This op-ed was originally posted on AdamBColeman.com on January 27, 2025. It is republished with permission.
I live in New Jersey, where illegal immigration hides in plain sight. It’s all around us, but most have no clue how prevalent it is.
I’ve consulted for companies and it brought me inside multiple warehouses throughout the state ran by major manufacturers: They use illegal labor.
We often think about the guys who stand outside of Home Depot or construction yards filled with men we suspect are here illegally, but the problem is incredibly bigger than that.
There are mainstream name brands who use illegal labor, and I know this because I’ve been inside their warehouses. So, how do I know these people are here illegally?
What was made clear to me is that these companies use third parties to find the people, so they are all considered “contractors” and not employees of your favorite brands.
I’ve talked to people in these third party roles and they’ve stated that unless they’re told to check someone’s immigration status, they don’t do it. Guess what? Most don’t request to have it checked. Privately, they’ve admitted that the vast majority aren’t legal.
Many have talked about how you need a social security number to work, which is true, but all of that becomes moot if it’s someone else’s social or a counterfeit one.
What people don’t grasp is that once you are here illegally, you must continuously commit illegal acts to remain here, such as fraud.
And just use your common sense: These are people who willingly work day to day, don’t have driver’s licenses, don’t speak English, and work for minimum wage in unconditioned warehouses. Barely anyone checks their immigration status for a reason.
I’ve lived in New Jersey for about 25 years and I’ve noticed a population shift throughout the state and a plethora of warehouses built in small towns. Low-population areas now contain warehouse enclaves, and nearly all their employees are questionably legal immigrants bused in from larger cities.
I’ve been inside these facilities from North to South Jersey: It’s a statewide problem. There are entire towns which are almost exclusively Hispanic now that weren’t years ago. People don’t realize that New Jersey has the 5th highest Hispanic population in the country.
But it wasn’t always like this. In 2000, 13% of the state’s population was Hispanic. Today, it’s about 21%. I have plenty of friends who are Hispanic immigrants or first-gen native-born Americans. However, even they know of people who are here who aren’t supposed to be.
I’ve personally been approached to marry someone from the Dominican Republic so they could immigrate here for $10,000. Illegal immigration is happening all around me. Corporations profit from their low wages, and they look the other way as far as checking their immigration status.
Corporations use middle-men companies or abuse the 1099 Contractor system, knowing damn well these people aren’t going to pay taxes on their own. They don’t care if they are committing fraud as long as they can pick-and-pack fast enough and do it on the cheap.
Yes, most want to come here and build a better life, but so did every person who came here legally. I am pro-immigrant. Were it not for my father’s legal immigration from Trinidad to meet my American mother, I wouldn’t be in America.
But what’s happening in New Jersey is hideous and highly illegal. Wait and see, New Jersey is going to be a hot-bed for I.C.E. to attack and nationwide people are going to find out how big the problem really is here.
