Late in last year's legislative session, Congress took a preliminary stab at the issue of once again easing INS restrictions on workers. Whether that will materialize and in what form remain up in the air, Smith said. In the meantime, it's business as usual at brush houses around Mason County. Brush house owners, along with employers in other agricultural industries, have been thrust into the role of gatekeepers with regard to alien worker documentation. But according to Mortensen, some haven't the expertise for the task.
Pacific Coast requires job applicants to show a picture identification and social security card.
Telltale signs of document fraud include uneven type, misspelled words or pictures facing the wrong way. But even if an employer wanted to check on a potential employee, anti-discrimination law prevents INS from verifying to a third party the authenticity of immigration documents. Unlike production workers, brush pickers, who supply the industry's raw materials, are typically regarded as independent contractors and aren't required to show any documents defining their immigration status. Mortensen has no hard data on the number of illegal aliens in Mason County.