Just how cheap is the cheap labor in Texas? Sometimes, it’s free. Guillermo Perez, 41, is undocumented and has been working commercial construction jobs in Austin for 13 years.
“[The employer] said he didn’t have the money to pay me and he owed me $1,200,” Perez says of one job. “I told him that I’m going to the Texas Workforce Commission, which I did. Then after that, he came back two weeks later and paid me.”
Recent actions by Federal authorities in Texas – namely the arrest of six top officials of Dibon Solutions for conspiracy to commit H-1B visa fraud and wire fraud charges – shows an uptick in prosecution of guest worker program abusers.
H1-B visa fraud lowers the wages of American workers by flooding markets with cheap foreign labor. It also allows for abuse of those coming to America to work when the control of their passport and legal status is in the hands of unscrupulous employers.