Something is indeed fishy about these employment agencies. It is also fishy that Fourth Street foods does not directly employ these employees. It is difficult to understand why this complicated arrangement exists as these immigrants have the appropriate paperwork to legally work in the US. Is this legalized human trafficking? Is this the American Dream offered to the "migrants" who "just want a better life"?
I think employers use employment agencies because they don’t have to offer benefits, and they are able to fire who they want without the red tape of Human Resources laws.
Another falsehood. All businesses are subject to the same laws. And all businesses are free to operate within the limits of those laws, just like you are. Businesses don't make laws. The people you vote for make laws.
Really? Staffing agencies do not have to provide benefits, like health insurance, 401K, etc. And because they are temporary workers, there is no long-term agreement.
DK my response wasn't meant to you, I apologize! It was meant to be to Mr. Miller. I need to flag whom I am replying to in my comments. I'll pay more attention.
How facile a pronouncement! How do you know that to be true? Have you been in the workplace, or had your own business? You might be in for a surprise what realities are~
If you’re replying to me, I’ve ended my 45 years of employment, but not without education in Employment Law. Employers will take advantage when possible but there are many ways to report them w/o hiring an attorney.
Michelle, no, I was responding to Deidre's in one, and to Mr. Miller's in 2 others. I apologize! TY for asking me. Sigh... I just relearned 1. if I haven't slept, am in pain, just don't comment, and 2. use @name in my replies when I do.
Why do you claim they're operating "under the radar"? They're specifically working with immigrants referred to them by the federal government. How else do they get access to these people in order to place them in jobs? And how do you know they're not operating "per the laws"? You make bizarre unfounded claims.
They are taking $4/hr from their paychecks, for starters. The government did not refer employees. They walked into the employment agency and asked for work. The claim needs to be proven but intuition tells me there’s more illegality happening in this enterprise.
I suspect they are finding these employment agencies with some advice from people they speak with when they arrive in the country. The people they speak with are very likely government employees. But we don't know. This interview leaves a lot to be desired. So many questions unanswered. It's very interesting. But it needed more thorough?
You truly have a point that there are the businesses that do not want to have to offer benefits. Businesses have to offer health insurance at 30 or more hours a week thanks to Obamacare. Small businesses - and I'm not using the IRS "small business" definition(s) which allow fairly large businesses certain taxing advantages - can't afford to offer health insurance. Not even crappy health insurance. Small business owners are often the last to be paid, and then, often not much if at all.
A temp agency takes care of all the workers' and unemployment compensation payments, withholdings, reporting requirements and provides a worker for a flat fee/hour. Hopefully it works out. for both the business and the temp employee.
Your wild suspicions are unfounded. Employment agencies provide valuable services to employers by allowing them to outsource functions they aren't good at or don't want to spend their limited resources on, so they can focus on the part of the business they're good at and grow it for the benefit of everyone. Not every company has 1000 employees and an hr department with full fledged capabilities to do everything on their own. Outsourcing to the experts makes sense in all areas of business and domestic life as well. Anything involving humans will always be subject to exploitation and corruption. That's not a unique feature of employment agencies. Employment agencies are not "human traffickers." Get real and learn how the world works rather than letting your hatred of corporate America cloud your understanding.
Jonathan, you have made some assumptions about me. Perhaps I did not make myself clear.
Number one I do not hate corporate America.
Number two. I believe in corporations to be able to fire at will. I in fact do understand that it is when laws/ regulations interfere in the operation of a business, it can effect efficiency and profitability.
I did not imply nor do I believe that employment agencies are involved in human trafficking, that is your wild suspicion about me.
In my younger days I work through employment agencies. Later my company used employment agencies which I happened to coordinate.
In fact I think Human Resources has become intolerable these days. Spending too much time in policing speech and social justice. In addition to hamstringing employers from getting rid of unproductive employees.
Human Resources are the enforcers of laws and regulations, not the makers.
I work for a company of 5,000 employees and there is nothing HR offers to justify itself, especially hiring new employees. The layers of filters in the application process exclude some of the best talent via keywords.
Agreed. HR is consumed with DEI requirements either from without or within the corporation. Trying to maintain compliance with non-objective standards. If corporations had any sense, they would fight against these evil practices. Too many, however, promote them. Concerned with “stakeholders”, rather than products, production, people and profits. Who is a stakeholder? Anyone who makes the claim, and has no business being considered by the business.
The last thing I am is a hater of corporate America. I am glad you are so forgiving of an arrangement that seems unnecessarily complicated. I see it as a Cui Bono situation. These employees are way down the list. I wonder why.
None of your arguments apply to this situation. Fourth st foods has hundreds of workers so it certainly has the scale to have HR, and the agency workers are working in the freezer so it seems they are handling the company’s core functions.
First of all I'm speaking in the general sense, and you're referring to a single specific situation. A single specific case doesn't invalidate the general rule. Second the fact that a worker is making a company's product doesn't mean that worker is part of the company's core competencies. That's a falsehood perpetrated by pro-worker groups like unions.
