by Brittany Paris

Dean Hedges, owner of Hedges Landscape Specialists, thought a fine was the worst penalty he'd face for hiring illegal immigrants. He never dreamed it would turn him into a convicted felon. That changed on Sept. 24, 2007 - the day immigration authorities raided his Crestwood, Ky., office and arrested 12 of his undocumented workers.

The Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement division started investigating Hedges after former employees reported that he hired undocumented workers and paid them cash under the table. "Hedges indicated he wasn't worried and would just pay a fine if ever caught," one informant told ICE.

A week after the raid, Hedges pleaded guilty to criminal charges that he'd knowingly employed illegal aliens, was sentenced to five months probation and forced to forfeit $147,813 seized from his corporate bank accounts. Hedges was personally penalized $24,000, and his business was fined $48,000. The 12 immigrants were deported to Mexico.

While Hedges declined to comment, his attorney John Caudill says he suspects the authorities wanted to make an example out of his client, who had no prior violations of any kind. Caudill served in the U.S. Attorney's Office for 16 years before entering private practice in 2005, and during that time, prosecuted several corporations that employed hundreds of illegal immigrants but never tried a single case against a contractor.

"I think the federal government is making small business owners a priority, where they were never a focus of these types of investigations before," Caudill says. "ICE wants small business owners to know there's a price to pay."

According to ICE, worksite immigration busts like the one at Hedges Landscape Specialists have increased tenfold over the past five years. More business owners are facing felonies and deportations have skyrocketed.

ICE arrested 5,000 people between October 2007 and May 2008 and brought criminal charges against 900 of them. Of those, 90 percent were undocumented workers and 10 percent were employers.

ICE spokesperson Ivan Ortiz-Delgado says charging business owners is more complicated than prosecuting illegal immigrants.

Two months ago, federal and local police arrested 45 of Annapolis Painting Services' 100 employees during an early morning shakedown. The Maryland company's undocumented workers were deported, and a criminal investigation of owner Robert Bontempo was continuing at press time. "Developing sufficient evidence against employers requires complex, white-collar crime investigations that can take years to bear fruit," Ortiz-Delgado says. Bontempo declined to comment.

This ramped up enforcement, at the federal level and via strict new laws in several states, has contractors, homeowners and undocumented workers examining how the immigration situation affects their community and, for many, their livelihood and bottom line.

ICE officials understand what motivates employers to take the risk. "That's a no-brainer!" ICE spokesperson Pat Reilly says. "They get a cheap, compliant workforce that allows them an advantage over people who comply with the law." In a recent Angie's List contractor poll, 47 percent of business owners claimed their company has suffered because competitors who hire undocumented workers undercut prices by paying the illegal employees less.

Frank Gorin, owner of Frank Gorin Custom Painting in Poway, Calif., says illegal labor in his industry may force him out of business after nearly 20 years. "I can't afford to be legal and compete," Gorin says. "I'll be lucky to stay open another six months."

Frustrated, Gorin says he confronted other painters in the area who he suspects employ undocumented workers and learned they are paying illegal laborers $8 to $10 per hour. Gorin pays his six workers a minimum of $17 an hour, plus liability and workers' compensation premiums for each employee.

Despite Gorin's stance, he realizes it's hard for contractors to know whether or not job applicants are illegal. Gorin discovered he'd inadvertently hired two illegal immigrants when his payroll company flagged the employees' Social Security numbers because they didn't match their names. "A lot of them have fake documents," Gorin says. "I fired them immediately. They were good workers, but illegal is illegal."

Remodeler Paul Zuch, owner of Capital Improvements in Dallas and vice president of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, understands Gorin's plight but says the home-improvement industry cannot ignore the role undocumented workers play.

"The industry as a whole would be severely crippled if all of them were suddenly deported," Zuch says. "It's already a competitive industry with a shortage of qualified workers willing to do the jobs many legal workers won't do. Good contractors are being forced to close up shop because they can't compete with those who hire undocumented workers."

