Illegal immigrant complaints closing without action
Business licenses yet to be pulled despite seven complaints
By JANELL ROSS • Gannett Tennessee • October 4, 2008

NASHVILLE — Gary Armstrong spotted a crew of Hispanic men cutting brush in Roane County. He didn't talk to them. He couldn't check their IDs.


But to Armstrong, the situation seemed clear.

"When you see about 30 young Hispanic males working in a group, I think the probability is extremely high some of them are illegal," he said.

And in Tennessee, anyone with those kinds of suspicions can take them to a public official who, in turn, can log the concerns with the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development. If investigators catch a business knowingly employing illegal immigrants twice in a three-year period, the business could lose its licenses to operate for up to one year.

But with seven complaints closed since the Illegal Alien Employment Act went into effect Jan. 1, not one license has been pulled. That includes Armstrong's complaint against Brewster's Turf and Tree Management, filed with the state in July.

Eight other cases remain open and thus shielded from the public. Some of those may result in public hearings because there's considerable evidence against the businesses, said Dan Bailey, the Labor Department's general counsel. And it's going to take direct knowledge of employment violations to move cases forward, Bailey said, not just reports of different-looking workers.

Still, those numbers aren't convincing the man who wrote the law that the state is taking it seriously or that it's working as written.

"It appears I need to look deeper into this and see what corrective action we could take, because you can't tell me that everybody here is legal," said Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro.

An estimated 100,000 to 150,000 illegal immigrants lived in Tennessee in 2005, the latest figures from The Pew Center for Hispanic Research. The center is a Washington-based, nonpartisan organization that examines trends shaping the country.

Suspicion spurs report
Armstrong counts himself among Americans deeply concerned about immigration — he says illegal immigrants bring in disease and drain the state's resources. So from his perspective, private citizens interested in the rule of law have a duty to report what they consider suspicious situations. That's why he contacted Rep. Dennis Ferguson, D-Midtown, and reported the groups of "young Hispanic males" working near Brewster's Turf and Tree Management trucks.

"I think profiling is fine," Armstrong said. " ... We tie their hands when you can't profile. We are just throwing the rule of law out the window."

But profiling and an unlisted telephone number ultimately killed Armstrong's complaint. Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development inspector Thomas Hamlett could not find a way to contact Armstrong, according to his report.

"Based on a summary review of the information in the complaint, it appears this compliant is based on a visual observation only and would not be sufficient to warrant further investigation," Hamlett wrote.

What Armstrong regarded as his duty is fast becoming a regular problem for Barbie Orr, Brewster's co-owner.

Once or twice a year, she said, someone sees her crews and calls to criticize her hiring practices. Armstrong's complaint to the state was the first of its kind, though.

Many of Armstrong's employees are Mexican nationals legally authorized to work in the United States, she said. Orr says she has records to prove that she not only sought American workers — and found them unwilling to travel constantly and cut brush for $11 to $12 an hour — but that the Hispanic men Armstrong saw are in the U.S. on work visas.

"It's frustrating," she said. "But I just tell people, 'If you want to come here and look at my documents, they are all legal. Come see them. That's fine.'"

Public records related to the other cases show complaints closed because there was no substance or employers supplied key documents for their workers.

David Knight runs a Franklin carwash reported to the Labor Department this year because so many of the workers appeared to be Hispanic. The complaint also said a worker told a customer virtually none of the workers had legitimate work documents.

The complaint was closed without action.

"We fulfill all the legal requirements when we hire," Knight said. "So I don't know where a customer might get such an idea except for their own bias."

The tipster in that case lives with his daughter, who said she has power of attorney over his affairs because of his physical and mental condition. She declined to comment on his behalf.

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