The Dilemma of Construction Companies

Douglas Gibbs at Heading Right notes the story of Terry Funderbunk, a South Carolina roofing contractor who does the right thing and only hires legal workers. The problem is that in hiring legal workers, he is losing business to contractors who hire illegals and pay "slave wages."

He runs an honest business and is being put out of business because of companies hiring illegal aliens to do the same kind of work at “slave wages.”

Mad as hell, he decided to do something about it! He picketed the job site of one of his competitors, and was arrested for it.

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Terry is the new image of the American Worker. He took a stand, and was arrested for it. This is no longer a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. This current system is favoring those that are not even citizens by providing them with preferential treatment.

Terry says: “It is time to get angry, fellow Americans, it is time to get out of your homes and start setting things right again. It is time to vote out all of the bums who are profaning this great nation and to set her right again. It is time to take back our country.”

There are two things drawing illegal aliens to this country, the first is jobs and the second is jobs. Employers who hire illegal, because they are illegal, can pay their workers less. Employers who follow the law pay more, have smaller profit margins and higher costs.

But if the Administration would enforce the laws against hiring illegals with steep, rather than "slap on the wrist" penalties, the job market for illegals would dry up rather quickly. By steep, I am talking $50,000 for the first violation for each worker found to have been illegal. The fines would ratchet up steeply from there, to $100,000 for a second violation, per worker. The third violation would have to be on a sliding scale relative to the company's gross receipts, say 35 to 50 percent of gross receipts. Not profits, gross receipts based on their most recent IRS/state income tax reports. Thus if a company has 20 workers who are illegals and the company is found to have hired the illegals, the first time offense would result in $1 million dollar fine, the second offense is a $2 million fine. A third offense should put them out of business.

The proceeds from these fines would go not to the general U.S. treasury, but would be earmarked for ICE efforts and to pay informants whose tips lead to fines.

Dry up the wellspring of jobs and you dry up the illegal immigration problem.