What legal regulations impact work opportunities and cause struggles for undocumented immigrants?
Conflict is composed of opposing forces.
Icons:Paradox and Multiple Perscpectives
Working opportunities for undocumented immigrants is composed of two opposing sides: ICE and undocumented workers.
Icons:Ethics
The conflict of work opportunities for undocumented immigrants being impacted by ICE is a man made conflict.
Icons:Paradox and Multiple Perscpectives
Working opportunities for undocumented immigrants is composed of two opposing sides: ICE and undocumented workers.
- Ice fights to enforce laws which fight against the rights of undocumented employees to work and it is stated in the U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement website that “ICE will obtain indictments, criminal arrests or search warrants, or a commitment from a U.S. Attorney's Office to prosecute the targeted employer before arresting employees for civil immigration violations at a worksite.”
- Therefore, employers will be prosecuted for hiring an undocumented immigrant even if unaware that a permit or papers that was shown to them were not legal.
- While undocumented immigrants can take a stand of being able to work, according to the website “Legal Aid at Work,” it states “...the same Federal and California wage and hour laws that apply to authorized workers generally apply to persons working without legal immigration status.”
- The paradox is that while undocumented immigrants aren’t allowed to work because they don’t have the necessary documents, if they do end up working, they are protected by the same wage laws in California as people who are legal. Therefore, the immigrants are stuck in an area between being protected by the law, but at the same time being in danger because of the law.”
Icons:Ethics
The conflict of work opportunities for undocumented immigrants being impacted by ICE is a man made conflict.
- This being that the conflict is caused by people. ICE is taking a legal term and showing employers to only hire documented employees, as stated on Immigration, Customs, Enforcement Department website “ICE also works with the private sector to educate employers about their responsibilities to hire only authorized workers and how to accurately verify employment eligibility.” ICE is trying to push their regulations on the employers and forcing the employer to hire undocumented workers. While these undocumented people wanted to start a better life for themselves so they came to work illegally.
- Our research has showed that although Business owners tend to hire “documented”employees they are presented with paper or permits that may seem to be legal but can not always verify that these are legal. This is a man-made conflict and many employees also get accused for hiring these people while many times they are not provided with enough information to accurately check there permits while the department of ICE says that many sector visit locations to teach them how to properly check a permit.
Conflict may be intentional or unintentional. - Icons:Convergence
This conflict is intentional and is in no way unintentional. - Undocumented immigrants are coming in purposely to try to find a job and a better life. While ICE is intentionally raiding work places looking for the employees and employers and enforcing the laws they are unintentionally separating families. The Immigration, Customs, Enforcement Department website states that “Under federal law, employers are required to verify the identity and employment eligibility of all individuals they hire, and to document that information using the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9.”
- Our research shows that business owners tend to be presented with paper or permits that may seem to be legal but can not always verify that these are legal. While many owners seem to still hire these workers they are later being searched and figuring out that the employees that they hired permits/papers were fake and are getting prosecuted for it.
Conflict allows for synthesis or change
Icons:Overtime
There is room for synthesis or change. - Changes that can happen in this conflict are that the ICE agents stop raiding workplace as often as they do and maybe give the employer a chance and not criminally prosecute them for giving immigrants a chance of work. Of course this isn’t happening lately as the ICE chief states “We’re going to quadruple workplace crackdowns,” but over time this can be changed if ICE and the undocumented immigrants come to a compromise or permanent solution.
- During the year 2000 as seen on the chart U.S border patrol has had 9,000 patrols on service . Later as President Obama’s term had begun the highest point of border patrol was reached during the year 2011 when it hit 22,000 border patrols but as his term has continued President Obama during his last full year which was 2016 border control has decreased by about 3,000 leaving 2016 border patrol at 19,000.
- Continuing on to President Trump's presidential term stated Brooking.edu, August 24, 2017 it states ” the construction of a new U.S.- Mexico border wall, more border patrol agents, and stricter deportation policies” this is Trump's plan during his presidential election and as shown on the chart his lan is too reach 26,370 for border patrol.
- “They’re taking our jobs. They’re taking our manufacturing jobs. They’re taking our money. They’re killing us.” Brooking.edu, August 24, 2017 This is what Trump has to say about undocumented immigrant that are “stealing” jobs in the US
- Recently the mayor of Oakland Libby Schaaf is being criticized after she warned people of a possible raid from ICE. ICE arrested more than 150 people many with criminal records. Ice believes up to 864 people with criminal records escaped this thanks to Schaaf’s warning. She said she would do it again though.
- Conflict is Progressive
- Icons:Ethics and Multiple Perspectives
- The ethical dilemmas in this conflict are that it is progressive, it is progressing even though it may be wrong.
- Working opportunities for immigrants have been forced down by ICE. There have been many ICE crackdowns in recent years, more than there has ever been in the past. This is wrong to be bringing down work opportunities for people trying to work hard and find a better life for themselves even though ICE’s purpose isn’t to ruin people lives it still is doing so by doing their job. On the other side ICE believes that immigrants shouldn’t be coming in to the US and show follow legal regulations. ICE is also in the right in a way since they state “ICE also investigates employers who employ force, threats or coercion (for example, threatening to have employees deported) in order to keep the unauthorized alien workers from reporting substandard wage or working conditions.” ICE is also bringing down the sometimes abusive employers which is a positive thing.
SLR
1. In your experience as a business owner, have you ever had to make a decision about hiring an undocumented immigrant?
3. Have you had any past experiences with ICE or immigration authorities contacting your establishment?
1. In your experience as a business owner, have you ever had to make a decision about hiring an undocumented immigrant?
- When I hired employees, they have work permits or social security numbers but sometimes it is hard to verify if they have the correct documents. We have trust them. We don’t have a way to check, so we trust them to hire them.
- We have 7 employees and all of them have work permits and papers, even though I don’t know if they are correct documents.
- When I speak to other business owners who have similar businesses like me, they say that there’s situations where the papers
- All of the people we hire are immigrants, but they are not illegal immigrants (not to our knowledge).
- Many of them have worked 20 years or longer, and they like working there. They’re very skilled and they are part of family. They are great workers, so we take care of them with good salaries, vacation time, etc...They cannot find a place like that, so they stay there in the same place working for us. We even have two couples (married) who work there. We are not looking first for documents. We need the best skilled workers first. People who work hard and are easy to work with.
3. Have you had any past experiences with ICE or immigration authorities contacting your establishment?
- No we never did. I only saw that happening on the TV and newspaper, but that never happened to our business. I had the business since 1989, so we didn’t have that situation.
4. Do you think that immigration authorities who crack down on business owners helps and/or harms businesses? - I think that is bad for small businesses. The workers are already settled, skilled, and working in the business for a long time. If they don’t have a permit or they brought a fake permit, then the business is really badly affected.
- For big companies, I understand the immigration authorities and how they want to make sure people are doing the right thing to pay taxes and give their workers good conditions.
- 5. How do you think the situation of undocumented workers working at different businesses in our communities can be approved?
- Current system is okay. But I think it should be easier for small business owners to check to verify if the papers or work permits that the workers present are okay or are not fake. This way, we cannot get in trouble. Right now, we don’t have that kind of system to check.
- For most small businesses, it’s not good for them to randomly go and check that all the employees are documented. Sometimes the business owner gets in trouble, but they didn’t know. We are not allowed to check and we don’t know how to check their papers if they are true. So we have to trust their papers, even if they are false.
