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9 in 10 overstayers were hired in past 6 years
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Posted on Jan 02 2009
Nine in 10 of the overstaying aliens in the Commonwealth were hired over the past six years, when the local economy has been on a spiral downturn and joblessness has gone rampant, according to the Department of Labor.
Cinta Kaipat, deputy secretary at the Labor Department, in a Dec. 31, 2008, report to the Legislature, said that over 90 percent of the estimated 650 foreign worker overstayers are believed to be among those who entered the Commonwealth during the years 2003 through 2008.
The estimate is based on Phase II of the Department’s overstayer review project. Phase I of the project, which involves quarterly reviews of the 2008 records, is ongoing. Phase III covers records from the years 1996 through 2002, and Phase IV covers the years 1985 through 1995.
“Although foreign workers have been present in the Commonwealth in significant numbers since 1985 (a 24-year period), and the department’s Phase II project goes back only to 2003, in the years prior to 2003 (a six-year period), there were generally jobs available for workers whose contracts were not renewed by their employers,” the report says.
It adds, “Unemployment is the largest single reason for workers falling into overstayer status. Because there was little unemployment among foreign workers in the years 1985 through 2002, we anticipate that when we complete the Phase III and Phase IV reviews, there will be relatively few overstayers from those years.”
The report also notes that the Commonwealth had an amnesty program prior to 2002, which converted some workers from overstayer status to legal status. The DOL, according to the report, expects the number of actual overstayers from among those who entered in years 2003 to 2008, and who are currently still in the Commonwealth, will continue to decrease over time because of voluntary departures and deportations.
A list published by the DOL on Dec. 1, 2008, includes 624 overstayers from the years 2003 through 2007. Another list for the first quarter of 2008 shows 25 overstayers. The DOL expects to publish the lists for the second and third quarters of 2008 soon.