Most employment agencies do a service to the business community, however, the one’s described here are not. Stating that you are being hired for $16/hr, but receiving $12 is theft. The staffing agencies are in league with the Frozen Food employer. Money is moving around, and taxes aren’t being paid. The employee has no paycheck or contract to verify employment.
First of all, the guy isn't a native English speaker, and his understanding of the issues isn't perfect, so I wouldn't take everything he says verbatim. Second the writer has an agenda, so he's going to slant or color things in the direction needed to make his point. Finally nobody said that the worker's salary was $16 per hour. That's what the company is paying the agency. It's common for agencies to take 25-35% of the gross billing to the employer as their fee. I have paid these rates many times. Remember that every worker's wages include another 7.65% social security / Medicare that the employer (agency in this case) has to pay on top of the wage paid to the employee. Did you know that? That amount comes out of the fee. So the 25% agency fee is already reduced to below 18%. There are administrative costs etc. I don't see why anyone is complaining about an 18% margin. If you ran the business you would have a better understanding of the costs and risks, and then you would be qualified to comment on whether the 25% fee is legitimate. If you don't have experience in the industry, you shouldn't be labeling the agency fee as "theft". And to allege that taxes aren't being paid is really going out on a limb. You have no evidence of that. It's not wise to make claims about things where you have no actual facts or experience to back them up.
It is wise to put facts together to determine what is happening in a business situation. This is not the only time I’ve read about this setup for immigrants. It’s a pattern that includes housing and the employees paying rent to the employer. And I don’t think the writer has a perspective he’s pushing, but a story that has opened up with additional information with talking to the immigrant.
The real story here is that the US taxpayer is funding this, and it seems some people are colluding to take some of the goods for themselves.
But a factory does not need a temp agency to staff permanent factory floor positions. Not unless an employee is sick. This arrangement with the staffing agencies sounds like a ploy to not pay benefits or living wages.
Your claim is unfounded. Most companies have variable workloads and need additional staff from time to time to handle surges. Employment agencies are a convenient way to meet their needs. Also many companies simply outsource the employment and employee management process in order to gain efficiency and greater expertise than if they had to do it themselves. Outsourcing is the secret to growth and success in almost everything - do you grow your own food and sew your own clothes? No, you outsource those things to companies that do it better than you. Many large high tech companies hire through agencies all the time, even for "permanent" employees (the actual term is now "regular" because nobody is "permanent" anymore), because it gives them more flexibility to scale up and down more easily to meet the needs of the business. There is no blanket nefarious ploy here, no matter how hard you try to see one. I'm sure there are companies taking advantage of the situation, just like companies and people in general always do. But a blanket statement that a company uses an employment agency to skirt the law or avoid paying taxes or benefits is just ridiculous. If you had any experience in the subject you would understand just how preposterous that claim is.
On a second point, we probably should stick to the actual topic of the article, but what is a "living wage", and where did anyone say that a "living wage" was a goal or a requirement or was or was not being provided, and how does the employee's current salary compare to what he was making before he came to America? That's a real red herring there. It sounds to me that the wage being paid to the employee is above federal minimum wage, so if you have any concern about the level of his wages, maybe you should complain to the Democrat-controlled Congress and White House for not raising wages to the level that you personally think is appropriate. If Democrats care so much about "living wages", why did they not raise the minimum wage in the last 4 years, or especially during 2021-2023 when they had control of WH and both chambers? Maybe Democrats don't care about living wages as much as you think they do, they just want you to think they do so you'll vote for them. Meanwhile they wring their hands and let the wages remain low so that their corporate donors can make more money and donate more to their campaigns. The real world is a lot different than what the political party bosses and elected politicians tell you.
There is no provision in Immigration law for wanting a better life. Those who leave for opportunity are entitled to go to another country, and settle in that nation. America is the closest for Mexicans, but not Venezuela, for instance.
Thank you for breaking this story Chris. My family is from Western Pennsylvania and no one else seems to be reporting on this. You’ve become a rare voice of research and reason in the press.
I have to say the entitlement of these migrants, coupled with their destructiveness is mind-blowing.
The US and the West have essentially created global welfare state. Citizens of third world countries have no incentive to make their own countries better bc they are blissfully aware that they can leave and head to a western country anytime they choose. The US gives aid to 200 different countries every single year and they all hate us. When the third world have natural disasters in their own countries the citizens will literally sit on the rubble with a cardboard sign asking for help from America for then press. International panhandling. While our own citizens, victims of brutal hurricanes, are digging each other out of the dirt with little to no help from the government. If America left a third world country after a devastating hurricane the way we’re leaving our own US citizens the world would be up in arms. When Gaza loses wifi for a few hours the UN & the mainstream media lose their minds- “humanitarian crisis!!” As Gaza has aid flowing in by air, land and sea.
Here at home, the migrants are the ungrateful recipients of our tax dollars that have seemed to stop going to anything constructive for America. The international refugee/migrant community seem to be treated like a protected class and there’s not one country where you’ll find a grateful migrant/refugee population. “I’m not mad at Americans.” They’ve said a mouthful there, brother. You’re one of the only journalists who has the guts to report on it, truthfully.
