Thread: The Face of America's Underground Economy

The Face of America's Underground Economy
By DAVID BENSON and JOHN FROONJIAN Special Reports Unit

Published: Sunday, January 28, 2007

Sandra understands more English than she speaks. She's about 20 years old, and graduated from a high school in Chicago. Sandra smiles a lot during a conversation as she stumbles for words to express herself without resorting to Spanish.

She is an illegal immigrant and a Pleasantville resident. Sandra moved here from Illinois about nine months ago at the urging of her uncle to attend a New Jersey college. But since Sandra doesn't have a social security number, she was denied admission.

About 15 years ago, Sandra took the hard road from Mexico along with her mother, sister and two brothers looking for a better life in America. Looking back now, Sandra realizes that the 45-hour hike her family took across mountains to enter the U.S. was more hazardous and difficult than it is to live illegally in this country.

In September, Sandra joined thousands of protesters marching the streets of Washington, D.C. She and other immigrants, legal and illegal, demanded rights for the undocumented workers in America.

Hundreds of police officers lined the streets. A few were heavily armed and grim-faced. Other officers smiled and nodded as demonstrators paused in the street long enough to take pictures of one another in front of monuments built to freedom. Sandra wasn't afraid of being arrested. She didn't mind being photographed. No one was arrested that day for being in the country illegally.

It wasn't a long march -- about a mile around a couple of city blocks that included Pennsylvania Avenue. Drums pounded as evening cooled a hot day. Sandra marched hand-in-hand with her 3-year-old nephew, Daniel, as cameras flashed, bullhorns blared, and a man who chose not to give his name screamed in Spanish: “¡Sí, Se Puede! Yes! It can be!”

For Daniel, the rally-cry is unnecessary. Daniel was born here; his status is not in question. He is an American. But his mother and Aunt Sandra are in the country illegally. Both women have jobs, and both pay taxes.

Illegal immigrants have become so rooted in American life that society does more to make them comfortable than it does to push them out.

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More than 10 million illegal immigrants live in the United States; another half-million arrive every year. About 400,000 live in New Jersey -- the sixth-highest concentration among the 50 states.

Most illegal immigrants keep a low profile. But, like Sandra, they do not live in fear. Once they make it into this country, they're more likely to find aid and encouragement than obstacles to creating a life here.

Support networks ease their way. Established immigrants -- such as Emilio, a Bridgeton resident, who entered the country illegally, but earned his working papers in the mid-1990s -- bring them into the country and help them find housing and jobs.

Emilio is the kind of person many people admire. He lives in a quiet neighborhood with his wife and children. Beyond his mortgage, Emilio has no debt _ no credit cards of any kind, and no other loans. He has a bright smile and strong handshake.

Emilio is a field worker. He picks vegetables and fruits, and tills the Cumberland County soil from sunup till sundown. It took Emilio more than 10 years working as a field hand to save enough money to buy a home.

Now, Emilio reaches out to help other Mexican immigrants _ both legal and illegal _ find jobs and homes in this country. Once the immigrants get into America, charities, social service groups, and the government at all levels offer help.

Hardly anyone tries to catch illegal immigrants once they’ve crossed the border. It's not the job of local police, teachers, doctors or government workers _ the people most likely to come in contact with them. Only the federal government enforces immigration law. And enforcement has shifted largely to border patrols and serious national security issues and concerns.

Perhaps the biggest factor keeping illegal immigrants in this country is that a large underground economy based on their cheap labor has developed. Employers enjoy the work ethic of immigrants, as well as their strong backs and willingness to accept low wages. Emilio has working papers, and is in the country legally. Still, he would gladly work 14 hours a day, seven days a week to provide for his family here, as well as sending money back to an extended family in Mexico.

Because of people such as Emilio, American consumers get goods and services at a bargain rate. And with little risk of punishment, there's no mystery why illegal immigrants keep coming to meet a growing demand.

The Press of Atlantic City estimates that illegal immigrants in New Jersey earn $5 billion each year.
The newspaper analyzed immigration data to estimate that there are 280,250 undocumented workers in New Jersey. If those workers earn an average of $300 a week, the total comes to $4.1 billion a year. If they earn $400 a week, then $5.5 billion a year is earned in this underground economy. (See Page A7 for details.)

