How will the crackdown on hiring illegal immigrants affect small biz?
The Bush administration just introduced a new regulation that will impose fines on employers if they knowingly hire illegal immigrants. The rule, discussed in our recent story, "U.S. cracks down on hiring of illegal immigrants," gives companies 90 days to verify an employee's identity and eligibility to work if his Social Security number doesn't match information in the Social Security Administration's database. Is this reasonable to ask of small companies? Or does it put too much burden on them? Comment here.
From Carolyn Bond if these business owners want to bring ilegals to the USA then they should obtain the proper paperwork an visas and be in charge of them…housing and etc.
From Judith Lott, Oakland California I am a small business owner and a practicing immigration attorney. Although I agree with the premis of the article "More Red Tape for Honest Employers"; that immigration overhaul is necessary, I want to caution against unmitigated anti-immigrant sentiment.
I personally know many undocumented immigrants who are themselves small business owners. They chose to open businesses rather than risk illegal employment. They are successful, tax paying and employ legal U.S. residents and U.S. citizens. They also provide valuable services to our communities.
There is no easy solution to the immigraion quagmire, but I want to speak out and remind the readers that not all undocumented immigrants are poor, uneducated and willing to stand in line for a landscaping job. More than you know may be recipients of the "Fortune Small Business" publication, themselves.
From Bobby It is much better to do business without having to use illegals. This way, you can make an honest profit, and not worry about it catching up to you later.
Dear Judith,
Thanks so much for writing to FSB. I thought you might be interested in this FSB feature about undocumented entrepreneurs that ran back in 2004:
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fsb/fsb_archive/2005/07/01/8265279/index.htm
We were one of the first national publications to cover the trend of undocumented immigrants launching businesses, creating jobs, paying taxes etc.
I’d be interested in your thoughts on the story — do stay in touch.
Sincerely,
Richard McGill Murphy
Assistant Managing Editor
Fortune Small Business