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FeedUndocumented
The state of illegal immigration in Hawaii.
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Union interest in uncovering undocumented workers has even led to overlapping surveillance. Kinney recounts: “We were scoping out one hotel on Kauai, and it had probably 30 to 40 guys working on site. We went over there and the agents went on the job and were getting all this information. As soon as they left, [Hawaii Carpenters Union financial secretary] Ron Taketa calls me up and goes, Lynn, you’re breaking my balls! We’ve been watching that job for three weeks now; we’re working with Ed Kubo to get a bust on this thing, and now they’re all gone! I said, sorry. You got to let me know what you’re working on.”
Agriculture hasn’t responded so intensely. Dean Okimoto, president of the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, and owner of Nalo Farms, says the issue of undocumented farm laborers is a bit different than having aliens working higher paying, skilled construction jobs. The real challenge for farmers is simply finding enough warm bodies to work the fields. “I’m not saying it’s right, but I do understand the motivation,” he says. “People in the general public that think that these workers are taking jobs from our locals. But it’s not easy to find ag labor. No one wants to work out in the sun for eight hours a day, for $8 to $12 an hour.”
There is a federal agency dedicated to investigating workplace violations involving aliens—U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), part of the Department of Homeland Security.
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Wayne Wills, the special agent in charge of investigations at the Honolulu bureau, wouldn’t comment specifically about any of the union’s informal investigations, but said that ICE welcomes information from the public about potential immigration-related violations—the more substantiated, the better. “We take in a lot of leads, some of them more reliable than others, and so we have to prioritize and make decisions about which cases to pursue,” he says.
State lawmakers have also waded into the fray. House Bill 643, introduced by state Rep. Michael Magaoay, would create a state law that would authorize the state Contractors Licensing Board to suspend or revoke a contractor’s license for knowingly or intentionally employing an undocumented worker. Says Magaoay, “It’s intended to preserve the jobs that we have here, specifically in the construction industry. It’s not to be discriminatory; we’re just adding another tool for enforcement.”
Robin Kobayashi, executive director at Hawaii Immigrant Justice Center, says it’s a completely unnecessary measure. “It’s preempted by federal law,” she points out. “Basically, they’re trying to impose federal immigration law on the state level. It’s so redundant that it just reeks of anti-immigrant sentiment.”
Proponents of the bill, however, argue that it couldn’t hurt. Chock says that in the past, businesses caught employing undocumented workers have been able to get off with a slap on the wrist. “The fine just becomes a cost of doing business,” he says. “If you get a $5,000 fine, but you saved $500,000 by cheating, you’re going to keep cheating, because it pays.”
If the U.S. attorney’s office decides to prosecute a case, however, it’s likely that criminal felony charges will be brought against the company or individuals within it. Fines for felony charges can be as much as $250,000 per violation for individuals, and $500,000 for businesses.
Putting Numbers on It
So who’s coming into Hawaii? Where are they coming from? It’s tough to pin down—undocumented aliens are, by definition, an invisible population. No agency or organization we spoke with had a good idea about just how many undocumented foreign nationals currently live in the state. The closest thing to a recent estimate appears to be a 2006 study by the Pew Hispanic Center, which found that Hawaii is home to 20,000 to 35,000 undocumented migrant workers. Many we interviewed said that was probably a conservative figure.
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By looking at data from the Hawaii Immigrant Court, it’s possible to get a sense of how Hawaii’s immigrant population breaks down by nationality. Thirty-two percent of Hawaii’s cases in 2007 (the most recent year for which data is available) involved immigrants from Mexico. The next highest percentages were China, with 17 percent, and the Philippines, with 16 percent. Hawaii turns out to be a popular destination around the world—our immigration court handled cases from 56 different countries, from Canada to Kenya.
In all, Hawaii’s immigration court completed 574 cases in 2007—a jump of 46 percent over the previous year.
Like anybody else, undocumented immigrants fly in, on domestic flights from the Mainland, using either a legitimate visa or forged identification.
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Reader Comments:
Don't tell me that the people who are here legally on visas do not know when their visas will expire. When it expires, go home and re-apply. How hard is that?
They also HAVE to know that when they overstay their visa they are now here ILLEGALLY. Overstaying your visa is a voluntary act (unless of course you are unable to leave for some type of medical emergency or something...a coma). Because of the voluntary nature of this act, they also know the consequences. If they are voluntarily overstaying then they are also acknowledging the consequences if caught, and therefore should not complain when they are caught.
If they seek work on an overstay, even if they seek work while they are here on visa (visitors visa), they are really making a conscious effort to break the terms of their visa and our laws. These people are aware of what their visas allow once they get here, to assume they know any less would be an insult to their intelligence. This awareness of what their visa allows, and the voluntary nature of overstaying and/or seeking employment on a visa that does not allow this makes them scofflaws. Scofflaws should be dealt with appropriately. Deport, and let them figure out how to fix the mess of a situation they left behind, all because of their unwillingness to abide by the law.
In other words, they had a chance to abide, they willfully ignored this opportunity, they should be willing to accept the consequences.
Those who help or hire them should be held accountable as well.
As far as Dean Okimoto's comment. Rubbish! Latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics in Jan of 09 shows nearly 39,000 unemployed in Hawaii.