Well said. It is disgusting and I am sick of it. We are always funding everyone and everything. Nobody ever helps us with our problems. We are the world's sugar daddy.
That statement took me aback too. I expect to hear “I am grateful to America 🇺🇸 or “We love you, America!” It’s like your neighbor being invited into your house to eat and telling you they don’t hate you.
It would be good that Chris, in addition to shedding light on this particular problem facing Pennsylvania, gave a broader scope of the push of the globalists--ie. the UN Global Compact on Immigration and the multiple NGO's that it sponsors--, as one of the many moves to destroy Western nations' sovereignty in their overall agenda to create a one-world-government.
"I'm not mad at Americans." I don't give a shit. Not one of these people, including this ingrate, should be here. Not one. Haiti is not America's problem.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Exactly. I have exactly zero sympathy for any of them. I'm sick of us being fleeced constantly to fund the entire world. We have real problems and we just ignore them and invite in even more problems.
It is our responsibility in flood, famine , war, or fire. We provide entry to refugees per our Immigration law. But there haven’t been disasters in several years. This was entry by fiat.
This interview with Rene humanizes the plethora of issues of immigration to the US. Exploitation is rampant, as it always has been. If Rene was exploited in this way, after coming here legally, think about the degree of exploitation that an illegal immigrant will experience. Why do the Democrats persist in this policy of turning a blind eye to the southern border? Are they really that cynical, or are they just that idealogical (no borders), or both? Whereas European immigrants from previous centuries, eventually "blended" in, it is not possible for the Haitians. So everything they do is more noticeable, even if what they do is not so different from that which previous immigrant groups also did while seeking to survive and assimilate. Independent of the location - the US, Europe, South Africa - race adds complexity to any and all social problems, and fuels passions. Why? Because humans notice difference. To say that race is merely a social construct is to miss the reality of race by a mile...
Nice summing up of how American workers are being replaced by people who are easier to exploit and manipulate. Our population is being fundamentally changed from freedom-lovers to parasites. But I can't rid myself of the suspicion that this is all down to the traitorous Cloward-Piven plan being implemented by Obama and the rest of his dim bulb Marxist flunkies. At some point it reaches critical mass and societal collapse, which I think is the plan all along. I don't blame Haitians for coming here and getting on the gravy train, I blame the Biden government, which is expediting it. Dozens of people on TV are fretting that this is happening, but, curiously, none of them are asking why.
They're doing it to the entire west. Collapsing it all to rebuild it how they want it. Follow the UN, WEF, etc. They are planning on a 1 world government.
I think Iranian Valerie is the tactician and George Soros and his spawn are behind the scenes calling the shots. The strategy is theirs. Smug beta male Obama is the front man. But I think he is losing his magic.
I like and admire a culture that is willing to break a law to work. I am mostly retired, and the lazy worthless yoots of today do not fill me with confidence for the future. The illegals do NOT have a right to work here. It is a privilege. Let them pay for the privilege. Let them pay for their own vetting.
Set up Fema Trailers along the border, man them with all the extra useless DHS and IRS staff,
who have been armed by our Gov. Advertise in Southern America.
500 Bucks, for a 6 month work permit.
Which includes them paying for their own vetting, vaccines, photo ID and fingerprinting. Which buys them a 6 month work permit. Completely legal. With a special SS#, that the illegals pay into, just like the rest of us.
Very cheap compared to what the cartels charge.
Rather than building a tough to maintain and staff, wall.
Make it easy and cheap to be vetted, and let the illegals pay.
See you in 6 months.
With the work permit, that the illegals can get at card centers on the border (hell, we could set them up in Mexico too, they can now get any job that US citizens can get (assuming English not needed, yet).
Pay your privilege fee, stay out of trouble for ten years, and you can get fast tracked for
citizenship. Once you are a citizen, all those years of SS payments, you are now eligible for.
Children under 16 can be listed with your work permit.
I predict that zero criminals will be willing to pay for a mug shot, and fingerprinting.
Any new criminals get caught every 6 months.
To keep Trump (and me) happy, anyone caught without a simple to get work permit, they
get a ticket on the trebuchet, set up on the Rio Grand, and get shot back to Mexico. I bet cable TV would pay for the rights to broadcast that.
Hmmm, not a bad idea. Perhaps Elon can make a cheap lightweight one.
Or, give them a "special" phone.
I do suspect that most of the illegals just want to work, and making it easy to do it legal, well, that keeps a lot of us law abiding. I mean, would you break the law to feed your family?
The criminals and thugs and future dim voters, will never pay for their own vetting and mug shot.
I have thought from the beginning of learning about this issue that these immigrants are largely being exploited--as, of course, are the citizens of one of these small towns who suddenly have a big immigrant population dropped on them. I would exclude from this comment the immigrants who are stone-cold criminals and in gangs--they should be deported immediately. I note that Rene only has 2 years to be here before some sort of review is made. He's figured out the scam and has climbed out of it. Or is starting to. Will he be deported when his use is not longer...useful? Cheap labor is one issue here, but voting is another.
