Immigration debate continues

NEW YORK — She could save money, and there’s a good chance she wouldn’t get caught, but Consuelo Gomez says she won’t hire people who aren’t authorized to work in the U.S. to work for Marty K, her cleaning and landscaping business.

Gomez says she believes that she’s being undercut by competitors that hire workers who are in the U.S. without permission from the government. When potential clients tell her that her competitors can do the same work for a lot less, it makes her suspicious.

“I’ll hear, ‘they’re $2,000 cheaper than you,’ and I say, ‘that’s impossible,’” says Gomez, whose business is located in Bellevue, Wash. “I can’t fathom how they do it because we would lose money.”

If Gomez’s hunch is correct, she’s dealing with a little talked about problem that a lot of small business owners say makes survival difficult. Competing with companies that hire immigrants who aren’t authorized to work in the U.S. is tough for a small business that follows the law because of the cost. Often, businesses pay ineligible workers less, and they also save on taxes.

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