Immigrant labor could affect fence deadline

The US is attempting to curb illegal immigration by building a fence along the US Mexico border.

It's not even certain that the fence will work, or will be cost effective. It's a long border in desolate terrain. It's likely that breaches will develop at some points.

But perhaps more ironic is this report that construction companies in Texas have come to rely on foreign labor, mainly Mexican, as the domestic pool shrinks. Many are undocumented, and slip through the cracks (e.g. by using a fake or stolen social security number). More than one in five construction workers in Texas are foreign born.

Based on information collected from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau, the report also found that foreign-born workers held one in five construction jobs in 2006.

In Texas, that percentage is unquestionably much higher, said Jerry Nevuld, president and CEO of the Houston Chapter of AGC.

If foreign-born workers were taken out of the equation, Nevuld believes, it would put undue strain on an industry that is already stretched thin for skilled labor and make construction of the fence a near impossibility.

"There are a significant number of illegals working in construction," Nevuld said. "If you try to build a wall, but take a few thousand workers out of the workforce first, you could have some real problems."

...

Despite the additional oversight, the likelihood for illegal labor working on the border fence remains a distinct possibility, some say.
"It could happen anywhere in any industry on any given day," Morrissey said.

The agency takes immigration seriously, and companies caught using undocumented labor will face legal recourse, according to Morrissey.

The fence will get done. But it will get a lot more slowly. Very ironic.