Every single one of them should be deported. Immigration here should be hard. It should be only for ppl who can prove they won't be a public charge, those who know English, those who know and understand the Constitution, rights, and individualism, and those who make an effort to assimilate to our cultural norms.
He’s getting paid for his work. He’s getting welfare. He’s an adult. What do we owe him again? Every country on the planet has expiration dates on their work visas. If noncitizens want to stay beyond their visa- there’s a process for that.
I would add-Rene not even happy with the wages he’s making. He said he made more money in Haiti. So, why if he even staying here? Sounds like he has ulterior motives and our tax paying citizens who have absolutely no say in this are the ones being exploited.
My own view is that anyone who came here illegally should forfeit the right to become a citizen and vote, unless they were minors at the time of entry.
It is a mistake to make an exception for minors. Their parents brought them here illegally. Once the minors become citizens they have the legal right to sponsor in their parents for legal residence and eventual citizenship. Parents get the ultimate reward along with Social Security into which they never paid, and Medicare, ditto. So the minors deserve no special consideration.
He may have a renewal of his TPS. He may then become a Legal Permanent Resident. Eventually a Green Card. Or his employer (Amazon) may approve him for an HB1 Visa. At that point he may be eligible for citizenship classes. English, civics, history, culture, Pledge to the flag and to the Republic. Then the ceremony. It’s a long journey, but most legal immigrants are proud of their status as American citizens when they complete the requirements.
This situation is more about government ineptitude and corruption and the grift that occurs with the support of NGOs and other businesses who circle around the gov trough to feed, than anything else.
It's the you-do-me-a-favor and I'll-do-you-a-favor economy that defines grift.
The resettlement campaign is the perfect grift-machine for dem leaders to achieve their WEF objectives. Like the grift with the Ukraine-Russia war, an excess of gov money is driving the show. And the participants are the types who love to walk the edge of what is legal. Reminds me of spammers, the pot crowd, the people who did BLM, and frankly, woke-dems.
I have the impression that there is a shadowy network operating like a machine, and the press is staying clear from it because they know most people wouldn’t like it if they knew what was going on.
Good for you Rene. You seem to have made the best of things and appreciate being safer here than you were in Haiti. A man who appreciates the value of work. That is someone who should be welcomed to America. God bless. Wish you success and happiness, Rene!
Our government should strive to make it easier for the incoming people to work. There is never a shortage of work to be done. And it is a man’s production that makes it possible for him to live.
There is not a shortage of people to work either. The populace is underemployed due to a slow job market. Most middle and upper middle class hold college degrees, but are spending their lives in employment needing only HS degrees. The value of work is lost if the employer is stealing money from the paycheck, and the citizenry is being taxed for the new worker’s livelihood.
The question is really “how does immigration benefit the United States? At this point in time? Are we short on Amazon workers? What about welders, plumbers, and carpenters? Teachers? Nurses? Day care workers? Legal services workers? Cafeteria workers? Frozen food workers? Supermarket employees for Dairy, Meat. What about cashiers? Dietary workers? Attorneys? Doctors? Professors? I think the answer is no to all these, except maybe doctors especially skilled. Also technology especially skilled. Those that are provided with Hb1 visas and are sponsored by employers. Since Americans have filled the other jobs listed for centuries, We The People do not need immigrants. Employer demand brings them in, and it’s spitting in many people’s faces. We are the workforce, and you don’t get to pay us less while we pay the NGO’s to be able to afford this place. In past centuries, it has been the President who has called for more people, like Asian workers to build the railroads, and then called for a moratorium on importing workers (because the citizens made their grievances known to those they had given authority to through elections.
Let's not kid ourselves. People of the third world have long been our source of cheap labor even while they resided in their native countries. Slave labor if you will. That is the story of Europe who as colonial masters became rich off the cheap labor and goods in the colonies. America and China are the new colonial masters. And that's not neo-liberalism at play. That's good old fashioned capitalism.
And given that we have established a welfare state, the answer is no, it does not benefit we the people. We the people end up subsidizing the employers of this cheap labor.
Something is indeed fishy about these employment agencies. It is also fishy that Fourth Street foods does not directly employ these employees. It is difficult to understand why this complicated arrangement exists as these immigrants have the appropriate paperwork to legally work in the US. Is this legalized human trafficking? Is this the American Dream offered to the "migrants" who "just want a better life"?
I think employers use employment agencies because they don’t have to offer benefits, and they are able to fire who they want without the red tape of Human Resources laws.
Another falsehood. All businesses are subject to the same laws. And all businesses are free to operate within the limits of those laws, just like you are. Businesses don't make laws. The people you vote for make laws.
Really? Staffing agencies do not have to provide benefits, like health insurance, 401K, etc. And because they are temporary workers, there is no long-term agreement.
It is legal for any employer to set the terms of employee pay, including benefits. Employment is essentially an agreement to the terms.
DK my response wasn't meant to you, I apologize! It was meant to be to Mr. Miller. I need to flag whom I am replying to in my comments. I'll pay more attention.
