Builders adjusting to new immigration laws
Since stiffer state immigration laws went into effect earlier this year, the level of fear has risen among those in the local construction industry who worry they could be penalized for illegal immigrants on the jobsite, said Dave Koons, a custom home builder and president of the Summit Home Builders Association. "For me, as a builder who subcontracts a lot of work, I realize that certainly I'm more exposed to the danger of being criminally prosecuted for having unknowingly hired illegal immigrants through a subcontractor, and that would be terrible - but it's not going to strip me of my livelihood," Koons said, adding that some small local subcontractors could lose everything in a similar situation.

Builders adjusting to new immigration laws

BY NICOLE FORMOSA
summit daily news
Summit County, CO Colorado
March 17, 2007

   FRISCO - Since stiffer state immigration laws went into effect earlier this year, the level of fear has risen among those in the local construction industry who worry they could be penalized for illegal immigrants on the jobsite, said Dave Koons, a custom home builder and president of the Summit Home Builders Association.

"For me, as a builder who subcontracts a lot of work, I realize that certainly I'm more exposed to the danger of being criminally prosecuted for having unknowingly hired illegal immigrants through a subcontractor, and that would be terrible - but it's not going to strip me of my livelihood," Koons said, adding that some small local subcontractors could lose everything in a similar situation.

A Senate bill passed in last year's special legislative session holds employers responsible for verifying the legal work status of a potential hire. Failure to do so could result in fines of up to $5,000 for the first offense and $25,000 for subsequent offenses.

Since the law went into effect on Jan. 1, Koons began adding a paragraph to his contracts that essentially "passes the buck" to the subcontractor by requiring that person attest that all his workers are legally authorized employees.

Those subcontractors are the ones feeling the pinch from the new requirements.

"I have to turn down work because on bigger projects I can't man them up," said a longtime local subcontractor, who didn't want his name published because he expects to have to fire some of his staff due to their immigration status.

The problem isn't a lack of laborers - this subcontractor said there are plenty of people willing to work - it's a fear among employers to hire them and wind up with fines, or worse, if the person turns out to be illegal.

"Nobody wants to be in trouble. Nobody wants to go to jail, but we can't find, especially in the mountain communities, anybody willing to work except for the illegals," he said.

The law also requires employers to keep a copy of the identification documents they used to verify the legal status of an employee for three years or at least one year after the termination of an employee, said Frisco immigration attorney Eric Fisher at a recent homebuilders association meeting.

The tough part for employers is being able to tell whether a passport, certification of U.S. citizenship, Certification of Naturalization or any other approved form of identification is the real thing.

"These documents would fool me and I've been in this industry for 30 years. They have the bar code and the fingerprints and everything - they're great looking," Fisher told the group of about 50 builders.

Employers can participate in a pilot program created by Congress in 1996, which allows them to verify the worker status of all new employees. Problem is, the program is somewhat flawed, Fisher said. For one, all the software does is check whether a name matches a social security number, and that can't detect whether a hire has provided stolen information from the same person.

Also, the program can't be used to screen potential hires, only people that have actually been hired. The first question in the database asks whether the person they're verifying is an employee - if the answer is no, the program kicks the user out, Fisher said.

"I'm not saying it's a bad program. It's better than nothing, but Congress is actually debating making it mandatory," Fisher said. "In other words, you would have to do that for every single one of your workers. Every single one of your workers you have now and every single one of your workers in the future."

Even though Colorado's new laws went into effect more than two months ago, Fisher said there's been little, if any, enforcement because of lack of money, "but like a lot of laws on the books it doesn't mean you should ignore them. You could be the first one who gets enforced."

Alicia Donovan, who works in construction administration for a local company, would like to know that she's complying with the laws, but she's unsure of the processes she should be following.

"Not once have I gotten anything about what we are supposed to do. There's been absolutely no direction, it's really frustrating," Donovan said.

Fisher acknowledged there is a lot of misinformation floating around about immigration issues, and said he spends several hours a day catching up on new laws and workplace immigration raids to stay abreast of the changes.

His best advice for local employers, especially those struggling to fill their crews without using illegal aliens, is to contact their U.S. Congress representative or senator. That way their input can be considered as a potential federal guest worker program comes together.



State and local resolution on immigration issues

The following is the resolution adopted by Colorado Association of Home Builders' board of directors at the July 21st, 2006, meeting. The Summit County Builders Associations supports the same resolution:

WHEREAS, the United States was founded on the hard work and determination of immigrants;

WHEREAS, the protection and security of our nation's borders is of the utmost concern to all U.S. citizens and all members of the Colorado Association of Home Builders;

WHEREAS, the home building industry, with the contribution of a substantial immigrant workforce, plays a critical role in sustaining the state economy and meeting the state's housing needs;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Colorado Association of Home Builders urge Congress to make comprehensive reforms to the nation's immigration laws, including but not limited to, immediately securing the nation's borders and supporting a reasonable and functional guest worker program.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that CAHB opposes illegal immigration and will work actively to encourage all CAHB members to obey current laws,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that CAHB urges all of its members to only employ legal workers and only contract with other entities that pledge to do the same.

Source: Summit County Builders Association

Nicole Formosa can be reached at (970) 668-4629, or at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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