"Today, currently, business owners can go out and find out if the person they are hiring is eligible to work here or if they are not. We need to think about how we are impacting workers"
About this Quote
The subtext pivots on “eligible.” That word carries legal clarity while quietly gesturing at the cultural charge around undocumented labor, without saying “immigration” outright. It’s a rhetorical sidestep that keeps the speaker on the respectable terrain of “rules” and “process,” rather than the messier terrain of human lives and economic dependency. At the same time, the line “We need to think about how we are impacting workers” signals a second audience: not just employers, but voters anxious about wages, job security, and perceived competition. “Workers” here is elastic - it can mean citizens worried about displacement, or immigrant workers vulnerable to exploitation - and that ambiguity is useful.
Contextually, this fits the late-2000s/early-2010s political atmosphere around E-Verify and workplace enforcement: the belief that tightening verification is an easy technocratic fix, paired with a nod to collateral damage. The quote works because it performs concern while keeping the moral and economic stakes conveniently unresolved.
Quote Details
| Topic | Business |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Miller, Gary. (2026, January 17). Today, currently, business owners can go out and find out if the person they are hiring is eligible to work here or if they are not. We need to think about how we are impacting workers. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/today-currently-business-owners-can-go-out-and-53528/
Chicago Style
Miller, Gary. "Today, currently, business owners can go out and find out if the person they are hiring is eligible to work here or if they are not. We need to think about how we are impacting workers." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/today-currently-business-owners-can-go-out-and-53528/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Today, currently, business owners can go out and find out if the person they are hiring is eligible to work here or if they are not. We need to think about how we are impacting workers." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/today-currently-business-owners-can-go-out-and-53528/. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.