How facile a pronouncement! How do you know that to be true? Have you been in the workplace, or had your own business? You might be in for a surprise what realities are~
If you’re replying to me, I’ve ended my 45 years of employment, but not without education in Employment Law. Employers will take advantage when possible but there are many ways to report them w/o hiring an attorney.
Michelle, no, I was responding to Deidre's in one, and to Mr. Miller's in 2 others. I apologize! TY for asking me. Sigh... I just relearned 1. if I haven't slept, am in pain, just don't comment, and 2. use @name in my replies when I do.
Thank you again ~
They are under the radar and not operating per the laws, which include Employment Law.
Why do you claim they're operating "under the radar"? They're specifically working with immigrants referred to them by the federal government. How else do they get access to these people in order to place them in jobs? And how do you know they're not operating "per the laws"? You make bizarre unfounded claims.
They are taking $4/hr from their paychecks, for starters. The government did not refer employees. They walked into the employment agency and asked for work. The claim needs to be proven but intuition tells me there’s more illegality happening in this enterprise.
I suspect they are finding these employment agencies with some advice from people they speak with when they arrive in the country. The people they speak with are very likely government employees. But we don't know. This interview leaves a lot to be desired. So many questions unanswered. It's very interesting. But it needed more thorough?
You truly have a point that there are the businesses that do not want to have to offer benefits. Businesses have to offer health insurance at 30 or more hours a week thanks to Obamacare. Small businesses - and I'm not using the IRS "small business" definition(s) which allow fairly large businesses certain taxing advantages - can't afford to offer health insurance. Not even crappy health insurance. Small business owners are often the last to be paid, and then, often not much if at all.
A temp agency takes care of all the workers' and unemployment compensation payments, withholdings, reporting requirements and provides a worker for a flat fee/hour. Hopefully it works out. for both the business and the temp employee.
Your wild suspicions are unfounded. Employment agencies provide valuable services to employers by allowing them to outsource functions they aren't good at or don't want to spend their limited resources on, so they can focus on the part of the business they're good at and grow it for the benefit of everyone. Not every company has 1000 employees and an hr department with full fledged capabilities to do everything on their own. Outsourcing to the experts makes sense in all areas of business and domestic life as well. Anything involving humans will always be subject to exploitation and corruption. That's not a unique feature of employment agencies. Employment agencies are not "human traffickers." Get real and learn how the world works rather than letting your hatred of corporate America cloud your understanding.
Jonathan, you have made some assumptions about me. Perhaps I did not make myself clear.
Number one I do not hate corporate America.
Number two. I believe in corporations to be able to fire at will. I in fact do understand that it is when laws/ regulations interfere in the operation of a business, it can effect efficiency and profitability.
I did not imply nor do I believe that employment agencies are involved in human trafficking, that is your wild suspicion about me.
In my younger days I work through employment agencies. Later my company used employment agencies which I happened to coordinate.
In fact I think Human Resources has become intolerable these days. Spending too much time in policing speech and social justice. In addition to hamstringing employers from getting rid of unproductive employees.
Human Resources are the enforcers of laws and regulations, not the makers.
I work for a company of 5,000 employees and there is nothing HR offers to justify itself, especially hiring new employees. The layers of filters in the application process exclude some of the best talent via keywords.
Agreed. HR is consumed with DEI requirements either from without or within the corporation. Trying to maintain compliance with non-objective standards. If corporations had any sense, they would fight against these evil practices. Too many, however, promote them. Concerned with “stakeholders”, rather than products, production, people and profits. Who is a stakeholder? Anyone who makes the claim, and has no business being considered by the business.
I think he mean to reply to Susan G's comment. :)
Oh snap. You are right🫢
Jonathan clearly works at an employment agency lol.
Or he's two jeets in a trench coat.
The last thing I am is a hater of corporate America. I am glad you are so forgiving of an arrangement that seems unnecessarily complicated. I see it as a Cui Bono situation. These employees are way down the list. I wonder why.
None of your arguments apply to this situation. Fourth st foods has hundreds of workers so it certainly has the scale to have HR, and the agency workers are working in the freezer so it seems they are handling the company’s core functions.
Lots of very big corporations use "head hunters" in addition to the HR depts.
First of all I'm speaking in the general sense, and you're referring to a single specific situation. A single specific case doesn't invalidate the general rule. Second the fact that a worker is making a company's product doesn't mean that worker is part of the company's core competencies. That's a falsehood perpetrated by pro-worker groups like unions.
Most employment agencies do a service to the business community, however, the one’s described here are not. Stating that you are being hired for $16/hr, but receiving $12 is theft. The staffing agencies are in league with the Frozen Food employer. Money is moving around, and taxes aren’t being paid. The employee has no paycheck or contract to verify employment.
