This audio is automatically generated. Do us know if you have comments.
President Donald Trump’s push to eliminate workers without documentation from industries across the country played in various construction sites last week.
Immigration agents and customs arrested more than 100 workers without documentation during a RaidFlorida, on May 29, said the agency in a statement.
Some of these workers were sent to Florida detention facilities And others were flown in El Paso, Texas, where they are waiting for the retirement, or are already in Mexico, reported the Democrat of Tallahassee.
Others still do not have to account, at least for their families, who have not heard them speak since the raid.
Tallahassee’s arrests – made to Student Housing Development Near the Florida State University campus, he reported the Tennessee Democrat – was a multiagency operation, led by ICE in collaboration with various agencies of the Federal and State Law.
Hedrick Brothers, The West Palm Beach in Florida Company Supervating the Tallahassee projectHe published a statement on Tuesday, reported WCTV.
“National Security actions focused on a criminal investigation without relation to the construction of Hedrick Brothers Construction or the project,” the statement said. “To add, we had no previous knowledge of this incident until it took place.”
Also last week, ice -officers arrested several construction workers In a place on the main campus of the University of San Antonio, the San Antonio Express-NEWS reported, although no specific numbers were given. In addition, ICE said he detained 15 workers during a Raid Last week.
How to prepare
It’s hard to know exactly How many unauthorized workers There is in the construction, although some estimates put the total number of about one fifth of the workforce.
As a result, increased incursions could provide serious interruptions in job schedules, as well as aggravating a scarcity of work, and the experts at Construction Dive said.
“We have planned that it would take the Trump administration for about five months to start organizing activities of the workplace, based on our understanding of the work involved in the planning of a one,” said Brian Turmail, Vice President of Public Affairs and Labor For the General Associated Contractors of America.
With May marking that five -month threshold, the contracting group had prepared its members.
“We have advised our members to expect this type of application effort and that we have already hosted three web seminars this year focusing on what contractors have to make for a visit to the ice,” Turmail told Construction Dive in an email.
In the meantime, associated builders and contractors advises construction employers to work to ensure Employees have authorization to work in the United States
“ABC recommends that all contractors take all the precautions of the contracting process to verify that each potential employee is eligible to work legally in the United States, including use the e-green system“, Said ABC’s CEO, Michael Bellaman, in an email to the construction of construction.
Impact on jobs
Jobste’s raids encourage uncertainty and fear, not only for workers who can sign up for incursions, but also employers said George Carrillo, co -founder and CEO of the Hispanic Construction Council.
“These raids have a high reach for the construction industry,” Carrillo said. “They disrupt the projects, create uncertainty for companies and foster fear of workers who simply want to do their job and support their families. Qualified workers are essential for the success of our industry and these actions risk moving them away.”
For example, directly following the foray of Tallahassee, some Places in Florida paused Or closed the work during the day, reported the Democrat of Tallahassee. The result of the raid could have a “chilling effect”, they told real estate experts at the Democratic Tallahassee.
“It is clear that the administration has gone beyond searching for workers without documentation engaged in additional criminal activities and/or national security threats,” said Turmail. “If the application activities like the one that happened in Tallahassee becomes more common, it will quickly expose the many shortcomings in the current federal approach to the development of labor for fields such as construction.”
The Trump administration has pushed to eliminate immigrants without documentation in order to deal
Work work
Construction leaders have requested immigration changes, specifically providing more industry for the legitimate employment.
“This moment calls for reflective dialogue and comprehensive solutions,” said Carrillo. “Instead of focusing on the heavy tactics in the application, we should prioritize labor policies that deal with labor shortage, provide legalization paths and ensure stability for employers and employees.”
Bellaman said that ABC has defended bipartisan solutions for the immigration system for more than 20 years and requested that the Congress act and pass a market visa system based on the market to veterinar and approve workers born abroad.
“Bipartisan solutions are necessary to meet our legal labor needs and discourage the engines of illegal immigration in the United States,” said Bellaman. “ABC firmly believes that the legal reform of immigration is equally crucial to strengthening border security, fostering economic prosperity and providing high demand industries, such as construction, with solutions to the shortage of labor.”
For years, the United States has invested in shops as a professional career and have limited the number of routes for workers born abroad to find a legitimate work in construction, said Turmail.
“That is, our federal policy can be summarized as:” We do not want our children to work in construction, we do not want to let people born in other countries legally enter the industry, let many people not documented in the country and we want to build a lot of things, “said Turmail.” It should not be surprised that workers without documentation are occupied in this sector. “