Five billion dollars represents about 2 percent of New Jersey's total household income. But Rutgers University economist William Rodgers said those billions are not spread evenly across the state; they're concentrated in regions where illegal immigrants live. Though it's hard to quantify, this economy has greater-than-average impact in Atlantic and Cumberland counties, which are magnets for immigrants. In Emilio's neighborhood, bodegas and other stores aimed at serving a growing Hispanic population have filled buildings that were empty.

The estimated $4 billion Hispanic share of illegal immigrant earnings equals 20 percent of Hispanic household income in New Jersey. Many in the nation's fastest-growing ethnic group depend on this underground economy.

Americans may oppose illegal immigration, but with billions of dollars earned and circulated in a tolerant atmosphere, pressure to keep the status quo is strong.

How it works

Crossing the border was easier and safer 20 years ago. In 1986, Emilio, his sister, and a few friends gathered what bread and water they could carry. They trekked for two days and nights from Oaxaca, Mexico over the mountains near Sonora, Calif. When their water ran out, they drank from puddles in the road.

It is still possible to walk across the border, but the chance of arrest by the U.S. Border Patrol or harassment by vigilantes makes it more dangerous.

Today, families often turn to human smugglers, known as coyotes, to get into the United States. "We send some money," said Emilio, a Bridgeton resident. "If someone wants to come here, we get money together to bring them over. It costs $2,500 for each person."

The coyote takes the immigrants, often stuffed into steamy trailers, to Sonora, then to Phoenix. From there, a network of Mexican immigrants ferry people to different parts of this country, including southern New Jersey.

Emilio is now part of that network. Though he entered the country illegally as a child, he got a working permit during an amnesty period in the late 1980s.

Ramon, a close friend of Emilio's who didn't want his real name used, has no papers. He is in the country illegally and works to send money to his wife and three children still living in Mexico. It's been two years since Ramon has seen his children, ages 8, 13 and 17. He had hoped to visit them in December.

But tighter security at the border makes it more difficult for illegal immigrants to cross in either direction. The Border Patrol, combined with militant vigilantes, make it dangerous for Ramon to try to go home. If he is caught by either of these groups, Ramon faces certain deportation and possible jail time. It's cheaper and safer for him to stay in Bridgeton.

One morning last summer, a long bed pickup pulled off Route 522 in Freehold onto a dusty shoulder. Three dozen men wearing jeans, caps and collarless shirts milled in a loose line. They ignored a "no trespassing" sign that read: "No entrada illegal." The Mexicans laughed at the Spanish translation, which literally means: "No illegal entry."

It was too late for that; they were already in the country. The truck driver told a man holding a clipboard that he needed workers. Three Mexicans climbed into the cab. The leader crossed three names off his list.

Every day, workers in the underground economy gather before sunrise on corners, along highways and in parking lots. Contractors and homeowners come looking for cheap labor. The Monmouth County hiring site is unusual for its organization and openness. Hiring undocumented workers is illegal; usually employers are more guarded in striking such deals.

But the supply and demand for day labor is so great that "muster zones" develop. A January 2006 national study of day labor estimated that nearly 118,000 workers, mostly illegal immigrants, look for work this way. A national study says they typically earn an average of $10 an hour, although income varies with the seasons. Most work in construction and landscaping. They are paid in cash at the end of the day. The largest hiring zones are on the East Coast, the study found.

A muster zone operates at a shopping center at Irving and Church avenues in Bridgeton. Dozens of immigrants, mostly Mexicans, fill the open-air lot of an aging retail strip by 6 each morning. Hours before a dollar store, Chinese restaurant and Hispanic deli open, vans navigate the glass-littered parking lot to pick up workers or hire someone for a day.

In Freehold, the workers keep a running list. Those not hired one day move to the top of the list the next. Order has been imposed on chaos. The men used to swarm around employers' trucks. Once a truck ran over a worker's foot, breaking five bones. The workers devised a system for sharing opportunities and learning about New Jersey labor laws with the help of an immigrant-rights group, Casa Freehold.

Rita Dentino of CASA Freehold has helped manage the roadside muster zone out of the trunk of her four-door Acura. She and other activists do much more. The group holds English classes. Dentino files unfair labor practice complaints against employers who cheat workers. Her group has handed out 4,000 small notebooks in which the workers record who hires them and the hours they have worked.

