Thread: FL:NBC2 Investigators-WANTED:Willing workers;Citizenship not

WANTED: Willing workers; Citizenship not required

http://www.nbc2investigators.com/blog/main.shtml
http://www.nbc-2.com/index.shtml

By Amy Oshier on November 9th, 2007 at 6:33 am

I started thinking about illegal immigrants in the workplace after an interview with Collier County Sheriff Don Hunter. In the course of a report I did in February on illegals being housed in county jails at tax-payer expense, Sheriff Hunter mentioned the prospect of jobs is what attracts illegal immigrants to Southwest Florida.

It got me thinking… someone must be hiring them. A few months later, I got an email from Fort Myers resident Marie Burns, who wrote that large numbers of men, presumably illegal immigrants gather near her home waiting to get picked up for day labor.

When we interviewed her for our story she told us a group of men desperate for work jumped in her car in the hopes that she would hire them!

TAKIN’ IT TO THE STREETS
The best way to tackle the issue was to see it first hand, so we started recording surveillance video. We got a taste of what Marie experienced.

Before our camera was even rolling, some men approached our unmarked SUV to see if we were hiring. All told, we spent a month shooting surveillance video.

Our first time out was a Monday morning, that’s when we saw the biggest crowed on Ortiz Ave. in Fort Myers.

While we looked for a good spot to park, an SUV pulled up, a man opened the door and without even getting out, he held up his hand and the workers broke into a run. After hand-picking a few they piled in and drove away.

PRIORITIES, PRIORITIES

Getting information from the government relating to enforcement was a job in itself. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is supposedly prioritizing worksite enforcement, trying to nail companies which hire illegals. You wouldn’t know it around here.

I submitted a public records request under the Freedom of Information Act, requesting data on employer arrests, fines and investigations in Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties.

In return, I got a letter stating the government needed an extension to research the information, which was fine. But nearly month went by and my request was not even passed on to a researcher.

At this writing, we’re not sure what we’re gong to get, if anything, from them. You’ll have to watch our exclusive report tonight at 6:00 p.m. to see.

WHAT’S AN HONEST EMPLOYER TO DO?
Time and time again, we heard the claim that immigrants are “taking our jobs.â€

But it’s grueling work, seven days a week, rain or shine. He hasn’t found any Americans who are interested.

I've often thought that one reason Americans don't even try to get these jobs is not because it involves intensive labor but because it is simply over-run with illegal aliens.

What American, male or female is going to be one or two out of fifty or sixty illegal aliens in a job? It would not be out of the realm of possibilities that their very safety could be an issue in situations such as that.

Think about it. But they blame it on Americans not wanting to do the hard work. That is simply untrue, yet they still get away with saying it.

Simply put, Americans have been "run out" of certain jobs, because of the farmers hiring illegal aliens as "cheap labor". That is more in line with the truth of the matter regarding this myth that Americans don't want to do this "hard" work.

But our farmer says he can’t find anyone but immigrants willing to pick his crops. Money isn’t the issue; he says during peak picking season, workers can make $1,000 a week.

But it's grueling work, seven days a week, rain or shine. He hasn’t found any Americans who are interested.

It is outrageous for the farmer to think that any person, illegal or not, would work seven days a week rain or shine during an entire picking season. He says they can make $1,000 a week, but he is careful not to say how many hours per day they work. They could be making as little as $9 an hour for that grueling work.

Why not hire more people and have reasonable working hours? How dare he offer these brutal working conditions and in the same breath criticize Americans for not taking his lousy jobs. He is quite deserving of the desperate times he is likely to get.

They are likening picking crops to rocket science. Give me a break.

How about looking for American labor? File a request at the unemployment office. Run an ad in the newspaper. Contract with a temp service. Contact prison outreach and hire convicted felons.

This is just a poor excuse to do it the cheap and easy way. It's much-much easier to pull up to a bunch of illegals in a parking lot than it is to fill out paperwork and pay fees. These people that can't find employees are just lazy and cheap.

Dixie

Our farmer says he can’t find anyone but immigrants willing to pick his crops. Money isn’t the issue; he says during peak picking season, workers can make $1,000 a week.

