Immigration: A big deal for builders

The National Association of Home Builders is a co-sponsor in a day-long seminar planned Friday titled, "State and Local Immigration Laws: An Open Dialogue."

"Business leaders, state officials, and immigration experts will examine the current legislative proposals on immigration at the state and local levels, the economic impact of these proposals, and how to improve dialog between businesses and public officials to prevent unintentionally hindering economic growth," according to an event announcement.

Economists have puzzled over construction labor statistics that haven't reflected the type of decline they expected to see in construction jobs -- a likely factor is that there are many undocumented workers in the construction industry who are invisible to most of the typical statistical reports (see related blog post).

Builders know that immigration reform could be bad for the industry if it cuts off the industry's supply of workers: The builders' trade group announced back in June that it was taking a strong stand against immigration reform legislation that it said could "threaten small business."

NAHB CEO Jerry Howard said at that time that a proposed federal immigration reform bill had several problems: it "could be used to unfairly prosecute an employer who unknowingly hires an illegal alien; general contractors could be held responsible for the legal status of employees hired by subcontractors; the program to provide a future flow of immigrant workers for the construction industry is unworkable; the new, mandated electronic verification system is untested; and the new record-keeping requirements are unduly burdensome, especially for small businesses."

Howard will participate in the Friday conference, along with Thomas Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and state Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, D-Wash. The chamber group, along with the National Conference of State Legislatures and National Roofing Contractors Association, are also co-sponsors of the event.

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