Diksha Sundriyal
‘Immigration Nation’ uncovers the flawed system of immigration policies that make it worse for immigrants to get an honest living in the country. What makes their situation worse is that without the safety net of any policies, they become vulnerable to the attack from the others. In one of the episodes, the docu-series focuses on the plight of the immigrant workers who are cheated out of their pay. The blame lies on Tommy Hamm and Winterfell Construction. Who is he and where is he now? Let’s find out.
Who is Tommy Hamm?
A resident of Panama City, Hamm has been in the city all his life. In 1988, he graduated from Florida State University, with a B.S in Economics. He followed this by coming back home and joining the family business of moving and storage. It was in 2002 that he decided that his interest lay in the field of home building. This led to the founding of Winterfell Construction. The company has become a premier provider for the ones seeking to get the service of home building, covering everything from buying the land, to developing a plan, to the landscaping. This reputation has also led to its contacts with other local businessmen and homeowners that often rely on its services.
Where is Tommy Hamm Now?
The mention of Hamm and his Winterfell Constructions comes in ‘Immigrant Nation’ in the case where immigrant workers claim that they have been exploited. After Hurricane Michael, a lot of workers arrived in Bay County and provided their services. They completed their jobs just as and when they were supposed to, but when it came to getting paid, they had to face shock and disappointment. If they push their employers to pay them, they are threatened with a call to cops, or worse, ICE. Their citizenship status is used against them, to get an honest labour for them in return for nothing.
When the Resilience Force got involved in the matter, they brought all the workers together to fight against the injustice. They even appeared in front of the Bay County commissioners to appeal for a legal action that would allow more freedom and security of jobs to the workers. They tried to push the authorities to make it illegal for someone to hold the pay of the immigrant workers after getting the job done. And when the stories came out, the name of Tommy Hamm and Winterfell Construction was repeatedly mentioned. However, to the claims, Hamm said that he had never met any of the workers before and that they had never directly worked for him.
While we know that immigrants already suffer from credibility issues and that their word is rarely heeded when it comes to rights and complaints, our attention is also drawn towards the fact that Hamm is in a position of political power that would work as a shield for him, making it all the more difficult for the workers to get their deserved pay from Winterfell.
Currently, Tommy Hamm sits on the Board of Supervisors of the Bay Soil and Water Conservation District. He is a member of the Patriot Guard, the Director of Construction for the ASAP capital campaign, and he was also on the commission when the Resilience Force and the workers appealed for help.
Read More: Where is Cesar Lopez From Immigration Nation Now?
