Thread: TN-Volunteer TV asks: How easy is it to hire illegal immigra

Updated: 8:55 PM Jun 18, 2010

Volunteer TV asks: How easy is it to hire illegal immigrants?
It's easy to say in hindsight, but Valentino Miranda should never have had a job, because he's an illegal immigrant.

Posted: 5:56 PM Jun 18, 2010
Reporter: Amber Miller
Email Address: amber.miller@wvlt-tv.com



KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- It's easy to say in hindsight, but Valentino Miranda should never have had a job, because he's an illegal immigrant.

On Thursday, Miranda accepted a plea deal for the rape and murder of a young woman staying in a hotel where he worked.

How did he get that job?

Volunteer TV looks into what employers have to do before they hire.

"It's sort of like don't ask, don't tell," Rep. Stacey Campfield explained.

Chances are, you probably pass by them all the time-- illegal immigrants who are employed, earning money even though they aren't supposed to be here.

WVLT met an independent contractor, let's call him Dave, who admits he hires people who are in the country illegally.

He agreed to a phone interview.

"The majority of the ones that I know are here to work and they're not here to scum off the system. They're not here to commit crimes," Dave told Volunteer TV.

"If there's five guys standing in front of me who are all going to do the job and do the same quality job and they're all there ready to work and happy to work," Dave continued, "I'm probably just going to give it to whichever one is the least expensive."

So who's accountable?
We found out there are some regulations in place.

The Department of Homeland Security requires every employer to fill out an I-9 form for everyone they hire. This form holds them responsible for asking for documentation that looks genuine.

Representative Stacey Campfield - R- District 18 says the employer's responsibility ends there.

"By the time they get the information back, it's been a lot of times a person's been working for a year. They've gotten their money and they just move on to another job, or say they screwed up the form, fill it out again and send it back in again to start all over again," Campfield said.

Campfield is pushing legislation that would require employers to verify a worker's eligibility before he or she is hired.

Dave says he sympathizes with those who fly under the radar: "If I was from Mexico and I was making $2 a day and I had a wife and children I had to support, I'd probably sneak across the boarder and do the same thing."

There are exceptions for who has to fill out an I-9.
If you are an independent contractor or if you hire someone for casual, domestic work an I-9 is not required.

This issue is complicated and somewhat hard to enforce.

The Labor Department doesn't check alienage and local sheriff's offices only investigate if there's a crime because, otherwise, it's profiling.

ICE, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement will check out complaints about illegal immigrants.
For more information on ICE you can click here.

Employers can protect themselves from unknowingly hiring illegal immigrants by using a free government service called E-Verify.

It is voluntary in the state of Tennessee, and it takes seconds.
Find out more about E-Verify by clicking here.


http://www.volunteertv.com/news/headlines/96686874.html

Dave says he sympathizes with those who fly under the radar: "If I was from Mexico and I was making $2 a day and I had a wife and children I had to support, I'd probably sneak across the boarder and do the same thing."

Why not just break into a house or a business? Why not assault a man to take his wallet, or a woman to steal her purse? Dave just wants cheap labor, he may or may not pay taxes, he doesn't care if they are criminals or murderers, because he does not know them, and he has no way to check them out. Dave wants to line his pocket and he wants the citizenry to provide all of the free benefits and services for the illegal labor. Dave is aiding and abetting, and he doesn't mind breaking the law. What a guy.

Psalm 139:14