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Illegal immigration hotbed in state |
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Thursday, 02 August 2007 |
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Page 2 of 3
Clemson looks for solutions
In Clemson, the city sought legal advice on a proposed ordinance that would have prohibited the city from doing business with any company that employed illegal immigrants. After the decision in Pennsylvania, however, the city elected not to pursue passing the ordinance at this time. Illegal immigration is still a problem within the city, Councilwoman Margaret Thompson said. The city will continue to seek methods of getting it under control.
“Naturally, I was disappointed with the decision in Pennsylvania, but I’m not giving up,” Thompson said. “We’re holding off on creating an ordinance because of the ruling, but it’s not going to stop us from doing research and helping to enforce the federal laws. I’m encouraging all of our citizens to take matters into their own hands here.
“If you have some kind of information that indicates a business has illegal employees, it is your duty as a citizen to make a phone call and report that person to (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement).”
Like Hargett in Dorchester County, Thompson said illegal immigration in Clemson is a huge issue because it hurts businesses that are operating legally.
“This problem stems from the greed of the employers,” Thompson said. “It’s just a way for them to save money.”
Doing work Americans won’t
Businesses that employ migrant workers disagree, saying the jobs filled by immigrants—legal and illegal—are jobs that Americans simply will not do.
“There are just some jobs that Americans won’t do, like picking peaches or chopping collards,” said Jim Griffin national legislative coordinator for the S.C. Farm Bureau. “The pay, obviously, is entry level, but even in the experience of farmers who offer higher pay, Americans still won’t do the jobs.”
Chalmers Carr, owner of Titan Farms in Ridge Spring, hires about 440 seasonal workers each year to pick peaches. In 11 years, he’s had fewer than 30 Americans apply for a position and of those, only two lasted more than one day on the job.
And Carr is required by law to advertise and hire any and all Americans who apply for a position before hiring any foreign nationals.
This stipulation is part of the federal H-2A program, a federal program that protects both growers and workers by providing growers with a legal way to hire immigrant workers and ensuring the workers they will receive fair compensation that includes housing, transportation and a wage that is considerably higher than the federal minimum.
For Carr, he must pay his workers $8.51 an hour, which is $2.51 higher than the prevailing wage for peach pickers in the state. Housing and transportation for the workers adds approximately another $2 per hour to the wage.
“I want to participate in this program because I want to be legal, but honestly I don’t know how much longer I can afford it,” said Carr, who used the program for nine years. “I can’t charge any more for my peaches than my competitors do even though they’re paying a wage that’s $4.51 cheaper than the one I have to pay.”
Still, Carr said, the cost of participating in the program is well worth the peace of mind that comes from knowing his workers are all legal.
For companies that participate in the H2-A and H2-B (the equivalent of the H2-A program used by non-agriculture industries) and companies that take their chances without the guest worker programs, migrant workers are a vital part of their businesses.
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