Contractors Often Play a Key Role in the Hiring of Illegal Immigrants

When federal authorities catch illegal immigrants on the job, some U.S. employers have a ready explanation for how they came to be hired: It wasn't us. It was a contractor.

Although these middlemen, including recruiters and temporary agencies, do not figure prominently in the current debate over illegal immigration, they are playing an increasingly significant role in hiring and managing the nation's workforce. Especially in California, an untold number of contractors employ immigrants — legal and illegal — in such industries as construction, janitorial service, hospitality and agriculture.

'An easy defense … would be to say that they used this subcontractor who they assumed was checking the documents,' said Jennifer Silliman, assistant special agent in charge with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Diego. 'It gives a level of deniability.'