Immigrant labor goes online

Searching the Internet for "construction laborer" and "Mexican workers" could turn up an outfit called Labormex Foreign Labor Solutions, which recruits laborers from abroad. It's become a convenient way to find workers, but the practice is also controversial. BW's Moira Herbst explains it this way:

The reach and anonymity of the Net make it easy for ill-intentioned recruiters to set up a legitimate-looking online site while facilitating illegal entry into the U.S. Recruiters can also exploit foreign workers, taking their money without delivering jobs. Online recruiting has emerged only in the past several years, and remains unfamiliar terrain for the Labor Dept., the Homeland Security Dept., and immigration experts.

Santa Barbara lawyer Eli Kantor likens it to the Wild West. "There's not much regulation of recruiting, and it's only when things go seriously bad that there's litigation," says Kantor. "The Internet opens up more channels for both above-board and fraudulent outfits, and they stand to make a lot of money."