[Reaganwuzthebest]

My post to you wasn't meant to be hostile in any way but you have to admit, last year something like only 13 employers were fined for hiring illegals, which isn't much. Even ICE has recently stated their primary mission at the moment is to target contractors of military and national security installations only, private businesses aren't getting much attention.

The one sure way to stop illegal immigration is to hit employers hard all across the country and mandate that they check all future hires for legitimate documents. Bush hasn't done that and needs to, it's a fair criticism.

[Calpernia]

Employers were have have been hit.

See the hotlinks for July, June, May and more. I didn't think I was reacting to a hostile post. Sorry if I reacted that way.

[Map Kernow]

you have to admit, last year something like only 13 employers were fined for hiring illegals, which isn't much.

You made a good point. Here is an excerpt from an article in the Charlotte NC Observer today, Demand for Illegals Targeted:

More than half of the Carolinas' estimated 330,000 illegal immigrants hold jobs -- even though it's against the law for employers to knowingly hire them.

So how many employers have been fined?

None.

In the Carolinas, no employer has been fined in at least two years. And across the country, only three "notices of intent" to fine employers were filed by immigration officials in 2004 -- though an estimated 7 million undocumented workers take home regular paychecks.

"That's ridiculous. They've absolutely failed in their mission to fine businesses," says Hal Weatherman, chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick, a Charlotte Republican.

Last week Myrick called for raising fines from $250 to $10,000 per illegal worker, and giving local law agencies a cut as an incentive to crack down.

.....

But critics say enforcement is failing. "ICE today is doing less work-site enforcement than even the Clinton administration did, and that is quite a dubious distinction," Rep. John Hostettler, R-Ind., told a House immigration panel in June.