Any prospective employee who shows documents that establish his or her identity and worker eligibility can work for Carrasco's Floor Covering in nearby Carrollton, Texas, says operations manager Sam Hernandez, who estimates at least 50 percent of his employees are illegal. He says the company doesn't check to see if those documents are fake, and under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, he's not required to as long as they appear legitimate. If he goes too far in demanding documentation, he could violate discrimination codes.

In Portland, Ore., Kaizen Home Improvement owner Kate Thornton makes sure her subcontractors are licensed and bonded but says she doesn't check the legal status of their employees. Thornton recently hired a subcontractor to tear out and pour a concrete floor.

"They didn't speak English fluently, except their leader," she says. "Maybe it's a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy." She says she understands she could be held liable if caught with illegal immigrants on her job site, even if they're a subcontractor's workers, but doesn't worry about it too much. "I don't lose any sleep over it, because it's so widespread," Thornton says. "If I did get singled out, I'd ask why."

According to the 1986 federal immigration law, contractors can be held responsible for hiring a subcontracted employee "knowing that the alien is an unauthorized alien."

Craig Penner, owner of lawn irrigation company City Rain in Seattle, says lack of legal labor willing to do the grunt work required in his line of business has forced him to hire day laborers off the streets as needed. He finds workers standing in front of the local box stores or on a street corner well-known for immigrant workers.

Penner says he pays them a wage comparable to his long-term employees and prefers to put them on payroll if they provide a Social Security number, but that's not always the case. He doesn't ask for ID when he hires them and assumes most are here illegally.

"I've had a very positive experience with them," Penner says. "I just wish they had a better command of English."

Day laborers like the workers Penner hires are ubiquitous in cities across the nation. They stand and wait for employment opportunities at intersections, parking lots and organized employment centers. The National Day Labor Study estimates 75 percent of those workers are undocumented migrants. Contractors hire 43 percent of them, but they aren't the only ones seeking this affordable labor.

Homeowners are the No. 1 employer of day laborers, hiring 49 percent of the workforce. Linda, a Scarsdale, N.Y., resident who didn't want her real name published, recruits a couple of Hispanic day laborers each spring to help her till, pick weeds and lay mulch.

Linda enlists workers at informal hiring sites in neighboring towns. She pays them $50 to $100 in cash and buys them lunch. Linda speaks fluent Spanish and stays nearby to supervise. She says she assumes they are illegal because they don't speak English and presumably can't apply for jobs elsewhere.

"Yeah, they are taking American jobs," Linda says. "But, you know what? I can't get a high-schooler to turn my flower beds." Linda's tried. She went to her local youth employment office to find help, but that led nowhere. "These are jobs kids don't want to do anymore," Linda says. "It's a lot of manual labor."

Bill Hudson of Woodstock, Ga., also relies on day laborers to do his heavy lifting. In June, Hudson put some sod in a wheelbarrow and rolled it across a steep hill in his backyard. It took five hours to move the one pallet of turf, and he still had another pallet to go.

"I decided to go get somebody on the corner who wanted to make some money," Hudson says.

He went to the corner convenience store about a mile from his house, which he acknowledges is a reputed hangout for illegal immigrants. As he drove up in his pick-up, people looking for work streamed toward him. Hudson paid a man $60 to finish the job - which he did in an hour. Since then, Hudson has returned to the same spot to hire more helpers.

"They do a very good job," Hudson says. "I never would have gotten the work done any other way."

ICE warns that homeowners who knowingly hire illegal immigrants could face consequences, although no federal cases have been brought against a homeowner as far as Reilly knows. "The same as any employer, if you know you're hiring someone illegally, and you come to the attention of law enforcement, you could be vulnerable," Reilly says.

"Whether or not a homeowner will be targeted for worksite enforcement is another question. We tend to focus on larger building projects." Reilly points out that people who pay cash under the table are also breaking the law, albeit a different one. "That's something that the IRS is going to be very interested in," Reilly says.

