Be Leaders in Ethical
Hiring of Immigrants

Tour a mill or a service center, and usually you will see Hispanic features behind the safety glasses of some workers. The success of many metals producers and distributors is beholden, at least to a degree, to the skill and work ethic of Mexican-Americans—and in some cases Mexican-Not-Yet-Americans. As politicians and pundits cry out for changes to U.S. immigration policy, I wonder what kind of record our industry can claim regarding the hiring and treatment of both legal and illegal aliens?

Various factions in Congress are tussling over proposals that fall into two basic camps: One focuses on tightening the border with Mexico and making felons of the 11 million illegal immigrants already here. It also calls for stricter enforcement of penalties against those who employ illegal workers, and proposes building a 700-mile wall or fence along parts of the 2,000-mile Mexican border (in my opinion, a colossally stupid idea but one that may generate a big order for steel). In the other camp are supporters of a temporary worker program, as proposed by President Bush, which would open the way for more than seven million illegal immigrants to eventually become tax-paying U.S. citizens.

The fallacy here is that government can somehow solve the problem through political means, when much more powerful macroeconomic forces are at work. The fact of the matter is that until there is some parity between the wealth and security a person can enjoy in Mexico vs. the United States, Mexicans will continue to come here seeking a better life.

Economist Pia Orren-ius of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas notes that despite the influx of thousands of newcomers each year, the strong U.S. economy has been able to absorb them and put them to work. Because older workers who are more likely to lack a high school education are retiring and leaving the labor force, low-skilled immigrants, often from Mexico, are filling a disappearing niche in the native labor force. Concerns that cheap foreign workers will dampen wage rates for Americans appear largely unfounded, as economists estimate that wages in this country are only 1 to 3 percent lower today as a result of immigration.

Amid all the rancor and emotion, one fact most can agree on is that employers who hire undocumented workers bear much culpability for the problem. After all, the biggest incentive for illegal aliens to come to the United States is to find work. If no employers were willing to hire them, theoretically the flood of Mexicans over the border would subside. Stricter enforcement of hiring laws will most likely be a component of whatever immigration reform measure Congress eventually passes.

Unlike agricultural industries that depend on seasonal migrant laborers, for example, most jobs in metal production and processing tend to require greater skills and training, and thus individuals with a better educational background. Yet, it would be naïve to believe that all metals suppliers are aboveboard and scrutinize every Green Card.

As an employer, you have an opportunity to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem, and show some leadership by adhering to ethical hiring practices. Immigration is not just a political or an economic issue; it’s a moral one as well. How would you wish to be treated if you were on the other side of the fence looking in?