WANTED: Willing workers; Citizenship not required

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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€