Many say illegal immigration is harming the US while others say we rely on undocumented workers

SEATTLE -- President Donald Trump’s budget outlines spending a billion dollars next year for the detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants. He also wants to spend billions more to lay the groundwork to start building the wall.

The number of undocumented people are declining nationwide, with the exception of six states and Washington is one of them. That’s based on numbers from 2014, according to Pew Research Center.

Many undocumented workers end up in the agricultural and construction fields in Washington.

And the fallout is big for many Americans who say it's hurting their livelihood while the other side says the state depends on the illegal workforce.

It's a complicated relationship with different consequences for many people.

Rafael Hernandez isn’t hiding from the fact he sneaked into the U.S. unlawfully.

Hernandez says he walked five days through the desert to jump the border.

He sends money back to his three children and wife in Mexico, a family he hasn`t seen in 12 years.

“Just for the money, only for the money,” Hernandez said.

Everyday Hernandez waits outside a hardware store hoping somebody will pick him up for odd construction jobs.

He says many people hire him knowing he is undocumented.

Many value Hernandez’s work but to others he is a threat.

“It’s not a level playing field,” Steve Ross said.

Ross owns a company that pours concrete. He refuses to hire undocumented immigrants. He says that makes him less competitive than others in his business.

“They are getting labor for half the price; you could get outbid so easily by people not doing it lawfully,” Ross said.

He says that`s especially the case on residential projects.

“I used to be really busy. Now I get by, barely making a living,” Ross said.

But Ross is worried about more than just his livelihood, he wonders about the impact to the next generation.

“A lot of the blame is the employers that hire them -- they are more worried about sticking 5 cents in their pocket than they are our country, than our kids and our kids' future,” Ross said.

The Federation For American Immigration Reform, or FAIR, says 8 million jobs are filled by undocumented immigrants.

“That`s 8 million jobs ... not going to legal residents of the United States."

The group also says illegal immigration costs taxpayers money.

In Washington, FAIR estimates the average taxpayer shells out about $1,000 a year.

The biggest burden is paying for the children of undocumented immigrants to go to public school.

“Immigration touches virtually every aspect of life in the United States, it`s a labor issue, it`s an education issue, it`s a health care issue,” FAIR spokesperson Ira Mehlman said.

FAIR is lobbying Congress to require all companies to E-verify before hiring any workers.

E-verify is a free system online that vets immigration status through the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration.

“Give people reasons not to come to the United States; it’s illegal in the first place whether it`s coming across the border illegally or overstaying visas,”

But the Washington Growers League, which represents fruit farmers in Eastern Washington. says E-verify would destroy the state`s agricultural industry.

“If we put E-verify in place right now, we would be toast. It would be incredibly destructive. We would lose half of our workforce,” WGL Executive Director Mike Gempler said.

Gempler says Americans are not showing up to work in the fields. Legal or not, he says, Washington depends on the undocumented workforce.

“They are creating jobs, they are allowing an industry to operate and survive, they are creating jobs for other people, they pay taxes,” Gempler said.

Without the migrant workers, the Growers League says other countries would swoop in and take over Washington`s stake in things like the apple and cherry markets.

“We lose market share and our competitors take over and what happens is we will probably permanently lose that market,” Gempler said.

DHS says the number of people trying to illegally cross the border from Mexico dropped 40%  between January and February of this year. Hernandez says if he had to do it all over again, he would.

“If I have a chance to come to a country like that, I am going to cross, you know, because I need the money, I have to support my family,” Hernandez said.

At the time of our interview with Hernandez, he was homeless and living out of his car.

He says times are tough but he still says the struggles in America are better than what he would face in Mexico.

According to Pew Research Center, 62% of Americans are against building the wall while 35% support the measure.

Also, 70% of Americans believe the U.S. will end up paying for that wall as opposed to Mexico picking up the tab.

But when it comes to broader issue of immigration, the majority of Americans favor stricter immigration policies. Those include people like Ross, who says

he has nothing against immigrants. He welcomes immigrants as as long as they go through legal channels.