LCO gets raided

[Steve]

Do you think we will be seeing more raids like this? How will they affect the industry? More details surface on Cloudburst raid - The city of Grand Island spoke out Friday after Thursday's immigration raid of a local landscaping business. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 19 workers at Cloudburst Lawn and Sprinkler for being in the country illegally.

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Illegal immigration is a hot topic right now. So consequently people are letting elected officials know they want laws on the books to be enforced and they don't want to hear excuses why it can't be done. And we know how stuff rolls downhill.... It would be fair to say there are a couple of reasons why that is. #1 If somebody wants to come to this country, do it through legal channels. We are a nation based on laws. #2 Illegals are eligible in some instances to access to entitlements that they have not paid a penny into. Getting something for nothing really irritates taxpayers that will be depending on SS or similar programs when they retire. Some industries seem to attract illegals more than others so expect them to be targeted. That includes our business. And I blame those who are more concerned with lining their own pockets and not paying their share into our system. We can expect to be put under a microscope thanks to the greedy business owners. Expect more IRS audits, OSHA surprise visits, and more. I'll step down off the soapbox....

[Steve]

How do you feel this will ultimately effect the lawn care industry? Will it improve or get worse?

I suspect the costs for customers will go up significantly should customers choose a company with employees vs. the one man operation. Paying into SS, FICA, WC, etc will have to come from somewhere.

It will be more so in parts of the country where hiring of illegals is much more prevalent.

The day is coming when a company will include in its advertising that all of its employees are here legally or are citizens, and they support efforts at cracking down on illegals.

IMO, it will improve our industry in the long run.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]The day is coming when a company will include in its advertising that all of its employees are here legally or are citizens, and they support efforts at cracking down on illegals.

That is a very interesting concept! I wonder if advertising that would help a lawn care business owner land more accounts?

I personally feel that in order to stop the illegal immigrants here they should not go after the workers, but the employers instead. If they put in heavy fines and jail time, employers will begin to wise up and hire legal people.

This is a hot topic for me because my wife is Canadian. It took her almost 2 years of paperwork before she could work. So I get steamed at the fact that we did everything legally yet there are those are there that are doing it illegally and still getting hired.

[Clean Lawn]

I really think we need to tighten the reins of illegal aliens. We cannot say we don't want them in the country illegally and point the finger at one nationality but close our eyes at another. The bottom line is the law, if your not an american citizen and your here illegally then you have to go. I am sorry I know its harsh but I have seen a LOT of bad happen in my city streets and my country because of illegal aliens in this country that should of been here in the first place.
I also agree we should fine the employers that are giving them these low paying jobs. They need to get with the program and pay the appropriate amount of money to citizens of the United States and help us get these people working. Not add to the problem by having illegal aliens doing the job for 1/4 the price they would pay someone else.
Its time for Americans to say and stand firmly by it that we are not going to allow it anymore. We want you to legally become a citizen or frankly leave. We need to focus on our own countries problems and get them straight before we can just let anyone run through our streets breaking our laws without punishment. JUst so most of you know when an illegal alien is caught they are set free in the United states, not deported. the country doesn't want to split the bill to ship them back to their country they allow the problem to remain.
We have to get rid of these politicians that fatten their bellies and line their pockets on the wealth of this great country and start getting people that don't want hundreds of thousands of dollars to sit around in expensive suits, eatting trendy meals without doing an ounce of good for this country.