Many people hire contractors to do work on their properties, knowing full well the companies may use illegal labor. According to a recent Angie's List poll, 87 percent of homeowners surveyed believe service companies in their area hire illegal immigrants.

Speedway, Ind., resident Jon Kyle hired a local company late last year to repair his chimney. The company sent a subcontractor to do the work, and most of the employees were Hispanic. Kyle demanded to see the employees' green cards. When the subcontractor told Kyle the workers had left their identification at home, he went inside to call the police.

"[The police] thought I was silly," Kyle says. "They said, 'if we go after them, there wouldn't be any roof work getting done in Indiana.'" While a handful of state, city and county police departments have joined forces with federal agents to enforce immigration laws on a local level, Indiana's police have not.

Kyle also complained to the governor, Indiana Department of Workforce Development and Department of Homeland Security. He says only the governor's office followed up with him, but he was disappointed with the response: "Immigrants have helped build America throughout our history, but the law must be enforced. [However], the direct enforcement of immigration law is within the exclusive authority of the federal government."

Workforce Development spokesperson Gary Abell told Angie's List Magazine his office is looking into Kyle's allegations that the suspected illegal employees weren't paying income taxes. DHS took down the contractor's name, but Kyle says they did nothing further. DHS does not comment on tips they've received.

Indianapolis resident Ronnie Yeary screens contractors very carefully to avoid the situation altogether. "I tell them upfront that if they hire illegal immigrants, they don't need to come out and give me a quote," Yeary says.

"Illegal immigrants take the jobs that Americans would take if they were paid a fair living wage. We've got citizens of all different races out there trying to make a living and support their families, and they cannot do so with millions of illegal immigrants in this country."

Yeary recently received six bids to reshingle his roof, and he suspects more than half came from companies who use undocumented workers. He decided to hire Bauer Roofing in Noblesville, Ind., and was pleased with the result. "Jeff [Bauer] and his long-standing crew are Americans," he says. "I was relieved and likewise understood a 6 percent higher price than his closest competitor."

Charles Fichter in Lake Oswego, Ore., knows companies have to keep costs down, but worries who they employ could impact his wallet in a different way. When he hired a roofing company in nearby Portland, Fichter says none of the workers spoke English, except the foreman. In that respect, Fichter is like the more than 1,000 Angie's List members who mentioned a language barrier in reports on home-improvement services filed since 2007.

Fichter surmised that the Hispanic workers were here illegally, but didn't ask any questions. "The quality of the work was good," Fichter says. "I just don't understand the legal ramifications if they get hurt. It makes me a little bit uneasy."

Most states require contractors to carry workers' compensation insurance for every employee, according to Rebecca Smith of tThe National Employment Law Project. She says immigration status doesn't affect claims. "At least a dozen high court decisions have ruled there's no difference between documented and undocumented in terms of their entitlement to benefits," Smith says.

Indianapolis immigration attorney John Broyles says while undocumented workers have complete access to the court system to recover damages in a personal injury claim, many don't pursue it because they worry about deportation. José, an illegal day laborer in Indianapolis who regularly works for construction contractors, recently fell off a roof at a job site and hurt his back. He knew he had the right to sue the company he was working for after they denied him any compensation for the injury. When José confronted the contractor, he says the man threatened to call the authorities, so he never pursued the issue.

"We have a lot of problems," says Hugo, an illegal Salvadoran immigrant who stands alongside José and dozens of day laborers and waits for work in a vacant parking lot on Indianapolis' Eastside. (The illegal immigrants interviewed for this story declined to give their last names.) Hugo explains the majority of the group have been refused payment by an employer.

Another day laborer, Jorge, chimes in about a recent run-in with a crooked contractor. He claims he worked 27 hours on a residential roofing job and was never paid. "I went to where they were putting on the roof and asked to be paid," Jorge says. "He said 'leave or I'll call and have you deported.'"

"We get taken advantage of all the time," Hugo says. "It's absurd. We're just trying to get jobs." He traveled here illegally seven years ago, leaving behind his home and three children in search of a job. When asked if he'd rather be living in El Salvador, he says: "Without a doubt."