First of all, the guy isn't a native English speaker, and his understanding of the issues isn't perfect, so I wouldn't take everything he says verbatim. Second the writer has an agenda, so he's going to slant or color things in the direction needed to make his point. Finally nobody said that the worker's salary was $16 per hour. That's what the company is paying the agency. It's common for agencies to take 25-35% of the gross billing to the employer as their fee. I have paid these rates many times. Remember that every worker's wages include another 7.65% social security / Medicare that the employer (agency in this case) has to pay on top of the wage paid to the employee. Did you know that? That amount comes out of the fee. So the 25% agency fee is already reduced to below 18%. There are administrative costs etc. I don't see why anyone is complaining about an 18% margin. If you ran the business you would have a better understanding of the costs and risks, and then you would be qualified to comment on whether the 25% fee is legitimate. If you don't have experience in the industry, you shouldn't be labeling the agency fee as "theft". And to allege that taxes aren't being paid is really going out on a limb. You have no evidence of that. It's not wise to make claims about things where you have no actual facts or experience to back them up.
It is wise to put facts together to determine what is happening in a business situation. This is not the only time I’ve read about this setup for immigrants. It’s a pattern that includes housing and the employees paying rent to the employer. And I don’t think the writer has a perspective he’s pushing, but a story that has opened up with additional information with talking to the immigrant.
The real story here is that the US taxpayer is funding this, and it seems some people are colluding to take some of the goods for themselves.
Employing broad nanny lecture statements with deliberate accusatory labels e.g.: "wild suspicions." Ad hominem! Employing rhetorical tricks - sure signs of a propagandist.
Yay!
But a factory does not need a temp agency to staff permanent factory floor positions. Not unless an employee is sick. This arrangement with the staffing agencies sounds like a ploy to not pay benefits or living wages.
Your claim is unfounded. Most companies have variable workloads and need additional staff from time to time to handle surges. Employment agencies are a convenient way to meet their needs. Also many companies simply outsource the employment and employee management process in order to gain efficiency and greater expertise than if they had to do it themselves. Outsourcing is the secret to growth and success in almost everything - do you grow your own food and sew your own clothes? No, you outsource those things to companies that do it better than you. Many large high tech companies hire through agencies all the time, even for "permanent" employees (the actual term is now "regular" because nobody is "permanent" anymore), because it gives them more flexibility to scale up and down more easily to meet the needs of the business. There is no blanket nefarious ploy here, no matter how hard you try to see one. I'm sure there are companies taking advantage of the situation, just like companies and people in general always do. But a blanket statement that a company uses an employment agency to skirt the law or avoid paying taxes or benefits is just ridiculous. If you had any experience in the subject you would understand just how preposterous that claim is.
On a second point, we probably should stick to the actual topic of the article, but what is a "living wage", and where did anyone say that a "living wage" was a goal or a requirement or was or was not being provided, and how does the employee's current salary compare to what he was making before he came to America? That's a real red herring there. It sounds to me that the wage being paid to the employee is above federal minimum wage, so if you have any concern about the level of his wages, maybe you should complain to the Democrat-controlled Congress and White House for not raising wages to the level that you personally think is appropriate. If Democrats care so much about "living wages", why did they not raise the minimum wage in the last 4 years, or especially during 2021-2023 when they had control of WH and both chambers? Maybe Democrats don't care about living wages as much as you think they do, they just want you to think they do so you'll vote for them. Meanwhile they wring their hands and let the wages remain low so that their corporate donors can make more money and donate more to their campaigns. The real world is a lot different than what the political party bosses and elected politicians tell you.
There is no provision in Immigration law for wanting a better life. Those who leave for opportunity are entitled to go to another country, and settle in that nation. America is the closest for Mexicans, but not Venezuela, for instance.
You mean you and I agree on something? Yay!
Thank you for breaking this story Chris. My family is from Western Pennsylvania and no one else seems to be reporting on this. You’ve become a rare voice of research and reason in the press.
I have to say the entitlement of these migrants, coupled with their destructiveness is mind-blowing.
The US and the West have essentially created global welfare state. Citizens of third world countries have no incentive to make their own countries better bc they are blissfully aware that they can leave and head to a western country anytime they choose. The US gives aid to 200 different countries every single year and they all hate us. When the third world have natural disasters in their own countries the citizens will literally sit on the rubble with a cardboard sign asking for help from America for then press. International panhandling. While our own citizens, victims of brutal hurricanes, are digging each other out of the dirt with little to no help from the government. If America left a third world country after a devastating hurricane the way we’re leaving our own US citizens the world would be up in arms. When Gaza loses wifi for a few hours the UN & the mainstream media lose their minds- “humanitarian crisis!!” As Gaza has aid flowing in by air, land and sea.
Here at home, the migrants are the ungrateful recipients of our tax dollars that have seemed to stop going to anything constructive for America. The international refugee/migrant community seem to be treated like a protected class and there’s not one country where you’ll find a grateful migrant/refugee population. “I’m not mad at Americans.” They’ve said a mouthful there, brother. You’re one of the only journalists who has the guts to report on it, truthfully.
And indoctrination is full force: "White people are racist."
Well said. It is disgusting and I am sick of it. We are always funding everyone and everything. Nobody ever helps us with our problems. We are the world's sugar daddy.
