Immigration Reforms and the Effects on the Service Industry - Case Study Example

Immigration: A Case Study of Immigration Reforms and the Effects on the Service Industry of Houston Conrad N. Hilton Roger Ly Introduction Throughout the course of American history, the American Government and its citizens have always held a mix of different ideologies about immigration. America is a country built by immigrants from all parts of the world. Today, immigration is looked upon as a major type of human capital needed to support the maintenance and enhancement of the American lifestyle. Immigration is significant as a form of human capital because it supplies laborers for jobs that the American public does not wish to take. It also brings a large labor force to support the service industry which relies heavily on human capital, and to fill short term needs in industries which have seasonal variations, such as agriculture. The the tightening of governmental reforms on immigration causes a large number of vacancies in low skill positions, which means and additional cost for employers who struggle to fill these vacancies. Purpose This case study looks at major immigration reforms through the course of United States’ history to identify immigration reforms that have shaped employment practices. It seeks to gain knowledge of the implementation of such reforms, and the effects which they have had on the hospitality industry in particular. Immigration reforms that are reviewed are the Immigration Reform and Control Act, the Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, and the Employment Eligibility Verification Program or better known as E-Verify. These reforms are important to the service industry, because they have outlining effects such as lack of skilled laborers, discrimination against potential employees, and increase in payroll spending. Immigration Reforms: The Immigration Reform and Control Act is a legislation reform which was introduced in 1986 with the purpose of discouraging further immigration to the United States. This act was implemented intentionally to preserve jobs for American citizens and authorized documented aliens. It aimed also to encourage movement between American states for all citizens. This reform also gave employers verifiable tools to screen the legality of potential workers, made it illegal to knowingly hire unauthorized immigrants, granted amnesty to illegal immigrants who entered the United States before January 1, 1982, and prohibited discriminatory acts towards applicants. The Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act was enacted ten years later in 1996 to address both aspects of immigration in the United States, and to add a new provision that was deemed necessary. According to the library of UWB.edu, this reform consists of 5 main titles. Title 1 is directed towards border patrol to increase border enforcement, state of the art equipment, and identification cards by utilizing technological system designed to monitor and verify legal and illegal immigrants. Title 2 is directed to fight against illegal smuggling and document fraud which mainly targets US citizens. Congress has also increased penalties for criminals convicted of immigration related offenses. Title 3 has rules that outline acceptable practices for a detained illegal alien through the process of examination, arrestment, imprisonment, mediation, and removal of excludable and deportable aliens. This provision states that those who are unlawfully present in the US for 180 days but less than a year are closed off from being admitted in any legal status in the US for a three year period (Stevens). Those who are unlawfully present in the US for more than a year are closed off from being admitted in any legal status for ten years. Title 4 allowed the sharing of important information about illegal aliens between the INS and state or local governments. It also added a number of new crimes such as the anti-terrorism law which allows for indefinite detention of anyone, including American citizens, as long as the government deems them a terrorist. Title 5 included the addition of rules and restrictions that limits the government’s role to provide assistance to aliens such as medical expenses and housing. Title 5 also contained new grounds on exclusion and deportation such as those whom seek asylum as resident in the US must summit proof of having received vaccinations. The Employment Eligibility Verification Program, or E-Verify, is a simple web based tool that is run by the Department of Homeland Security. E-Verify allowed employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of new hires. This program has gain popularity since its release, and some states have even mandated that employers use the E-Verify program. The E-Verify program is intended to protect civil liberties, minimize discrimination, and reduce unauthorized employment. The steps for the verification program that is provided by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services are as follows (The Enrollment Process, 2011): 1. An employer enters the employee’s information including their name, social security number and date of birth into the on-line database. 2. The information is transmitted through the databases of the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Agency. The information is cross-referenced to determine whether it corresponds to a U.S. citizen or work-eligible immigrant. 3. If the information cannot be verified by the DHS or SSA, the information is then sent to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services .The employee’s information is then checked against other DHS databases. 4. If the data is confirmed through one of the databases, the employer receives a positive confirmation notice certifying that the employee is eligible to work 5. If the employee input does not match any information in the SSA, DHS or USCIS databases, E-Verify allows the employer the opportunity to re-verify the employee’s information. If there is a clerical error, the employee’s data can be re-submitted and the process starts again. 6. If the employee cannot be confirmed after checking for clerical errors, the employee has eight days to correct the non-confirmation with the SSA or USCIS. 7. If the employee chooses not to contest the non-confirmation or has not provided information to support the non-confirmation, the DHS sends a final confirmation to the employer. 