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Migrant workers play a far-reaching productive role in Florida economy

News-Press – October 19, 2011

Think you want tougher immigration laws?

Existing laws already hold back tourists coming to spend millions here, business owners and workers willing to take jobs that many Americans don’t want.

That was the discussion Tuesday among Southwest Florida immigration experts who discussed the impact tourists, foreign investors and immigrant workers have on the local business community. They spoke to about 35 people who turned out for an event put on by the European American Network at the Bonita Bay Club.

While the U.S. has special agreements with some countries for tourism, tourists from many other countries such as China or Brazil need to apply for visas to vacation in the U.S., said Norma Henning, an immigration attorney with Salvatori Wood & Buckel in Naples.

“Those are countries that have a much more affluent population now, they want to spend money on tourism, and they would like to come to the United States if we would only make it a little easier for them,” Henning said.

Tourism is a huge industry in the U.S. bringing in $1.8 trillion in revenue and $118 billion in taxes annually, she said.

Some tourists buy homes in the U.S. and stay for longer periods of time, which increases the tourist dollars spent, she said.

Kelly Kirschner, another speaker at the event and director of UnidosNow, said the broad use of E-Verify, adopted by states such as Arizona and Alabama to check workers’ legal status, could prove disastrous to Florida.

The state ranks third in the U.S. for agriculture production and supplies 40 percent of the world’s orange juice, he said.

And undocumented immigrants spend $15,000 or more a year, according to a Florida International University study Kirschner referenced.

And when immigrants shop, they pay sales tax. When they buy gas, they pay gas taxes. Even when they rent, those payments are often used by the owners to pay their property taxes.

“Whether you’re documented or undocumented you’re paying those taxes,” Kirschner said.

Bruce E. Sands, an attorney with Henderson-Franklin in Fort Myers, said there’s a disconnect between perception and reality when it comes to migrant workers and their role in the U.S. labor force.
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Often, U.S. citizens don’t want the labor-intensive agricultural and hospitality jobs that migrant workers will do, he said.

“We need migrant workers in this country,” Sands said. “They are a vital part of our workforce.”

In some areas of the U.S. with unemployment rates as high as 20 percent, agricultural companies who advertise that they need workers will get a limited response from U.S. citizens and even many who do respond won’t keep the job for the entire harvest season, he said.

Sands said Immigration Customs Enforcement raids and I-9 audits in the business department of labor have also affected a number of businesses, some of which are agricultural.

I-9 forms can be very intricate and it’s easy to make minor errors on the forms, he said.

“The smaller businesses get killed by this because it’s usually the small business owner himself who is filling out the I-9,” he said.

Because of the economic downturn and the labor intensive visa application process, fewer foreign investors are coming and investing in or running businesses in the U.S., said Henning, the immigration attorney in Naples.

In 2010, foreign direct investment reached $194 billion, up about 49 percent from the year before. But in 2008, that number was $328 billion.

The data refers to larger corporations, while smaller foreign-owned businesses fall under the radar of government agencies who track those numbers, she said.

Still, it’s those small foreign-owned companies that are more common in Southwest Florida, create jobs for local residents and often pay higher wages, she said.

The owners also spend around $60 million to $70 million in spending and taxes living here while they operate their businesses, she said.

“These people are not taking money away from Americans,” she said. “All they want to come and do is spend money.”

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