This is a blatent lie to justify hiring illegal aliens. What this reporter failed to do was follow up on that statement knowing full well that the money is the issue and has been since this whole thing started about replacing us with illegals..a thousand a week..heck, I'll pick strawberrries all day long for 600 a week. This reporter would do well to grab an interpeter and go back to that farmer's field and ask one of the workers what they are making. But that won't happen because the quote of a thousand a week was a lie.

LegalUSCitizen wrote

Simply put, Americans have been "run out" of certain jobs..

This is so true. When living in Miami, as a Carpenter, I lost work in some cases simply because I don't speak the language. A lot of times, I was discriminated against and was told that I had to be at least bilingual because the foreman spoke spanish. Besides, who wants to work around a bunch of people who talk about you right out in the open in a different language? And on top of that, knowing that our corrupt government is giving them freebies. That's enough to blow one's stack!

This is what I wrote the Channel 2 investigators:

To Whom It May Concern:

The story By Amy Oshier on November 9th, 2007 at 6:33 am about 'Workers wanted, citizenship not required' was, in my opinion, not good reporting. When the famer was quoted as saying that Americans could earn a thousand a week(is probably potential since the workers get paid by the basket or bushle) if they were interested, a bell should have rang in the reporters ear. That statement was a lie by the farmer and this reporter would do well to follow up on that statement by going back to that farmer's field and asking one of the workers what they are making per week. I can guarantee you he's not making $1,000.00 a week or even $700.00 and if he is, why hasn't this famer advertised that he is paying this well? If he did, it is most likely that he would have English and Spanish workers side by side. How do I know this? I was a Carpenter who worked out in the hot sun in South Florida for twenty years..working on anything from commerical highrises to residential structures. The work can be just as grueling. Out of all the job searches I did between jobs, not once did I ever see a farmer advertising to pick in the fields for a potential $1,000 a week. Can you imgine, a lot of Capenters are out of work right now and they wouldn't be drawing Worker's Unemployment benefits if the statement by the farmer was true. The farmer is lying to keep from having to employ Americans at a higher wage. Personally, I would have been out there myself if I thought I could make even 5 or 6 hundred a week during the times I was unemployed.

The reporter is not completing her story. The comment from the farmer about potential earnings is not only misleading the public, but it serves the pro-illegal immigration interest groups. Doesn't your organization want to be fair with the reporting or, your organization bent to make those who just want our immigration laws enforced to look like a bunch of racists?

If the farmer's statement was true, alot of other farmers would be paying the same. If this was the case, this country would have alot less unemployment, less money from each state going out in unemployment benefits and alot less poverty. THINK about it. The reporter needs to complete the story and prove the farmer as a liar. Here in lies the big cover up to keep cheap labor in this country while the war on the middle class continues and eventually, it will strike home to every middle class family. I challenge your organization to report fairly about what is really going on and not be swayed by those corporate bosses who want to hide the real truth.

Sincerely,
XXX

Darn, I forgot to sign my e-mail..I will write them back let them know who I am. I am ROCKFISH!

From the same link by a differnt reporter of the same TV station:
[quote]Cubans getting millions in government benefits
By Kara Kenney on November 2nd, 2007 at 5:03 am
This story idea came from a viewer who wrote:

I was just talking with a friend of mine who heard from the Coast Guard that wet foot/ dry foot immigrants get $10,000 and free medical coverage. This may be worth your time to check out.

I was so intrigued, I did started checking it out.

The tip came at a time when there were many Cubans arriving by boat in South Florida. In fact, in 2006, U.S. Border Patrol arrested 3,076 Cubans for illegally entering the State of Florida.

While we've done stories on what happens to their legal status once they're here, I wanted to know what happens to them financially once they're here.

I made some calls to the Amigo Center, Border Patrol, Catholic Charities, and the Department of Children and Families. What I found out is there is a lot of truth to the viewer's email.

Despite the fact that many Cubans enter this country illegally, once they touch U.S., soil they are considered “refugeesâ€

Originally Posted by LegalUSCitizen

Simply put, Americans have been "run out" of certain jobs, because of the farmers hiring illegal aliens as "cheap labor". That is more in line with the truth of the matter regarding this myth that Americans don't want to do this "hard" work.

LegalUS: I'm glad you posted this.. Because it helps to show that the reasons that many US citizens choose NOT to pursue a particular line of work, has as much to do with the other more intangible things, than compensation aspects of a job. I have seen a variety of studies that pose the question: "Would you accept less pay, if you were to get <more flexibility in hours, a better boss, greater overall job satisfaction, better/more benefits, etc> and like clockwork, the majority of respondents say 'Yes'. So... that tells me, when people consider or exclude interest in a particular job, these other things factor in heavily.