8. Upon receipt of the non-confirmation, the employer must either discharge the employee or inform the DHS that they intend to retain the employee with the belief that there is an error in the verification system and that clarification will be resolved at a later date. (Rasic) Enforcement of Immigration The enforcement of immigration falls under the wing of the Department of Homeland Security and its sub categories. In order for immigrants to work in the United States, they have to obtain a social security card or immigrant visa. The purpose of this is to have documented information about a specified person and to collect taxes on wages earned. The Immigration and Customs Agency is the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. It investigates terrorists, smugglers and any other criminal organization that threatens national security. These investigations usually include criminal activities used to exploit America’s trade, travel and financial systems such as human or drug trafficking and commercial fraud (About the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)). The United States Citizen and Immigration Service is a US government agency which is in charge of granting US Citizenship, processing visa petitions, naturalization petitions and asylum and refugee applicants’ claims, managing immigration benefits and services, issuing documents for employment authorization, and granting recognized permanent resident. Verification of Documentations and the I-9 Policy The Verification of Documents and the implementation of the I-9 policy go hand with each other. The verification of documents is a requirement that employees or new hires must have documents that pertain to their identity. To take up a new job, the employee must have completed an employment eligibility verification form or I-9 to be summited to the employer, This is then verified and a copy of the form is kept with the employer. The three acceptable forms of I-9 verification are as follows: List A United States Passport Permanent Resident Card or Alien Registration Receipt Card Temporary Resident Card Employment Authorization Document Foreign Passport with temporary I-551 stamp For aliens authorized to work only for a specific employer, foreign passport with Form I-94 authorizing employment with this employer List B Drivers license issued by a state or outlying possession ID card issued by a state or outlying possession Native American tribal document Canadian drivers license or ID card with a photograph School ID card with a photograph Voters registration card U.S. Military card or draft record Military dependents ID Card List C Social Security account number card without employment restrictions Original or certified copy of a birth certificate with an official seal issued by a state or local government agency Certification of Birth Abroad US Citizen ID Card Native American tribal document Form I-94 authorizing employment with this employer (About the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)) Effects of these Reforms. There are many effects and challenges that hospitality professionals face with the changing immigration and employment laws. In large economies such as the United States, immigrants usually fill the gap in many vacant positions and labor shortages, but due to the many reforms, finding laborers who are legal to be employed can prove to be difficult. The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan is located in a town which has high demand for seasonal workers in the summer but American workers do not want to work at the hotel given the location. Thus, the hotel looks to international sources for its seasonal workers, but due to the limited number of visas available, the establishment could not fill 300 positions with foreign workers (Banks, 2007). These positions would usually be filled by immigrant workers but they remained vacant due to governmental restrictions on the employment of undocumented employees. As hospitality managers know, finding workers who will work in a low-skilled, low-wage position such as a housekeeper can prove difficult with Americans. It is now more difficult and costly with immigrants also. The reason for the difficulty of not finding laborers is that approximately 12 to13 million people currently living in the US are here illegally and with the federal government increasing enforcement of the existing immigration reforms, there is increasing strain on the service industry. The hiring and training process of a new employee can be a strenuous and expensive process for employers and any additional cost can reduce their margins for profit, which are already very tight, especially since the world is suffering a severe recession at this time. In some states E-Verify is mandatory and in 2010 it would have cost businesses 2.6 billion if it was mandatory for the whole US (The True Cost of E-Verify). On average, the E-verify program would cost over $400 per year for small businesses and for large businesses it would be in the thousands. In addition, other costs can accumulate from I-9 audits from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement which issue fines can ranging from tens of thousands to millions (Maylock, 2012). Conclusion This case study has shown that recent efforts to tighten legislation and enforce the existing rules are having a significant effect on the hospitality industry. On the one hand, there is a greater amount of clarity on the legal status of workers, and the law is being obeyed more consistently than before the reforms of the 1980s and 1990s. This is undoubtedly a good thing. On the other hand, however, the economic situation in the United States is worsening, and it is not cost effective for local American workers to take low paid jobs in the hospitality sector. If no local workers can be found, too few legal immigrants are allowed to enter the country, and no illegal workers are to be given jobs, this leaves a big problem for the industry, and so far there has been very little progress in solving these difficult issues. Works Cited Global, US hospitality industry need workers. (2006). Retrieved from WorkPermit.com: http://www.workpermit.com/news/2006_01_05/us/global_hospitality_industry_needs_workers.htm Immigration reform must include relief for seasonal employers. (2009). Retrieved from HotelNewsNow: http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx/2391/Immigration-reform-must-include-relief-for-seasonal-employers The Enrollment Process. (2011). Retrieved from uscis.gov: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=4e98fb41c8596210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=4e98fb41c8596210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD About the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). (n.d.). 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Retrieved from hrhero.com: http://topics.hrhero.com/immigration-reform-and-control-act-irca/# Maylock, P. (2012). Retrieved from HotelNewsNow: http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx/7960/5-red-flags-that-could-lead-to-an-I-9-audit Rasic, J. M. (n.d.). Immigration and the hospitality industry. Retrieved from digitalscholarship.unlv.edu: http://digitalcommons.library.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1566&context=thesesdissertations Sapochnick, J. J. (n.d.). Hospitality and Immigration Law - Visas for Chefs, Cooks, and other workers. Retrieved from h1b.biz: http://www.h1b.biz/lawyer-attorney-1258360.html Stevens, K. S. (n.d.). 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. Retrieved from library.uwb.edu: http://library.uwb.edu/guides/usimmigration/1996_illegal_immigration_reform_and_immigrant_responsibility_act.html The True Cost of E-Verify. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://reformimmigrationforamerica.org: http://reformimmigrationforamerica.org/blog/blog/the-true-cost-of-e-verify/ Read More