Although the newly elected Congress undoubtedly will address the
immigration issue in 2007, it will take time for any new law to be
passed. In the meantime, roofing contractors and other U.S.
industries are left in a quandary.
The roofing industry, similar to other segments of the U.S.
economy, needs personnel and has had great difficulty attracting
authorized workers to meet its needs.
After many years of little effort by the federal government to
crack down on the pervasive use of fraudulent worker authorization
documents, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arm of the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has engaged in a
well-publicized campaign of job-site raids, immediate deportation
of unauthorized workers and the threat of bringing criminal charges
against employers of illegal immigrants. In addition, in the
absence of federal legislation, state legislatures and local
governments have enacted laws intended to penalize employers of
unauthorized workers.
Although relatively few employers have been subject to raids,
the threat of a raid has left many contractors worried they might
suddenly lose a substantial portion of their work forces...
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