Illegal Alien Contractors

Gary:

I would just make it part of your agreement or contract with the contractor that all employees are legal residents or legally able to work. I would consult with your attorney on proper wording. Beyond that I don't think you are obligated to do anything because you are not employing them.

and yet susan, you would have this HOA file a 1099 for the contractor? They should CYA with the IRS, but not with DHS?

As long as the contract specifies the contractor is licensed (most counties require a least a business license) and will follow the law the; it is the contractors problem. The same as it is the homeowner's problem if their renter does something against the rules; the Associations contract is with them. If you suspect the contractor is using illegals then you can call your local sheriff's department or ICE to check their status.

But, Michele. If they were immigrants, they would be documented, right? I just really hate the term "illegal IMMIGRANTS". When you immigrate, you do it legally. When you sneak in, it's illegal. My Mom was an immigrant and she did it legally, along with millions of others. Perhaps it's a sore spot with me because we have so many here in AZ. You probably don't have many in KY?

By the way, congrats to your mom.

This I completely agree with. It is the HOA"s responsibility to assure all vendors have a business license with the appropriate insurance ect. However, if they hire illegals how is the HOA to monitor this? It is totally our of the scope of practice for any board. THE HIRED ILLEGAL IS NOT FOR THE HOA TO DECIDE....

Mary, I can appreciate your and others' frustration with the undocumented immigrant issue.

And Kentucky has had a steady influx for DECADES (the tobacco industry, the horse industry, the construction industry - - we have had "opportunities" for migrant/undocumented workers for decades and decades).

My issue is with rhetoric and word choices, and I am aware and concede that an online forum of most any kind, much less this one, is not necessarily the place to hold such a discussion.

However, the inflamed word choices and the equally inflamed attitudes that back them up are causing unintended consequences in the real world.

I'll explain from MY filter/perspective.

My son-in-law has an Anglo-American dad and a Phillipino-American mom. His mixed physical characteristics are that he is somewhat darker skinned with thick black hair and very dark brown eyes that are not quite round, yet not quite almond shaped.

He looks very "hispanic," in other words.

He is also an electrician in the commercial construction business (one of the industries here in KY that is rife with undocumented workers - especially "hispanics").

In the past couple years, as the hostility towards "illegal aliens" and those "damned illegal immigrants" has escalated, he has been the victim of harassment and racially charged hostility.

Just last week he was at a red light in his work van. A truck pulled up next to him and the two guys in it started yelling at him, calling him "f-ing illegal" spitting at his van, and finally, one grabbed a Kenny Cheasny CD and flipped it at him (like a frisbee) and yelled, "here's some good American Music, Jose! Hope you like taking our jobs!!"

Then the light changed and they pulled off.

He's had people throw milk shakes, trash, you name it, at him when he's on a worksite, from cars, of course, as they drive by and yell more bigoted B.S.

In my opinion, a lot of this boldness of hatred is fueled by constant de-humanizing of the very people that we are talking about here by "classifying" them in even casual conversation as somehow horrible criminals who deserve our contempt.

Anyway, I prefer to keep the rhetoric and nomenclature less emotionally charged.

Undocumented workers are indeed the responsibility of the "illegal employers" who continue to (and yes, oftentimes KNOWINGLY) hire them.

An HOA doesn't need to be getting into the purview of immigrant enforcement.

Michele,

I feel very bad for the treatment your son-in-law has had to withstand. It truly is unconscionable. Here in AZ we have a very large Hispanic population. Of course now that there are so many illegal aliens, many people automatically think all Hispanics are in that class. My daughter-in-law is Hispanic. She and all her family members truly dispise the illegals. Those in her family who were born in Mex. came here legally. Incidentally, my son is an electrician. Frankly, my problem is not with the illegal, it's with the fact that they're here illegally getting the same benefits as we do. I have nothing against Hispanics. In fact, I find they are wonderful workers. I've had many do work in my house -- some may have been illegals, I don't know; but all have worked hard and done a great job.

I agree it's the employers who should be taken to task. In fact, in AZ it is against the law to hire an illegal. And, I also agree that HOAs don't need to get involved. If the landscaper they hire employs illegals, that's his problem not the HOAs.