Contractors must now verify that their employees are in the United States legally, under an executive order signed by President Bush last week. For the entire article go to Austin American-Statesman
The government is getting tough, cracking down on undocumented workers. Soon it may cost more than it is worth in fines and closures to hired workers who haven’t entered the country legally. Angry people from all sides of this issue have made their voices heard. So like anything else where force is met with equal and opposite force, a stasis is formed. Nothing is down. Until now.
What does it mean? It means a fair amount of legal issues concerning immigration will be hanging around in the courts for awhile. It means is may become a political issue again in the forthcoming elections. It means if you are a business owner you surely want to run background checks on your employment applicants. You want to run the social security trace to make sure they have a valid number.
It means also that every emotion that surrounds such a controversial issue will be brought to bear via the media and the polling booth. It means we will see all kinds of accusations, ranging from racism to bureaucratic boondoggles. Everybody has an opinion, and some on both sides even possess some valid points.
But if you own a business, you don’t want to be fined or make the news. You don’t want this new crackdown on undocumented workers to affect you adversely. Fines are stiff, and while some may claim there is no such thing as bad publicity, I would beg to differ. You don’t want your workers being marched out to the paddy wagon on the six o’ clock news.
So check them out before you hire.
