Deconstructed: An Insider's View of Illegal Immigration and the Building Trades
Illegal immigration is among the most challenging and divisive issues facing America. With few changes in immigration laws since 1986, the undocumented population has swelled to an estimated 11 million. 

Deconstructed unravels these economic issues and their human toll through the eyes of Houston businessman Stan Marek, who’s watched the immigration crisis unfold over 40 years. A descendant of Czech immigrants himself, Marek runs one of the largest specialty subcontracting firms in the U.S. He has seen construction work devolve from offering middle-class careers to trapping illegal immigrants in the shadows of the economy— paid in cash, without overtime or access to health care. Marek sees a burgeoning crisis for his industry, the national economy and the undocumented immigrants themselves - a crisis he has vowed to prevent. 

In Deconstructed, award-winning business journalist Loren Steffy traces Marek’s own family history, intertwined with changes in immigration law for more than a century. Steffy examines the economic forces driving illegal immigration and outlines solutions that could enhance our economy, the construction business, and the lives of immigrants.

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Deconstructed: An Insider's View of Illegal Immigration and the Building Trades
Illegal immigration is among the most challenging and divisive issues facing America. With few changes in immigration laws since 1986, the undocumented population has swelled to an estimated 11 million. 

Deconstructed unravels these economic issues and their human toll through the eyes of Houston businessman Stan Marek, who’s watched the immigration crisis unfold over 40 years. A descendant of Czech immigrants himself, Marek runs one of the largest specialty subcontracting firms in the U.S. He has seen construction work devolve from offering middle-class careers to trapping illegal immigrants in the shadows of the economy— paid in cash, without overtime or access to health care. Marek sees a burgeoning crisis for his industry, the national economy and the undocumented immigrants themselves - a crisis he has vowed to prevent. 

In Deconstructed, award-winning business journalist Loren Steffy traces Marek’s own family history, intertwined with changes in immigration law for more than a century. Steffy examines the economic forces driving illegal immigration and outlines solutions that could enhance our economy, the construction business, and the lives of immigrants.

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Deconstructed: An Insider's View of Illegal Immigration and the Building Trades

Deconstructed: An Insider's View of Illegal Immigration and the Building Trades

by Loren C. Steffy, Stan Marek
Deconstructed: An Insider's View of Illegal Immigration and the Building Trades

Deconstructed: An Insider's View of Illegal Immigration and the Building Trades

by Loren C. Steffy, Stan Marek

Paperback

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Overview

Illegal immigration is among the most challenging and divisive issues facing America. With few changes in immigration laws since 1986, the undocumented population has swelled to an estimated 11 million. 

Deconstructed unravels these economic issues and their human toll through the eyes of Houston businessman Stan Marek, who’s watched the immigration crisis unfold over 40 years. A descendant of Czech immigrants himself, Marek runs one of the largest specialty subcontracting firms in the U.S. He has seen construction work devolve from offering middle-class careers to trapping illegal immigrants in the shadows of the economy— paid in cash, without overtime or access to health care. Marek sees a burgeoning crisis for his industry, the national economy and the undocumented immigrants themselves - a crisis he has vowed to prevent. 

In Deconstructed, award-winning business journalist Loren Steffy traces Marek’s own family history, intertwined with changes in immigration law for more than a century. Steffy examines the economic forces driving illegal immigration and outlines solutions that could enhance our economy, the construction business, and the lives of immigrants.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781736839010
Publisher: Stoney Creek Publishing Group
Publication date: 05/17/2022
Pages: 226
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

LOREN STEFFY is a writer-at-large for Texas Monthly, executive producer for Rational Middle Media and managing director for the communications firm 30 Point Strategies, where he heads the 30 Point Press Publishing imprint. He is the author of four other nonfiction books. STAN MAREK is the president and chief executive officer of the Marek Family of Companies, one of the largest interior contractors in the Southwest. He is a frequent contributor to the Houston Chronicle and blogs such as Construction Citizen.

Table of Contents

Foreword 10

Preface 14

Section I From Ellis island to Illegality

1 Firings and ICE 24

2 The Two Percent Solution 35

3 Help Wanted 48

4 Immigration Becomes Illegal 62

5 A New Era of Mexican Labor 71

6 Rise of the Independents 84

7 A Pathway to Failure 97

Section II Fixing Immigration

8 A Broken System 110

9 Beyond Construction 126

10 The Wall 140

11 A Better Way 151

12 Stan's Plan 162

Epilogue 172

The Rational Middle 178

Acknowledgements 180

Notes 184

Selected Bibliography 194

Index 196

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