Illegals Who Worked On Military Construction Site Remain Unpaid

Randy Travis, no not the Grammy-winner in country music (whose dad, by the way, ran a construction business), the investigative reporter from Fox 5 in Atlanta, has been doing a series of investigations into the use of illegal workers and subsequent wage theft issue that arise when those workers are not paid.  In the latest episode, he interviewed the owners of Perez Masonry in Atlanta.

The company is owned by two brothers who are both illegal immigrants, yet they just worked on a military project in Atlanta where they were “sub-subs” to a specialty contractor that they now claim has not paid them for their work.  In the video report, Travis asks:

“How could this happen?  After all, under Georgia law, any public contractor has to check the work eligibility of any new employee through a federal program called E-Verify.  Plus, take a look at this security.  You wouldn’t think an illegal immigrant could get past all of this, especially on a military job.”



The issue has three dimensions.  First, the owners of the business are illegal and they hired illegals.  Second, they were able to register their company with E-Verify even though they were illegal.  Third, they, and their illegal employees, went onto a military site in Atlanta without being checked, either for employment eligibility through the I-9 verification form or seemingly for anything else.

They laid brick on the entire building and then were not paid by the subcontractor, Award Construction Group.  When New South Construction, the general contractor, was asked, they claimed that every sub on the job was asked to use the E-Verify system.  The Perez brothers said that didn’t happen.  This is another example of how lax the system has become and how widely illegal immigrants are being used and abused in the industry.  Interesting interview.  Good work Fox 5.