Thanks to all of you that participated in our conference call about immigration in our construction industry.  We had a great discussion about immigration, government regulation and the impact on our economy.  Here are the main points made during the conversation:

1.  The government needs to have a verifiable, reliable system for determining legal status of new hires...they should not put the burder for determining legal status on the employer.

2.  Any new legislation should include a method for helping current illegal immigrants to obtain citizenship or the ability to work legally.

3.  Any new legislation should include a guest worker program.

4.  The government should recognize that they are collecting double payments from employers on a single social security number!

5.  Generally immigrants are hired, NOT because they are cheaper labor, but because they are available and willing to work.

Thanks again to all who participated.  Feel free to continue the discussion on the website by posting your own blog or replying to the subject.