They try to maintain cooperative relations with other law enforcement agencies. In Farmington, the company that fired the 53 well-service workers, Key Energy Services, did not know the worker were illegal immigrants because documents that verify an individual's identify had been falsified, division president Ron Fellabaum said. There was nothing wrong with the employees' job performance, but the company had no choice but to fire them because they were not following the law, Fellabaum said. But it's hard for companies like Key Energy Services to get workers. The Federal Reserve Board cites a severe and widespread shortage of skilled and essential workers, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a shortage of 10 million workers within the next five years.
Some companies say immigrants are the key to maintaining economic growth.
There is a visa allowing noncitizens to work in the United States for temporary, nonagricultural work for one year. But employers who need essential workers for a longer period of time can't employ illegal immigrants. Coalitions of business and worker organizations are trying to pass federal legislation that would allow essential workers to stay in the United States. This really is an attempt at legal immigration.