ICE blames the prospect of employment as the driving force behind illegal immigration. It estimates that 7 million of the nearly 12 million illegal immigrants living in this country are employed, making up 5 percent of the American workforce.

"Employment is a magnet," Reilly says. "It's no secret the reason so many illegal aliens come to this country is for work. They want an American wage and the American lifestyle." The biggest offenders, Reilly says, are low-skilled, labor-intensive industries, such as roofing and housecleaning, where workers need very little training or English-speaking ability.

Although ICE hasn't executed any worksite raids in Indianapolis, Hugo says the recent arrests of illegal immigrants in other parts of the country make him nervous. Still, he continues to work and sends $200 each week to his children, who stay with his extended family. Hugo occasionally works for the same contractor for weeks at a time, but typically changes employers every day. Homeowners often drive by and hire him directly.

"They want a good price," Hugo says. "American companies want too much money."

On a street corner 800 miles away, Ricardo solicits work from wealthy homeowners in Lee, Mass. He says he prefers to work as a day laborer versus full-time employment because contractors took advantage of him in the past.

"I worked for this company that paid me $4.15 an hour in cash," Ricardo says. "They knew I was illegal." The Colombia native came to the United States in 1996 on a one-year worker's visa. He decided to stay when it expired and has been living here against the law for 11 years. "There's much more money to be made here than in Colombia."

While Ricardo does send some of his earnings to his homeland, he says he files U.S. taxes using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, which is issued by the IRS regardless of immigration status to people who don't qualify for a Social Security card. Most hope paying taxes will give them leverage if presented with an opportunity to become legal citizens. In 2006, 1.4 million people filed taxes with an ITIN, and experts including tax law professor Francine Lipman say more than half were illegal aliens. "I've given money back to this country," Ricardo says.

Nelson, another illegal immigrant from El Salvador, moved to the Boston area seven years ago. Every morning, he stands outside Dunkin' Donuts in Chelsea, Mass., until someone hires him. He makes about $100 a day in cash and sends most of the money back to his homeland. "I haven't been back home, and I don't know if I will," Nelson says. "I'd rather be working here."

Diana Medina, MaidPro office manager in Tulsa, Okla., says she migrated to the U.S. with her parents at age 6. She became a legal resident after marrying a U.S. citizen a decade ago, filling out stacks of paperwork and paying thousands of dollars in fees. It took nearly six years. "It's a very long and expensive process," Medina says. "It's just an unfair system."

Broyles, the immigration attorney, says undocumented workers don't have many avenues if they want to become legal. If a person's lived here illegally for more than a year, federal law bars them from seeking legal status for 10 years. It's a three-year penalty for undocumented workers who live here for less than a year.

Medina sympathizes with illegal immigrants who risk their lives to come to this country. "It's pretty much sink or swim," Medina says. "They have to feed their family somehow. People are just seeking the American dream."

Henry and Delia Ardaya, owners of Prestige Home Care Services in Glendale, Ariz., legally emigrated from South America in 1978 and became citizens since 1991. They say they have some sympathy for those trying to make a better life but feel everyone should play by the same rules.

"We don't agree with illegal immigration at all," Henry says. "Everyone should comply with the law. We're opposed to someone intentionally coming here with no papers, even if we're Hispanics too."

Kyle, the homeowner who recently reported a contractor to authorities, agrees with the Ardayas but acknowledges that if he were in an illegal immigrant's position - coming from a difficult situation and trying to send money home ­- he'd probably do the same thing.

Kyle also admits the prevalence of illegal labor makes it hard to resist. He owns rural property and needs help with yard work but can't find anyone willing. Nearly 70 years old, Kyle walks with a cane and has a bad hip, knee and shoulders.

"I've been tempted to find some day laborers, some illegal immigrants to help me," Kyle says. "I haven't done it, and I probably won't. But, I've really been tempted."

— additional reporting by Paul F.P. Pogue, Will Whitehorn and Robin L. Flanigan

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