[Clips] Fake IDs are rife at state job sites

--- begin forwarded text Delivered-To: rah@shipwright.com Delivered-To: clips@philodox.com Date: Sun, 18 Jun 2006 12:40:00 -0400 To: Philodox Clips List From: "R.A. Hettinga" Subject: [Clips] Fake IDs are rife at state job sites Reply-To: rah@philodox.com Sender: clips-bounces@philodox.com http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/06/18/fake_ids_are_rife_at_st... The Boston Globe Fake IDs are rife at state job sites Mass. contractors hire the undocumented By Jonathan Saltzman and Yvonne Abraham, Globe Staff | June 18, 2006 While Republican lawmakers in Massachusetts have called for a crackdown on companies that hire undocumented workers, the state has provided millions of dollars to contractors who employed those workers, records indicate. A Globe analysis of nine recent public works projects -- from dormitory construction at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth to the building of the new Middlesex County Jail -- revealed that of 242 workers on weekly payroll lists, more than a third appeared to lack legitimate Social Security numbers. On one of the payrolls reviewed, for masonry work on the UMass dormitory project, nearly two-thirds of the contractor's 87 workers had bogus or questionable Social Security numbers. The numbers used by the workers in many cases appeared obviously fraudulent. One laborer who helped build the new jail in Billerica submitted a number that should have immediately raised eyebrows: 666-66-6666. Some numbers belonged to people who were long-deceased, the Globe found. Others were matched to people who live out of state and had no idea their numbers had been appropriated. The findings, though a small snapshot of the vast number of public projects undertaken throughout the state, suggest how the use of undocumented workers has extended into almost every corner of the economy. Republicans in Massachusetts trumpeted plans last month to stiffen fines on companies that knowingly hire undocumented immigrants, which is illegal under state law. But there is no requirement that employers, including those receiving public funds, demonstrate that their workers are legal, and undocumented workers employed on the projects say that contractors are all too happy to look the other way. Overall, the bulk of the money for the projects examined by the Globe came from state appropriations or state-backed bonds, though some of the contracts were awarded by local municipalities. Told of the Globe's findings, Senator Richard R. Tisei , a Wakefield Republican, said public money should be given only to those companies who hire legal residents. ``There should be a big hue and cry about this across the state," Tisei said. ``This is taxpayers' money, and taxpayers' money should be used in legal ways." Obtaining an authentic-looking Social Security card with a made-up or stolen number is easy, according to undocumented workers, who said they purchased them outside T stations or from friends. In the age of laser printers and graphics software, fake cards can be had for as little as $80. The Globe obtained weekly payroll reports filed with state and local authorities on the nine public projects examined. Reporters and a Globe researcher ran the workers' Social Security numbers through three on line personal information databases that compile valid Social Security numbers. Many yielded no matches in those databases, or they matched other people , including deceased ones . In other instances, the names of the workers came up, but so did the names of other people, making those numbers questionable. In addition, workers and construction industry specialists said that hiring of immigrants who are here illegally was common on the public projects reviewed. In interviews with state, local, and county government officials and managers of companies that received contracts, a clear pattern emerged: none of them considered it their responsibility to verify that workers on the public projects were here legally. The state and municipal officials said they take no steps to check on the workers' status, saying that duty lies with the contractors. Contractors, in turn, said they obey federal laws that call for them to ask for employees' documentation, but do not require them to inquire further. Under federal law, employers must complete a so-called I-9 document after hiring an employee. The employer must examine sets of documents that establish the employee's identity and eligibility to work in the country. Some identification cards are sufficient to ful fill both requirements, such as a green card or a certificate of US citizenship. Other times, employees rely on a state or locally issued photo ID card, such as a driver's license, to establish their identity, and a Social Security card for their work eligibility. Federal immigration guidelines only require that the documents ``appear to be genuine" and stress to employers that they are not expected to be ``document experts." Raymond W. Houle Jr. town administrator in the small town of Blackstone on the Rhode Island border, said he was ``quite surprised" to learn payroll records show that six of the eight workers for M K Painting of Michigan, which painted a million-gallon steel water storage tank in his