Labor pains at odds with the law: as baby boomers begin to retire, the U.S. economy will become even more dependent on immigrant labor--illegal or not.

• Author: Peterson, Eric

"This country has benefited immensely from the fact that we draw people from all over the world. And the average immigrant comes from a less benign environment, and indeed that's the reason they've come here. And I think they appreciate the benefits of this country more than those of us who were born here. And it shows in their entrepreneurship, their enterprise and their willingness to do the types of work that makes this economy function." --then-Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, to the House Financial Services Committee in 2001 Art imitates life. James Michener's "Centennial" and Eric Schlosser's "Fast Food Nation" are probably the two most celebrated books set in Colorado in the last 50 years. The former, historical fiction, takes place around 1876; the latter is a nonfiction account researched in the last decade. Each book features Mexican immigrants in Weld County.

Likewise, the historical reality is that Mexican immigrants, documented and undocumented, have participated in--and catalyzed--Colorado's economy since, well, Colorado changed hands from Mexico to the United States in 1848. In the time since, the golden rule has always been net migration equals net economic growth, and it remains true today.

Amid the furor of debate surrounding national immigration reform in Washington, immigrants of all kinds participate in Colorado's economy at every level, from professional baseball to software to construction to picking fruits and vegetables. Nonetheless, a wide variety of industries are plagued by chronic labor shortages. It follows that many small-business owners in Colorado argue the state needs more, not fewer, immigrants.

"In conversations I've had with both consumers and businesspeople, we desperately need workers from other countries," says Federico Pena, former Denver mayor and Clinton Cabinet member and current managing director at Vestar Capital Partners in Denver. "It's almost every sector. Every economist, every business owner I've spoken to says we have a worker shortage at least until 2020, maybe beyond."

Even with an estimated 200,000 illegal immigrants in Colorado and more seasonal workers on H-2B visas than any other state, Colorado's labor market is currently stretched so thin it's arguably hampering economic growth. The storm cloud brewing on the horizon: The country's 76 million Baby Boomers start hitting retirement age in 2011.

"In Colorado, we need to realize we're not alone," Pena says. "Almost every nation is using imported labor. Without recognizing that we have a need for it, we're going to be at a competitive disadvantage. Workers are going to where the labor is needed, and the economies that recognize that are going to benefit. This is a state that is growing. That could be in jeopardy if we close the door on imported labor."

Mike Gilsdorf, CEO of Arapahoe Acres Nursery in Littleton, is chairman of Colorado Employers for Immigration Reform (COEIR). He argues that the laws of supply and demand should apply to immigration policy. "We need a guest worker program that is based on market conditions. There simply aren't enough bodies."

Gilsdorf speaks from experience. In the last eight years, Arapahoe Acres' help-wanted ads have generated a total of one interview--and zero hires. Of 125 employees during the nursery's peak season, about 20 are guest workers on H-2B visas.

H-2Bs allow laborers from other countries to come and work seasonal positions for state-set "adverse effect wages"--or in 2007, $8.60 an hour and up--after the hiring company advertises the position and comes up empty. As a state, Colorado typically uses upwards of a quarter of the 66,000 H-2B visas allotted to businesses nationally. The annual cap of 66,000 was not enforced until 2004; in previous years the total number of H-2Bs issued was considerably higher.

"Recently it's gotten more cumbersome and more expensive," says Gilsdorf, citing unprecedented delays and denials this year. "It seems like the worse you need the labor the harder it is to get. The government is taking the posture that they're looking to turn you down or turn the people you're trying to get into the country down. They're using any excuse.

"I know a large number of companies that need seasonal guest workers, but they get capped out," he continues. "If a company gets capped out, they have three choices. One is to cut back their business, which would entail not only not having the guest workers but laying off U.S. citizens. Secondly, you can close entirely and lay everybody off. Number three is to go underground--be illegal.

"A cap generates illegal immigration because it creates a demand for workers that companies can't get because they're capped out. If they would take the cap off, all of these companies would be bringing in legal workers instead of one of those three alternatives."

If Arapahoe Acres lost its H-2B workers, it could no longer sell and install large trees, tasks the company accomplishes with crews of an American foreman and two H-2B laborers. Notes Gilsdorf: "If we don't have those workers, we have to stop selling large trees"--about a third of the company's business.

A COEIR survey of hotels, restaurants, landscaping companies, nurseries and greenhouses, contractors and subcontractors painted a similar picture. For every 2.6 immigrant workers--regardless of legal status--forced from the U.S. workforce, responding businesses said they would have to cut one job held by a U.S. citizen. These same companies said their overall spending would decrease by an astounding $85,000 for every immigrant job cut.

Gilsdorf says Arapahoe Acres has had immigrants of all kinds on its payroll since it went into business in 1971. With the 1986 amnesty, a number of Arapahoe Acres' longtime workers qualified for green cards. "They came up years ago when there were no rules for employers. It was illegal for them to be here, but it was not illegal for employers to hire them."

Adds Gilsdorf: "Just the policies have changed, not the need for labor. Pick-and-shovel work is not something we Americans raise our kids to do. We raise our kids to punch keyboards and be doctors and lawyers and that sort of thing.

"We want a legitimate system that pays a legitimate wage that allows us legitimate employees," Gilsdorf says flatly. "And year-round employers still have no way to bring in a legitimate workforce. I would like to see a provision for year-round help."

Dylan Norton, owner of Durango Dough-works, a breakfast and lunch spot in Durango, is always on the lookout for year-round labor. He'd love to hire a head baker for $30,000 a year, but no one wants the job.

Norton advertises jobs for bakers and other employees--jobs that pay $10 to $15 an hour--in local papers and on fliers he's distributed. "It's a really weak response. I...