You think some of our local citizens might be interested? In fact, there are employment agencies who can supply "vetted" farm workers for about $10/hr. How hard is it for the farmers to make a call?
Dean says that it's hard to find someone to work in the hot sun for $8-$10/hr. That's a reflection on what guys like Dean are willing to pay them, not on the workers. To my knowledge, most local construction work takes place in the hot sun, they don't seem to be having trouble finding workers. Why??? Because they pay them a FAIR WAGE! If farming in Hawaii is that costly, then maybe Ag is not the most cost-effective industry for Hawaii. Hint: Del Monte, Dole, and others seemed to have figured this out a long time ago.
Nothing against local farmers, but come on, you see a speeding bus approaching the intersection where you are waiting to cross, and it doesn't look like the driver is paying attention. Do you cross the street anyway, just b/c the sign says walk? I mean, if you choose to ignore the obvious then the consequences should be your own to bear right?
Secondly, where farmers or others who actually partake in the morally bankrupt practice of hiring illegal workers always like to drum the mantra that the cost of farming is prohibitive and this is what drives them to seek "cheap" labor.
Let's say a farmer saves 20% by hiring illegal labor...Why isn't the head of lettuce in the supermarket, then 20% cheaper than the one grown with legal labor. Where does this savings on labor go? Into the farmers pocket, that's where. He may not be getting rich from it, but this savings is surely NOT passed down the line.
This is what makes this a morally bankrupt practice. The employers are ultimately exploiting "cheap illegal labor" to line their own pockets, NOT for any other reason.
Don't let Dean pull the wool over your eyes, by saying that "he doesn't condone, but understands." That's just a verbal "hedge" to try to show support for his constituents.
DEAN...WRONG IS WRONG...ILLEGAL IS ILLEGAL!
I wonder if Kobayashi from NaLoio would have the courage to face the 39,000 unemployed local citizens in our state on behalf of the estimated 35,000 illegal immigrants and say to them...
"It is ok, for unscrupulous employers to STEAL your jobs away, and give them to the illegal immigrants that I advocate on behalf of, while you [citizens] continue to be unemployed, struggle to put food on your families tables, pay your bills, and keep roofs over your families heads." "As citizens of this country, you should understand and sympathize and/or empathize, as most of your predecessors were immigrants at one time."
How do you think that would fly? Do you think she could, or would be able to do it?
Her position is crazy at best.
She says that HB643 is preempted by Federal law. She is an attorney? She needs to check again, HB 643 is a licensing bill. Licensing is solely within the power of the state. Feds can only bust those employers that are involved in the hiring or facilitating of "the scheme", like the managers at the Waipahu The Farms Inc. (owned by Larry Jefts) bust. Removing the offenders from the operation, but the company still survives on as long as key players in the operation cannot be linked to the crime so as to affect the companies survival.
HB 643 will have the effect of actually putting the offending company out of business in our state, period. If that company is determined to have INTENTIONALLY hired the illegal workers. Is that so bad? Why should these companies profit from shady business practices for the sake of their own bottom lines?
Harsh penalties should be dealt to the employers to make it very unattractive for them to engage in this practice. If companies under the threat of harsh penalties won't hire illegal workers, then the illegal workers will stop coming.
It is NOT too late for Hawaii as it is for states like California, Arizona, Texas, etc...
Further, Kobayashi tries to characterize the Bill as anti-immigration. Watch out, savvy lawyer at work here. It is NOT anti-immigration it is anti-ILLEGAL immigration, and MORE IMPORTANTLY anti-EMPLOYERS who hire illegal immigrants. She needs to take a closer look at the bill and worry less about raising negative public sentiment against the bill.
State laws that ostensibly regulate things like licensing but, in truth, are directed toward immigration regulation are (or at least a court should find) to be pre-empted by federal law, which is supreme on the matter of immigration. Duh.
When times get desperate, some people are always likely to get protectionist and hostile toward minority groups with less rights. Typical. The Illegal is Illegal attitude is just a cover for the more basic issue: I AM IN A POSITION OF POWER AND I DON'T WANT TO SHARE. All the rest is rubbish.
Sorry anonymous, but 'illegal' farm labor in Hawaii is a victimless crime. The local small farms would be all out of business because of razor thin profit margins based on the limited quantities of produce grown here. Small farms can't justify to go through the regular procedures and requirements. Would you pay triple the price for a local head of lettuce grown locally and harvested by a unionized, fair wage paid local laborer (if you can find one to do the hard work)? Nope. It needs the ingenuity and determination of a brave foreigner who knows how poverty tastes to come here and do the job. Our border guards and INS agents weed the 'weak' illegals out - always have. The strong ones have always built the foundation of American ingenuity and succeeded the odds. No other country can say that of itself.
Still don't see the point why most politicians tolerate this quietly and don't do the hard crack down all around Limbaugh style? So close all the small farms down in your view. Do the UAW thing where you rather run the whole town of Detroit into the ground before actually trying to understand who is the ignorant one here. Farm labor is the traditional entry way into the USA an we better acknowledge this because otherwise you'll be eating bland GMO foods harvested by machinery and nothing else if you don't plant it on your windowsill.