town, had bogus or questionable Social Security numbers. But he said he expected the contractor would have checked. ``The town did not hire these people," Houle said. ``The town hired the contractor." John Bethell, superintendent of M K Painting, said he was unaware his company had hired workers who lacked valid Social Security numbers. ``We ask them for their documents, and they give us their documents," said Bethell, whose company brought workers to Blackstone from Texas and the Midwest. ``We're not private eyes." Romeo D'Agostino, an owner of D'Agostino Associates Inc. of Newton, which had 19 instances of workers with bogus or questionable Social Security numbers on public school projects in Littleton and North Easton, said he received about a dozen letters from the Social Security Administration last year informing him that the agency found various workers' numbers did not match any of their records. Occasionally, when a worker's Social Security number does not match the name on tax documents, the SSA sends out such letters asking the worker to resolve the discrepancy. D'Agostino said the law requires him only to pass the letters on to the employees, which he did. Some of those workers still are employed by him, he said. ``I can only do so much," D'Agostino said. ``I follow the letter of the law." In a brief tele phone interview, Paul M. Alves, president of Lighthouse Masonry of New Bedford, said he knew nothing about undocumented workers at his business. ``I don't know what you're talking about," he said, and hung up. At UMass-Dartmouth, Lighthouse Masonry got a $9.8 million contract to help build six dormitories in 2004. Of the 87 workers on the payroll reviewed, 55 had questionable or bogus Social Security numbers. A university spokesman said the school is not equipped to enforce immigration laws. ``The university concerns itself with getting the job done," said John Hoey , a spokesman for UMass-Dartmouth. Specialists on both sides of the immigration debate agree the federal government has done a dismal job of enforcing immigration laws, and that that is why so many undocumented workers -- and the companies that employ them -- thrive. The workers are attractive to some construction firms because they will typically work for lower wages and are less likely to complain to authorities about labor violations. An immigration overhaul measure recently passed by the Senate would make it mandatory for employers to verify Social Security numbers with Homeland Security. In interviews, two undocumented immigrants who worked on public construction projects said it was easy to obtain the Social Security numbers and get on the contractors' payroll. An immigrant from Brazil who said he worked from 2001 to 2005 for D'Agostino and then Lighthouse Masonry said that he bought his bogus Social Security card from a friend of a friend for $80. The 24-year-old, who overstayed his visa after it expired in 2001, said his friend encouraged him to make up a 9-digit number for the card, so he used part of his mother's phone number in Brazil. ``You have to remember the number, and that's a number I can remember," said the masonry worker, who lives in Burlington and insisted on anonymity to avoid detection by authorities. The number he made up belongs to a Quincy woman, according to the Globe search . He said he felt guilty using the made-up number -- ``I'm a Christian," he explained -- but felt he had no choice. Federal authorities have stepped up their attempts to ferret out phony Social Security numbers over the last few years. Earlier this month, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced proposals designed to allow employers to act more quickly on mismatches, but most of those are not in place. No state in the country mandates that employers substantiate their workers are legal, according to the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C. Georgia recently passed a measure that would do so as of July 1, 2007. A spokesman for Governor Mitt Romney said it was unsurprising state money was used to pay undocumented immigrants. ``The governor is not surprised that our current immigration laws are a mess," said Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom. ``We expect employers to abide by the laws of the nation, but that is difficult to do when we have a lax system of enforcement, and a situation where anyone can acquire a forged Social Security card." But immigration specialists say public officials simply lack the will to take on the problem. ``If a newspaper can run the numbers and find out whether they're good, the fact that the government isn't doing it is a clear indication of how successive administrations have chosen not to enforce the law," said Steven A. Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies. ``The fact that it's so easy to do and we don't require it is absurd." -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation http://www.ibuc.com/ 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' _______________________________________________ Clips mailing list Clips@philodox.com http://www.philodox.com/mailman/listinfo/clips --- end forwarded text -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation http://www.ibuc.com/ 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'