Churches, soup kitchens, shelters and other charities routinely help immigrants, regardless of legal status.
Immigrant advocate Partha Banerjee, former director of the N.J. Immigration Policy Network, or NJIPN, said day work is only part of the underground economy. Many undocumented workers hold full-time jobs that few others want: cleaning bathrooms, stocking shelves overnight, washing dishes. Women work in hotel housekeeping or in retail stores, "in the back rooms, not face to face with the customers," Banerjee said.

Atlantic City's tourist economy attracts undocumented workers, especially women who want more stability than day labor offers, Banerjee said in a 2006 interview when he was with the NJIPN.

He said storeowners might employ illegal immigrants through agencies or middlemen, no questions asked about papers. Some simply make up Social Security numbers.

"It's an open secret," he said.
Some immigrants resort to a black market for phony identification. Hispanics may seek fake papers identifying them as Puerto Rican, which grants them the rights and benefits of citizenship.

A sign inside the Job Ready temporary work agency on Route 30 in Absecon lists a menu of documents applicants must show to be hired.

"We tell them, 'Before we even process you, we need documents from list A, B and C, birth certificate, Social Security, picture ID," said Robin R. Bland from behind the hiring counter.

"It's sad because you want to help people. You want to put them to work, and we need workers," Bland said. "But we can't if you don't have documentation."

Those without identification leave, but aren't always out of luck. Contractors have been known to cruise the Job Ready parking lot to hire undocumented workers.

Bland suspects some applicants' identifications are phony. But if they look real, she must accept them.
"There are people I know, they go to New York. And then they're working in the casinos under a different name," she said.



Feeble enforcement



Congress passed reforms to get tough in 1986. Critics say the reforms made things worse.
The Immigration Reform and Control Act gave amnesty to 2.7 million aliens living in the United States illegally. It also made it illegal for the first time to hire undocumented workers.

The reforms made employers responsible to screen for illegal immigrants. Just as Bland does at Job Ready, businesses must demand paperwork that proves a new hire is a citizen or is in the country legally. But it is hard to tell if a document is phony. Congress did not require employers to check identification against Social Security or immigration databases. Employers who want to hire undocumented workers can plausibly claim they thought fake documents were real.

Some business owners also feared they could be sued if they asked too many questions. The reforms increased anti-discrimination protections, providing another excuse not to check too closely.

Meanwhile, political pressure built against workplace raids, and even audits. In 1998, Immigration and Naturalization Services, or INS, targeted the Missouri meatpacking industry by auditing personnel records. Politicians and plant owners protested loudly. The INS yielded to political pressure, said Mark Krikorian, director of the Center for Immigration Studies. Since then, much of the enforcement effort has involved reviewing documents submitted by employers.

In 2005, Krikorian asked why Congress was considering new laws when legal tools to reduce the illegal population already existed.

"One might reasonably ask, aren't we already enforcing the law? … And if not, as a Wall Street Journal editorial asked last year, 'Then what is it we've been doing for 20 years now?'" Krikorian said.

"The answer lies in the old Soviet joke: 'We pretend to work and they pretend to pay us,'" he said. "The immigration law is designed to look tough but not be enforced."

A 2005 analysis by the Migration Policy Institute found enforcement actions against employers have declined since 1990. Immigration beefed up its presence at the Mexican border, making it harder to enter the country. There were fewer illegal workers in the workplace.

_ Critics warned in fiscal 1990 that not enough companies were being investigated to discourage hiring illegal workers. Officials audited only 10,000 companies that year. By fiscal 2003, the number of audits had dropped 77 percent to fewer than 2,200.

_ The number of warnings issued to audited companies with minor violations declined 62 percent from fiscal 1990 to 2003.

_ The number of cases resulting in fines fell 82 percent, from nearly 1,000 to 124 from fiscal 1991 to 2003.
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, workplace enforcement has been largely directed to sites sensitive to national security: airports, nuclear plants and military bases. Factories, hotels and construction crews have low priority.

Several Mexicans working in New Jersey without papers told The Press the only time they feared getting caught was when they crossed the border.

George, 20, earned little as a tour guide along Mexico's beaches. In New Jersey, he often earns $10 an hour. George said he has enough time and money to surf, date American women and send money to his mother back home. He does not live life looking over his shoulder.

