“Workers (Undocumented) and Employers,” by Timothy Trainer
When federal law enforcement officers conduct raids on workplaces to round up, detain, and arrest undocumented workers, cameras belonging to bystanders or reporters sprout and capture the moment, and a story is immediately born. Social media posts will appear with videos, images, and reactions. The enforcement focus on undocumented workers provides an almost daily dose of these stories. They fuel the fury of Americans who applaud these actions or infuriate those on the other side.
On the flip side: How can there be any undocumented workers unless there are employers willing to ignore the law to hire them? Where are the articles in mainstream media informing us of the federal government’s efforts to identify and impose penalties on employers? How can there be hundreds of thousands of undocumented workers in the United States unless we have individuals in companies/businesses who deliberately look the other way and hire them?
According to information available on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) website: “The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 requires employers to verify the identity and work eligibility of all individuals they hire, and to document that information using the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9. ICE uses the I-9 inspection program to promote compliance with the law, part of a comprehensive strategy to address and deter illegal employment.” Worksite Enforcement | ICE. Given the overall situation in the country, it wouldn’t be at all inaccurate to say that ICE’s work at finding, pursuing, and deterring employers has fallen flat as a way to prevent hiring of undocumented workers.
Though not as prominently reported and not in significant numbers, there are employers who become the target of federal law enforcement. At the end of April, ICE notified three Denver-area businesses of an intent to impose fines totaling approximately eight million dollars. ICE Denver levies over $8 million in fines on local businesses for employment violations | ICE. ICE’s press release indicated that 143 undocumented workers were working for the three businesses.
It requires some digging to uncover news of other enforcement actions against employers, and much of the reporting is dated. For example, between March 2018 and March 2019, an article published by The Center for Public Integrity states that “11 individuals were prosecuted for hiring undocumented workers and only three received any jail time”. Employers escape sanctions, while the undocumented risk their lives and prosecution.
It’s difficult to reconcile the tens of thousands of arrests of undocumented workers and the few legal actions against employers. Gambling on jobs, income, and the ability to provide food, clothing, and shelter for individuals and families might be worth taking during times of less aggressive enforcement against undocumented workers. Even greater is the risk worth taking by employers if they know that they will, for the most part, be able to operate without complying with employment laws. The relatively few enforcement actions against employers undermine deterrence as undocumented workers, while bearing the brunt of enforcement actions, continue to be lured to available jobs offered by employers who ignore an individual’s legal status.
The focus on undocumented workers and how politicians use the issue to tug on the emotions of voters overlooks certain distasteful realities. Employers can ignore minimum wage laws, labor laws on treatment and conditions for workers as well as others.
There are industry sectors that rely on undocumented workers because there aren’t enough documented workers or Americans to do the work. As a recent article reported about the plight of the agriculture industry, one farmer pointed out that “I’ve employed Americans, and they quit after a few days . . .. They quit after a few hours.” Abandoned by Trump, a farmer and a migrant search for a better future – Washington Post. If the route to becoming a documented worker requires overcoming bureaucratic hurdles that take years, it becomes nearly impossible for law-abiding employers to operate.
The question is whether those who could improve the situation do, in fact, want to fix the problem or simply continue using the issue for political gain. If recent history is any indicator, it seems that members of Congress would rather complain and campaign over the issue rather than address it and find solutions.
About the Timothy Trainer: Writing books is a passion for attorney Timothy Trainer, who for more than three decades focused on intellectual property issues in his day job. He has worked in government agencies and in the private sector and his assignments have taken him to 60 countries around the world.
Tim found time to pen a few non-fiction tomes, including his first book, Customs Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights; the 15th edition was published in 2022. Thomson Reuters’ Aspatore Books published Tim’s next title in 2015, Potato Chips to Computer Chips: The War on Fake Stuff.
Fiction was a genre he always wanted to try. In 2019, Pendulum Over the Pacific, was released by Joshua Tree Publishing. “This political intrigue story is set in Tokyo and Washington, D.C., and centers on trade tensions between the U.S. and Japan in the late 1980s,” Tim explains.
In 2023, his first series hit bookstores: The China Connection.
In 2025, he published the sequel, The China Factor, which ranked #63 on the Amazon Asian Literature list in May.
Learn more about this book and Tim’s writing process when he’s interviewed by author Jeffrey James Higgins’ for his new Inkandescent podcast and video show: Elaine’s Literary Salon.
Learn about Tim’s work and books: timothytrainer.com
