If your business is dependent on employing illegal aliens, and probably paying them lower then minimum wage wage, you’re doing it wrong
Immigration arrests left NC restaurants short-staffed and job sites idle, owners say
For two weeks last November, kitchens at David “Woody” Lockwood’s restaurants ran short of dishwashers, prep cooks and servers as workers stayed home, afraid to leave their houses during a federal immigration crackdown that resulted in more than 400 arrests across North Carolina.
“We had a lot of people, mostly in the kitchen, that didn’t feel safe coming to work,” said Lockwood, a co-owner of Trophy Brewing and The Bend. That meant managers working extra shifts, longer waits for customers and paying employees who were not on the job to help them get by.
“We decided, at least for those two weeks, to pay those people for the hours they missed, which is not a sustainable thing,” Lockwood said.
Business owners and educators said the effects of the crackdown extended well beyond those taken into custody, disrupting construction and hospitality – two of the state’s largest industries – and keeping some students home from school.
If they are authorized to work in the US would any of them miss work? Obviously because they were not authorized, meaning these businesses were breaking federal law in employing the illegals. I actually wish that the early focus was on arresting and prosecuting the businesses who were employing illegals, which would have heavily discouraged businesses from employing them, meaning little work for illegals, meaning lots would voluntarily leave.
Mikki Paradis, chief executive of PDI Drywall, said construction sites fell silent for more than a week during the November operations.
“There was not a single person working on those jobs,” said Paradis, who has relied on Hispanic workers throughout her 21-year career. She said these labor shortages would slow housing construction and drive up costs.
OK, arrest her. ICE isn’t going to mostly bother with those authorized to work. Anyhow, Deb Ross, who represents NC 2 (my district), was there
Also, perhaps Deb could be more concerned with Americans than illegals.
Workers?
They came here to work? I thought Teach believed they just came here to get free phones and go on welfare.
The latest GDP numbers were frightening. Only 1.6% growth.
The GOP now has 83% of polymarket bettors saying they will lose the House
And 41% saying the Dems will take the Senate ,!
And Trump? His last appearances have been total disasters. Has anyone else had the stomach to watch them?
He def in Italy needs another Alzheimer’s infusion
[…] to my good friend and occasional blog pinch-hitter William Teach, I found this wonderful […]
Johnny-“they” can come here legally, right? So your problem is…….what?
Jilly,
Many DO come here legally but King Racist rescinds their status making them illegal. About 40% of your “illegals” have TPS (1.5 million), asylum seekers (2-3 million), DACA (600,000), VAWA, juveniles etc.
Some 240,000 Ukrainians fled to the U.S. after the Russian invasion which provided temporary protection from deportation and permission to work. Their TPS was extended to Oct 2026.
The CHNV Parole Program (Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela) humanitarian parole program was terminated by DHS in March 2025, with benefits set to end. However, federal court orders have temporarily stayed (blocked) this revocation while lawsuits proceed, leaving many in legal limbo. This involves some 600,000 refugees.
The ICE goons and thugs are not very good at discerning who’s who, but rely on pigment and accents.
The distinguished Mr Dowd wrote:
TPS is the abbreviation for Temporary Protected Status, something which tells you that it was always meant to be temporary, to expire . . . and President Trump, keeping the promises he made to the 77,302,580 decent Americans who voted for him, is not renewing those benefits, nor is he granting asylum to the millions who want it.
Our distinguished host wrote:
I agree with this, though I would still retain the heavy enforcement against the illegals we have found.
So, Mr Lockwood now knows exactly who among his employees is here and was working illegally. Perhaps he didn’t look at their I-9 documents closely, or perhaps he ignored legal requirements on hiring illegals, but now he knows who was working there illegally, and has absolutely no f(ornicating) excuses: he needs to discharge them all immediately, and inform Immigration and Customs Enforcement exactly who they were. If he does not disclose this information to ICE, he needs to be arrested for knowingly harboring illegals.
Dana: So, Mr Lockwood now knows exactly who among his employees is here and was working illegally.
That is not necessarily the case. The Trump administration has been grabbing people who are going through the process legally, such as those waiting on asylum claims or green cards. There are ample stories of people being taken at their immigration hearings. Others may even be citizens, but are married to immigrant spouses who are, again, going through the immigration process. People are afraid.
Consider the Haitian immigrants in Springfield. Not only did the president and his minions accuse them “They’re eating the dogs. They’re eating the cats,” but they have removed their immigration status. Whether you think that was right or wrong, the fact remains that they were here legally, attacked unfairly, and then threatened with deportation. So there is a shortage of workers in Springfield, even though they hired legal immigrant workers (whom they said were better workers than most Americans).
Mr Z wrote:
If they are “waiting on green cards,” they are still unable to work legally. Those who “may even be citizens” but married to those not currently legal should keep coming to work, to keep attention away from their illegal immigrant spouses.
An alien waiting on a green card can work in the US, but only after receiving an approved Employment Authorization Document (EAD or work permit; Form I-766) while their Adjustment of Status (Form I-485) is pending. Filiing for a green card is not sufficient for work.
According to U.S. laws, knowingly hiring undocumented workers is a crime subject to fines and imprisonment. Since most “present without permission” persons are employed, it’s clear we have a backlog of employers who are serious criminals! Yet, precious few of the employers are prosecuted.
Mr trump never mentions this. Why?
Mr Dowd is absolutely right about this: the United States should be going after the employers who hire the illegals. Under the Handbook for Employers M-274, Section 11.8, it is specified that:
Throw some of these employers into jail, and the rest will get rid of their illegal employees post haste! Once the illegals see their jobs drying up, they’ll ‘self-deport’ back to their home countries.
Employers who get locked up for hiring illegals might lose their businesses, lose everything, and that’s exactly what they deserve. Other employers, seeing this happen to a few other people, will have even more incentive to get rid of their illegals immediately.
It’s simple. Hire Americans as thousands of restaurants do.