"I like my life," George said. "It's crazy, like the women.
"I don't worry. If I go back to Mexico, no problem," he said. "I come back again. If they take me out 1,000 times, I will come back 1,000 times."

If he stays out of trouble, it's unlikely George will be caught and sent back. Act like a model citizen, and you'll be taken for one.

But criminal activity increases the chance of getting caught and deported.
In a much-publicized sweep in November, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested 137 fugitives and illegal immigrants living in New Jersey in an operation known as Return to Sender. According to an ICE press release, the agency "targeted known fugitive aliens."

Of those arrested, 54 were fugitives with outstanding warrants of removal against them. Most of the others were found when the known fugitives were arrested.

The December raids of six Swift & Co. meat-processing plants in six western states likewise targeted immigrants who had broken laws beyond crossing the border illegally. ICE agents arrested 1,282 people in what was described as a massive identity theft scheme. While only 65 were initially charged with criminal violations related to identity theft, a news release from ICE speculated that hundreds of identities had been stolen.

The lack of routine federal enforcement frustrates local officials. They field complaints about overcrowded housing and workers on street corners. At least 40 municipalities nationwide have attempted their own crackdowns. Several New Jersey towns have passed ordinances to fine businesses that hire illegal immigrants and landlords who rent to them.

Freehold officials closed the roadside muster zone in 2003 and had police issue loitering tickets. Police also joined inspectors on aggressive housing inspections. Several groups sued. The muster zone reappeared in 2004 as the case went to mediation.

In November, the borough agreed to let day laborers solicit work while on public property. Police stopped going on code inspections. The borough agreed to reimburse $33,000 in loitering fines - and pay $245,000 in immigrants' attorney fees.

But the workers have to find a new muster zone. The roadside site is privately owned by Conrail, and is not public property.

Activists have opposed similar crackdowns, claiming only the federal government can enforce immigration law.
But recent developments may back up claims by advocates of strict enforcement that illegal immigrants would self-deport if they felt uncomfortable here.

Mark Krikorian, director of the Center for Immigration Studies, has called for requiring proof of legal residence more frequently. He said life would become more difficult for illegal immigrants and many would leave. Krikorian suggests requiring people to show documents when they register cars, renew licenses, open accounts or obtain government services.

ICE arrested 230 illegal immigrants in the December raid of the Swift meat-processing plant in Worthington, Minn. About 3,500 Hispanics live in the town, and about half are believed to be in the country illegally. After the raid, much of the Latino population chose to move out.

Riverside Township, Burlington County, banned the hiring and housing of illegal immigrants. Its ordinance provides fines starting at $1,000. Businesses that employ undocumented workers could lose their licenses.

But opponents are suing to overturn the law. In the meantime, Riverside's anti-immigrant climate, and the scrutiny it has drawn to its 8,000 residents, has made many illegal immigrants uncomfortable. Hundreds have reportedly moved out in the last year, looking for what they feel are safer places to live and work.

Those shouldn't be hard to find.

Filling a need

The demand for illegal immigrant labor is enormous and growing, because many employers find it difficult to fill dirty jobs.

Lew Wright, who owns a landscaping business in Somers Point, said his workers are legal _ most of the time. "I'm not going to say they're 100 percent legal. I'm not going to sit here and lie. You could call 100 landscapers, and a lot of them won't admit to having illegals. But 90 percent of them do."

Filling a landscaping crew every day isn't easy. If Wright finds himself short, he turns to his crew leaders. "Most of the time I just ask my guys. They have friends all over," Wright said.

The Center for Immigration Studies analyzed census data to estimate how many jobs go to immigrants. It reported in September that immigrants who arrived after 2000 accounted for 86 percent of civilian employment growth since then. More than half of those recent immigrants work illegally, the center said.

Some claim competition in a global economy forces businesses to cut costs. Paying immigrant workers lower wages and no benefits lowers prices in some cases.

But it's the work ethic that Wright finds compelling when it comes to hiring immigrants. Landscaping is dirty, physical work that must be done in all kinds of weather. It starts at sunrise and may not end until sundown.

Immigrants, Wright said, don't complain about a long workday.
"The American guys are lazy," Wright said. "If it gets hot, they're not there. To find an American today who's worth hiring, you have to pick through a lot of workers.

