Immigration bill may hurt state economy

Wednesday, May 8, 1996

Senate bill proposes

tightening restrictions

on undocumented labor

By John Digrado

Daily Bruin Staff

Jumping on a recent legislative bandwagon against illegal
immigration, the Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill last week
that may have dramatic effects on Southern California
businesses.

The bill proposes to make migrating north more difficult for
illegal immigrants, cut government services currently extended to
non-citizens and hold employers more accountable for the legality
of their workers.

Supporters of the Senate bill heralded it for finally
confronting an issue that is widely viewed as divisive, as shown
through public reaction to California’s Proposition 187 in
1994.

"We have brought forth significant changes in legal and illegal
immigration that are rather sweeping," said Republican Sen. Alan
Simpson of Wyoming, the chief sponsor of the bill.

"This issue is about America, and America is about conflict and
resolution. It’s about these things that pull and tear at us," he
said.

Locally, the bill could deal a serious blow to businesses and
industries that rely heavily on undocumented labor, affecting the
area’s economic climate.

"You just have to look anywhere in California to see the extent
to which there is a work force that is comprised of illegal
immigrants and the companies that are willing to hire them," said
Prof. John McDonough of UCLA’s Anderson School.

In addition, the bill would double the number of Border Patrol
officers and place miles of fencing between the United States and
Mexico. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) would also
receive high tech tools, such as night vision goggles, to help curb
illegal immigrants entering the country.

McDonough speculated that should companies be held more closely
accountable for their workforce, employers may be forced to hire
documented citizens that command higher wages, cutting into profits
and directly affecting the consumer with higher prices.

It is this marriage of cheaper labor to lower costs and higher
profits, he said, that sustains the flow of illegal immigrants into
the country, "in terms of the employment possibilities for people
coming across the border and the possibilities for the industries
that employ them."

Prof. Daniel Mitchell, an expert in labor economics, also said
that the ramifications of the bill could be felt in labor-intensive
industries like agriculture, or those that would and do employ
undocumented labor in order to keep costs down.

"Some industries that are heavily dependent on immigrant labor"
will feel the pinch, Mitchell said. "The apparel industry has a lot
of immigrant labor, and to the extent of restricting (labor)
supply, you will raise costs."

The economic impact of the bill on the local economy is even
more pronounced on a wider scale. Experts said that because of the
bill, highly temporary positions which generally avoid formal
hiring, such as construction or farm work, will see an influx of
undocumented labor.

"There’s probably some tendency to push people into areas where
you’re not likely to be uncovered," Mitchell said. "People who are
hired by the day or on the street corner will tend to be pushed
into those areas."

Since 1986, the federal government has placed the responsibility
of checking the citizenship status of employees on the employer,
requiring workers to produce a green card or Social Security card
to be hired.

In addition to having a valuable source of cheap labor made less
accessible, this policy forced companies to verify the citizenship
status of their workforces. Consequently, employers spent time and
resources checking the status of their workers and passed that
added cost to consumers.

In several publicized instances, employers were caught and fined
for continuing to hire illegal immigrant labor. In 1995, INS agents
busted an El Monte sweatshop for employing illegal immigrants and
housing workers in sub-human conditions.

Earlier that year, long-time Orange County shoe manufacturer Van
Doren, Inc. was the site of a major INS sting resulting in the
deportation of several dozen undocumented laborers. The company was
fined and has since moved out of the county.

Indeed, many companies simply continued to employ undocumented
labor after the 1986 legislation, running the risk of being fined
by the INS for each illegally-employed worker.

Experts blasted the new Senate legislation which adds burdens of
proof on employers, saying that making employers responsible for
proving the citizenship status of their workers is a waste of
business resources.

"I’m not sure if it’s wise policy to make the employer the
police," said Prof. David Lewin, an expert on workplace issues.

"Why is it that you want a firm to bear the responsibility for
checking people’s credentials? Why is the firm appropriate for that
sort of thing as opposed to government?" Lewin asked.

Other experts questioned the reliability of employer’s records,
saying that citizenship documents are easily falsified.

"The employer is not a reliable control point just because (the
government) has made the employer keep a copy of that document on
file," Mitchell said. "The issue is always going to come down to
creating a reliable source of documentation, something that is
difficult to counterfeit," he added.

The bill also disallows "non-citizens" to receive government
benefits, in addition to illegal immigrants. However, opponents of
the bill said that the legislation’s language may cut off many
legal, tax-paying non-citizens from receiving government
benefits.

"It’s a misnomer to (say) that the bill only deals with
enforcing immigration laws affecting undocumented immigrants," said
Yolanda Vera, a lawyer with the National Immigration Law Center in
Los Angeles.

"There are a variety of provisions that are going to harm people
who have been paying taxes and who have been working and receiving
benefits" legally, she added.

Many non-citizens receive government benefits extended to
low-income residents who rely on the services as a kind of "safety
net," Vera said.

"If you cut out part of this safety net, it will effect the
entire atmosphere and living environment of the (Los Angeles)
community," she said.

But experts believed that, should the bill pass, it would not
have much of an effect on illegal immigration and these persons’
employment due to the continued demand for cheap labor.

"The only way you’re going to have an immigration bill that’s
going to have any impact is if you go to a foolproof (national)
identification card," Mitchell said. "It’s a mixed bag. It depends
on where you look to find what the effects are."

Compiled with Daily Bruin wire reports