That statement took me aback too. I expect to hear “I am grateful to America 🇺🇸 or “We love you, America!” It’s like your neighbor being invited into your house to eat and telling you they don’t hate you.
It would be good that Chris, in addition to shedding light on this particular problem facing Pennsylvania, gave a broader scope of the push of the globalists--ie. the UN Global Compact on Immigration and the multiple NGO's that it sponsors--, as one of the many moves to destroy Western nations' sovereignty in their overall agenda to create a one-world-government.
"I'm not mad at Americans." I don't give a shit. Not one of these people, including this ingrate, should be here. Not one. Haiti is not America's problem.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Exactly. I have exactly zero sympathy for any of them. I'm sick of us being fleeced constantly to fund the entire world. We have real problems and we just ignore them and invite in even more problems.
It is our responsibility in flood, famine , war, or fire. We provide entry to refugees per our Immigration law. But there haven’t been disasters in several years. This was entry by fiat.
This interview with Rene humanizes the plethora of issues of immigration to the US. Exploitation is rampant, as it always has been. If Rene was exploited in this way, after coming here legally, think about the degree of exploitation that an illegal immigrant will experience. Why do the Democrats persist in this policy of turning a blind eye to the southern border? Are they really that cynical, or are they just that idealogical (no borders), or both? Whereas European immigrants from previous centuries, eventually "blended" in, it is not possible for the Haitians. So everything they do is more noticeable, even if what they do is not so different from that which previous immigrant groups also did while seeking to survive and assimilate. Independent of the location - the US, Europe, South Africa - race adds complexity to any and all social problems, and fuels passions. Why? Because humans notice difference. To say that race is merely a social construct is to miss the reality of race by a mile...
If they're blaming white people and racism then they're learning the American religion well, unfortunately.
Exactly. Which means they're only more problems.
Very informative. Two years, huh? A three hour cruise...
Good one
Barcelona on election day and then a 21-day West Coast African Cruise. Will it be safe to return to America embroiled in hateful violence?
No need for you to return. Enjoy the peaceful surrounds of West Africa to your heart's content.
Nice summing up of how American workers are being replaced by people who are easier to exploit and manipulate. Our population is being fundamentally changed from freedom-lovers to parasites. But I can't rid myself of the suspicion that this is all down to the traitorous Cloward-Piven plan being implemented by Obama and the rest of his dim bulb Marxist flunkies. At some point it reaches critical mass and societal collapse, which I think is the plan all along. I don't blame Haitians for coming here and getting on the gravy train, I blame the Biden government, which is expediting it. Dozens of people on TV are fretting that this is happening, but, curiously, none of them are asking why.
They're doing it to the entire west. Collapsing it all to rebuild it how they want it. Follow the UN, WEF, etc. They are planning on a 1 world government.
thank you for bringing this up. I dont know why Chris doesn't frame this whole issue within the UN Global Compact for Immigration.
Valerie Jarrett has long been the evil genius architect directing Obama.
I think Iranian Valerie is the tactician and George Soros and his spawn are behind the scenes calling the shots. The strategy is theirs. Smug beta male Obama is the front man. But I think he is losing his magic.
here is my idea, regarding the illegals.
I like and admire a culture that is willing to break a law to work. I am mostly retired, and the lazy worthless yoots of today do not fill me with confidence for the future. The illegals do NOT have a right to work here. It is a privilege. Let them pay for the privilege. Let them pay for their own vetting.
Set up Fema Trailers along the border, man them with all the extra useless DHS and IRS staff,
who have been armed by our Gov. Advertise in Southern America.
500 Bucks, for a 6 month work permit.
Which includes them paying for their own vetting, vaccines, photo ID and fingerprinting. Which buys them a 6 month work permit. Completely legal. With a special SS#, that the illegals pay into, just like the rest of us.
Very cheap compared to what the cartels charge.
Rather than building a tough to maintain and staff, wall.
Make it easy and cheap to be vetted, and let the illegals pay.
See you in 6 months.
With the work permit, that the illegals can get at card centers on the border (hell, we could set them up in Mexico too, they can now get any job that US citizens can get (assuming English not needed, yet).
Pay your privilege fee, stay out of trouble for ten years, and you can get fast tracked for
citizenship. Once you are a citizen, all those years of SS payments, you are now eligible for.
Children under 16 can be listed with your work permit.
I predict that zero criminals will be willing to pay for a mug shot, and fingerprinting.
Any new criminals get caught every 6 months.
To keep Trump (and me) happy, anyone caught without a simple to get work permit, they
get a ticket on the trebuchet, set up on the Rio Grand, and get shot back to Mexico. I bet cable TV would pay for the rights to broadcast that.
Creative capitalism can fix almost anything.
Only if the requirements include wearing an ankle monitor for the duration of their stay.
Hmmm, not a bad idea. Perhaps Elon can make a cheap lightweight one.
Or, give them a "special" phone.
I do suspect that most of the illegals just want to work, and making it easy to do it legal, well, that keeps a lot of us law abiding. I mean, would you break the law to feed your family?
The criminals and thugs and future dim voters, will never pay for their own vetting and mug shot.