"Mexican guys would like to work 80 hours a week," Wright said. "They typically work 60 hours a week. Americans don't want to work like that. They want to work 40 hours."

Two Mexican immigrants in Bridgeton explained through a translator why they can find work easily on area farms.
"It is hard to hire people with documents because they don't want to do that kind of job," said Emilio, an immigrant with working papers who speaks proudly of his work habits. "We're willing in the rain, to get in the mud. Or work in the hot sun. I work in the field all day, sometimes 14 or 15 hours, Sundays and holidays, too.

"A lot of people suffer. If they live in the camps, there are bad conditions. No air conditioning, sometimes not enough beds, sometimes no toilets."

Another farm worker, an illegal immigrant, said he has worked two weeks straight without a day off.
"We don't take jobs away from anyone. Nobody wants to do it. No white people or black people make application to do this for $6 or $7 an hour," he said.

"It's too hot, or too cold, or too hard."
Critics of illegal immigration argue it's not the jobs, but the lack of pay and benefits that keep Americans from applying.

State Sen. Leonard Connors, an Ocean County Republican, said that in his district he has upset employers who use illegal immigrants by proposing get-tough legislation.

"We get calls from businessmen (who say), 'I'm in the bulkheading business, I'm in landscaping, or restaurants, and we can't afford to lose this labor,'" Connors said. "We say go to hell. Pay a decent wage and you'll get workers."

Rutgers University labor professor Janice Fine said some sociologists believe low pay isn't the only reason Americans avoid certain jobs. Status plays a role. Workers might feel it is beneath them to take jobs filled mostly by immigrant labor.

"I don't know of a job that's gone from an immigrant-worker job back to a native-worker job," Fine said.
The presence of illegal workers does more than fill labor needs. Others benefit from the underground economy.
A good chunk of the $4.1 billion to $5.5 billion earned by illegal immigrants is put back into the economy. In cities such as Atlantic City, Bridgeton and Vineland, groceries and other stores have opened to cater to the growing Hispanic and Asian communities.

"When you go shopping in Bridgeton, you see Hispanic families with carts full of groceries," said Joana Flores of the city's Tri-Community Action social services group.

"They are investing money here: shopping, renting the houses, contributing to the economy," she said.
Immigration, both legal and illegal, helped reverse stagnant or declining populations in southern New Jersey cities, including Atlantic City and Wildwood. Residents and officials may complain about overcrowded housing when illegal immigrants move in, but families and businesses now fill homes and storefronts that were abandoned.

Illegal immigrants also contribute in direct financial ways. Just ask the Internal Revenue Service.
In July, IRS Commissioner Mark Everson told the House Committee on Ways and Means that undocumented immigrants pay taxes at federal, state and local levels. Everson said the IRS should not be used to enforce immigration law.

"A lot of people tend to think that undocumented workers get money and don't pay taxes," said Nina Olson, an IRS taxpayer advocate. "My experience is that they do want to pay taxes."

Part of the reason is that any amnesty program is likely to require proof of residency.
"The only way to prove it is to show their tax returns," Olson said
The IRS issues an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number to the foreign born workers who cannot obtain a Social Security number. ITINs are issued regardless of immigration status.

In 2005, more than 2.5 million tax returns were filed listing at least one person with an ITIN. The IRS received 1.6 million new ITIN applications during the first six months of this year, up 25 percent from a year ago.

The IRS estimates that from 1996 to 2003, the income tax liability for ITIN filers totaled almost $50 billion.
Illegal immigrants also pay about $7 billion a year into the Social Security system. It's unlikely they will ever receive Social Security benefits.

So who gets hurt?

Illegal immigration is a crime, and there are victims. The underground economy creates losers and generates costs. However, the victims tend to be abstract: the government, taxpayers, society. There aren't many flesh-and-blood victims pushing the government to clamp down.

It's easy to see who benefits. A restaurant or hotel owner saves money on labor, which keeps down the cost of eating out, or staying in a hotel. A homeowner hires low-cost movers or painters. Financial services take a portion of the millions of dollars wired by immigrants out of the country.

But the "average taxpayer" who bears the costs of illegal immigration is an abstraction. There is no face on a bureaucracy cheated out of worker compensation funds. Not many individuals complain to politicians that they're personally suffering at the hands of illegal immigrants.

