident, said David Thronson, an associate professor at UNLV's Boyd School of Law and co-director of the law school's Immigration Clinic.

"They really are quite strict on this, to their credit," he said of the casinos.

Thronson believes the government should simplify its convoluted immigration laws and allow undocumented workers already in this country, under certain circumstances, to obtain work papers.

While he supports efforts by the casino industry and its major union to help workers obtain citizenship, he's no industry cheerleader.

But he does understand the nuances of immigration law and how it plays out in the ways companies do business.

Many undocumented workers will never get a shot at legal status and, for that matter, a job at a casino, Thronson said.

That's because they have sneaked into the country instead of applying for a work visa through a process that may take several years.

Obtaining a green card, which signifies permanent legal status and allows the cardholder to work in the United States, is difficult, years-long process. It requires a relative — typically a spouse, adult child or parent who is a citizen — to sponsor their entry into the United States. Adult U.S. citizens also can sponsor siblings, though the backlog on that process ranges from about 12 to 22 years.

Even an immigrant who has married a U.S. citizen can't get a green card if the person entered the country illegally. In theory, the immigrant would be eligible after 10 years in that person's home country. But the prospect of leaving a spouse for 10 years in order to come back for legal status is unreasonable for most people.

In partnership with the big casino companies, UNLV's immigration clinic has helped hundreds of casino workers become citizens over the past several years through "citizenship fairs" held at the law school.

Workers who attend the fairs typically have green cards or are in the process of obtaining them.

"We've read through those documents pretty thoroughly," Thronson said. "We're not going to file documents for people who are at risk of getting deported. Only if it's all in order are you going to take that next step by becoming a citizen."

Workers who have nearly completed the process can receive a temporary work card good for up to a year. If the pending application takes more than a year, workers are required to renew their papers.

"The casinos stay on top of employees to get the cards renewed," Thronson said. "If they don't they'll fire them."

On top of that, casinos may fire workers whose Social Security numbers don't match the name assigned to the number by the government.

Because union wages have driven up labor costs for casinos, the industry has little incentive to use illegal workers unlike other industries that thrive on the cheapest labor possible, Thronson said.

The large numbers of Mexican immigrants who work in casinos are typically part of "mixed-status" families that include citizens, legal residents, and undocumented workers.

"We have a huge number of mixed-status families in Las Vegas," Thronson said.

Nationwide, an estimated 1 in 10 children lives in a family of mixed legal status.

Many people simply fail to make a distinction between an undocumented worker and a person who is entitled to work in the United States, especially if both categories of people are Hispanic and have limited English, he said.

Liz Benston covers gaming for In Business Las Vegas and its sister publication, the Las Vegas Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-4077 or by e-mail at benston@lasvegassun.com.