Very insightful and informative. A balanced perspective on our ongoing immigration crisis.
I have thought from the beginning of learning about this issue that these immigrants are largely being exploited--as, of course, are the citizens of one of these small towns who suddenly have a big immigrant population dropped on them. I would exclude from this comment the immigrants who are stone-cold criminals and in gangs--they should be deported immediately. I note that Rene only has 2 years to be here before some sort of review is made. He's figured out the scam and has climbed out of it. Or is starting to. Will he be deported when his use is not longer...useful? Cheap labor is one issue here, but voting is another.
Every single one of them should be deported. Immigration here should be hard. It should be only for ppl who can prove they won't be a public charge, those who know English, those who know and understand the Constitution, rights, and individualism, and those who make an effort to assimilate to our cultural norms.
He’s getting paid for his work. He’s getting welfare. He’s an adult. What do we owe him again? Every country on the planet has expiration dates on their work visas. If noncitizens want to stay beyond their visa- there’s a process for that.
I would add-Rene not even happy with the wages he’s making. He said he made more money in Haiti. So, why if he even staying here? Sounds like he has ulterior motives and our tax paying citizens who have absolutely no say in this are the ones being exploited.
My own view is that anyone who came here illegally should forfeit the right to become a citizen and vote, unless they were minors at the time of entry.
It is a mistake to make an exception for minors. Their parents brought them here illegally. Once the minors become citizens they have the legal right to sponsor in their parents for legal residence and eventual citizenship. Parents get the ultimate reward along with Social Security into which they never paid, and Medicare, ditto. So the minors deserve no special consideration.
That is the current law.
He may have a renewal of his TPS. He may then become a Legal Permanent Resident. Eventually a Green Card. Or his employer (Amazon) may approve him for an HB1 Visa. At that point he may be eligible for citizenship classes. English, civics, history, culture, Pledge to the flag and to the Republic. Then the ceremony. It’s a long journey, but most legal immigrants are proud of their status as American citizens when they complete the requirements.
This situation is more about government ineptitude and corruption and the grift that occurs with the support of NGOs and other businesses who circle around the gov trough to feed, than anything else.
It's the you-do-me-a-favor and I'll-do-you-a-favor economy that defines grift.
The resettlement campaign is the perfect grift-machine for dem leaders to achieve their WEF objectives. Like the grift with the Ukraine-Russia war, an excess of gov money is driving the show. And the participants are the types who love to walk the edge of what is legal. Reminds me of spammers, the pot crowd, the people who did BLM, and frankly, woke-dems.
Yep. It's about the cheap labor... Same as it ever was...
Last question: why are US taxpayers paying for this employer money making scheme? Has there been any agreement, any referenda? RICO violation here?
I have the impression that there is a shadowy network operating like a machine, and the press is staying clear from it because they know most people wouldn’t like it if they knew what was going on.
Good for you Rene. You seem to have made the best of things and appreciate being safer here than you were in Haiti. A man who appreciates the value of work. That is someone who should be welcomed to America. God bless. Wish you success and happiness, Rene!
Our government should strive to make it easier for the incoming people to work. There is never a shortage of work to be done. And it is a man’s production that makes it possible for him to live.
There is not a shortage of people to work either. The populace is underemployed due to a slow job market. Most middle and upper middle class hold college degrees, but are spending their lives in employment needing only HS degrees. The value of work is lost if the employer is stealing money from the paycheck, and the citizenry is being taxed for the new worker’s livelihood.
This is not surprising at all.
It's a racket and a grift so the most cynical and ruthless can benefit on what is essentially modern day slave labor.
Neoliberalism in action.
The question is really “how does immigration benefit the United States? At this point in time? Are we short on Amazon workers? What about welders, plumbers, and carpenters? Teachers? Nurses? Day care workers? Legal services workers? Cafeteria workers? Frozen food workers? Supermarket employees for Dairy, Meat. What about cashiers? Dietary workers? Attorneys? Doctors? Professors? I think the answer is no to all these, except maybe doctors especially skilled. Also technology especially skilled. Those that are provided with Hb1 visas and are sponsored by employers. Since Americans have filled the other jobs listed for centuries, We The People do not need immigrants. Employer demand brings them in, and it’s spitting in many people’s faces. We are the workforce, and you don’t get to pay us less while we pay the NGO’s to be able to afford this place. In past centuries, it has been the President who has called for more people, like Asian workers to build the railroads, and then called for a moratorium on importing workers (because the citizens made their grievances known to those they had given authority to through elections.
Let's not kid ourselves. People of the third world have long been our source of cheap labor even while they resided in their native countries. Slave labor if you will. That is the story of Europe who as colonial masters became rich off the cheap labor and goods in the colonies. America and China are the new colonial masters. And that's not neo-liberalism at play. That's good old fashioned capitalism.
Employers have a source of cheap labor to make themselves richer, The question was whether this benefits the United States, as in We the People.
And given that we have established a welfare state, the answer is no, it does not benefit we the people. We the people end up subsidizing the employers of this cheap labor.
Actually, it is neoliberalism.