Some groups claim illegal immigration costs New Jersey more than $1 billion a year. Estimates from various sources and a Press of Atlantic City analysis show that at least $750 million can easily be documented. More than $400 million of that amount is for education. (See accompanying article.)

In addition to government costs, The Press estimated that more than $700 million is taken out of the state's economy each year as illegal immigrants send money to families back home.

But who really gets hurt? Typically it's those society cares about the least.
A Center for Immigration Studies' report recently said illegal immigration has hurt young, minority and low-income workers. The report said employment among young native-born workers declined in the years 2000-2005 as it went up among immigrants. Students and native-born blacks and Hispanics were affected the most. The number of U.S. men aged 16 to 34 increased while the number holding jobs decreased, the report found.

Other studies found that many employers prefer immigrant labor to less educated, low-skill, native-born workers.
Victoria Saunders needs a job to support her children. She graduated from Pleasantville High School in 1997, and has had difficulty finding and keeping a full time job. She lives in Millville, but drives to Absecon to find day work at a temporary agency.

"I do all types of work," Saunders said. "Landscaping, housekeeping, nurseries.
"I like to work," she said. "I like to get the dollars so I can give my kids what they want."
It isn't easy. In the day-workers market, Saunders competes with high school dropouts, ex-offenders and immigrants for very menial jobs.

"I think they have a right to work," Saunders said of illegal immigrants to the U.S. "They need money, and they need to work. The Vietnamese, the Mexicans: They're just like us. They want a job."

Ex-convicts also compete with illegal workers for lower-rung jobs. William Mazzone, an Egg Harbor Township construction worker, went to prison for seven months. He had taken off for California while on probation for disorderly conduct and contempt charges. He said he lost his former construction business - in which he employed illegal immigrants - after getting divorced. Now Mazzone struggles to find work.

He said New Jersey worker compensation costs are among the nation's highest. More contractors hire illegal immigrants to avoid paying for the insurance, Mazzone said.

"I feel I am in competition with illegals," he said. "They drive the cost of living up and the cost of labor down.
"I don't have anything against Mexicans per se," Mazzone said, "but we can't compete against them."
Ron Kraus of the Residential Carpenters Union Local 1578, representing all of southern New Jersey, said that some builders now hire illegal workers to avoid being driven out of business.

"If you don't pay worker compensation taxes, you can afford a lot of top-line equipment to help your business," Kraus said.

He said subcontractors are hired to do specific pieces of housing construction. It is difficult to track whom the subcontractors hire, he said, and a number use illegal immigrants. Kraus said he worries illegal labor will move from unskilled piecework into high-paying craftwork.

Carpenters union members earn $22 an hour plus benefits worth $42, Kraus said.
"From my conversations with immigrant workers, they're working at the bottom of the pay scale without health benefits," he said.

Kraus said that while his union considers illegal immigrants "criminals," its members oppose exploitation of any workers.

"When a contractor uses these guys, they're at his mercy. You question even whether they will be paid," Kraus said. "They can be taken advantage of, and they have nowhere to go. They can be used as a human forklift."

"It's really slave labor. A population that has no rights, and (is) so incredibly vulnerable to abuse," IRS advocate Olson said.

Partha Banerjee, former N.J. Immigration Policy Network director, said such workers often labor under grueling conditions, are denied breaks and are sometimes cheated of their pay. Nearly half the day laborers surveyed in a national study said they had been denied pay. Banerjee said they work in some of the most dangerous jobs, yet are not covered by health insurance.

"They are carrying the economy on their broken backs," he said.
But it is a better life than the one they left. If they are willing to do the work, someone will hire them. They can become comfortable.
To e-mail Dave Benson at The Press: DBenson@pressofac.com To e-mail John Froonjian at The Press: JFroonjian@pressofac.com

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/top_ ... 8555c.html

Immigrants, Wright said, don't complain about a long workday.
"The American guys are lazy," Wright said. "If it gets hot, they're not there. To find an American today who's worth hiring, you have to pick through a lot of workers

I don't buy that argument. They just want cheap labor working for peanuts. My cousin is starting a landscaping business and is going to hire only Americans. Start enforcing the immigration laws and level the playing field for all companies and start-ups! Americans ARE NOT LAZY. I'M sick and tired of hearing how lazy Americans are and how they don't want to do these jobs!