Representative Mark Schauer, who represents a Michigan district which includes a crude oil spill in a river tributary in Michigan is asking the federal government to investigate the immigration status of workers hired to clean up the oil. The workers were employed by a Texas based company who was hired as a subcontractor by the main contractor. Schauer is also questioning whether or not the company that owns the pipeline was aware of the immigration status of the workers. The main contractor said that they had checked the papers of the workers on the site, and were satisfied with them, but the company was still fired from the job. A spokesman for the company that owns the pipeline says that their contracts with the contractors state that they must comply with state and federal laws.
See "Schauer: Did illegal workers help clean Michigan oil spill?", Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press, August 31, 2010