We all know about these factors in relation to labor-intensive manual work - eg. agriculture. But, many people that comment on the H1-b and skilled worker importation issue don't realize that Americans are increasingly choosing to be less interested in the technical careers - and THAT - is largely a product of the very efforts to undermine US workers livelihoods in those same fields.

In the final analysis, it really is all about slavery people. You see, you aren't supposed to value things other than money. You aren't supposed to be able to choose which type of work you will do - you are only supposed to line for the slave jobs that the slave-owners have deemed you worthy to perform. And, when you finally receive that paycheck, it'll be small - just enough to keep you alive (maybe...), but definitely not enough to enable you to live.

NBC2 Investigates: Hiring illegal immigrants

Last updated on: 11/9/2007 7:01:16 PM by Amy Oshier

http://www.nbc2investigators.com/articl ... 688&z=5&p=

LEE COUNTY: NBC2 investigators looked into who is hiring illegal immigrants. It’s against the law, but businesses can easily find willing workers. NBC2’s investigator Amy Oshier went undercover to show how easy it is to hire an illegal immigrant.

On any given work day, you'll see them - immigrant workers looking for day labor in Southwest Florida.

"Initially, there were up to 125 people there, maybe more, every weekday morning," said Marie Burns of east Fort Myers.

Groups of men congregate near Burns’ neighborhood. Some may be in the U.S. legally, others not... but no one is asking.

"I would see people who looked like contractors, because they had pickup trucks, pick up numerous workers," said Burns.

NBC2 went undercover morning after morning to see for ourselves. We saw crowds of men jockeying for jobs.

We even witnessed a bust by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Looking for gang members, they barely noticed the illegal job market playing out around them.

No one asked questions, except for NBC2. We followed one truck after the driver picked up a pair of workers.

Amy Oshier: Do they have paperwork? Are they legal? Did you check?
Truck driver: I don't know. We're just picking up grass clippings up in east Fort Myers. I just stopped here to get some water.

The job market is slow, so prospective employers have their pick.

"They try to get people to work for them for little or no pay, provide them little or no benefits, and if they get injured dump them," said attorney Robert Geltner.

Geltner represents injured workers. He says they aren't the only victims.

"The employers won't even pay employment taxes. They won't withhold any taxes for the federal government and so the federal government is deprived of tax revenues," said Geltner.

Building a case against employers is no easy task and employers know it. People who use illegal labor count on the government not being able to police every farm, restaurant and construction site.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement says cracking down on businesses who hire illegal immigrants is a top priority. They say it is directly linked to fraud and smuggling.

While digging for the answer to which businesses in Southwest Florida have been cited for hiring illegals, we went to ICE.

More than a month ago we sent an email to ICE requesting 5 years worth of information.

They sent us a response saying it would take 30 days, unless we narrowed our search. We reduced our search by four years to only one year of information, but ICE has not released the information to us. (Click here to read ICE's response to our Freedom of Information Act request)

Our investigation found the construction, restaurant and agriculture industries are the ones most often cited for hiring illegals.

Chuck Obern grows vegetables in Hendry County. He requires documents from all his workers, but believes the government is partly to blame for the illegal job market.

"We cannot put a quota on that. What always happens is in visa programs there's a quota put on, you can only allow so many people in. Well, that's an unrealistic thing," said Obern.

He says the country's crops could not be picked without immigrants because they're willing to do back-breaking work U.S. citizens won't.

The State of Florida agrees.

"If there were no immigrants, it would bring agriculture to its knees," said Terry McElroy of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

McElroy says the hiring of illegal immigrants has to stop from the top down.

"The DACS is very much for immigration reform, or at least an agricultural jobs bill, that would allow people to temporarily work in this country," said McElroy.

But such legislation must be passed by the United States Congress and signed by the president. Until that happens, illegals working in Florida will continue to be an issue.

A national figure for the first three quarters of 2007 shows ICE fined employers more than $30 million.

We’re still fighting to get the information about local companies who accused of hiring illegals.

ICE factsheet on workplace enforcement
http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/factsheets/worksite.htm