Immigration reform worries Hispanic business owners

Louie Gilot / El Paso Times

El Paso Times

Hispanic business owners in Texas are afraid they'll find more stick than carrot in the immigration reform being considered in Washington, D.C., many of them said Friday in El Paso.

About 100 business leaders crowded in a meeting room during the Texas Association of Mexican-American Chambers of Commerce convention to make their concerns known about proposed increased penalties for employers who hire undocumented immigrants.

Joe Cisneros, president and CEO of the Corpus Christi Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said small-business owners in his area struggle to find enough workers to fill their needs.

"It's a challenge to find qualified workers. They (businesses) are expanding, landing hot new contracts and they have to take what they can find in terms of work force, especially in rural Texas," Cisneros said. "A lot of the time, we have become 'no ask, no tell.' We fill I-9 (employment eligibility verification forms), pay our taxes and live the American Dream."