Agency's focus since 9/11 has been protection of U.S. infrastructure
Posted on 06/23/2005 12:49:25 PM PDT by Happy2BMe
Agency's focus since 9/11 has been protection of U.S. infrastructure
LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS
WASHINGTON - Penalties against employers who hire illegal immigrants have all but disappeared since 1999, a federal homeland security investigator told Congress.
Three U.S. employers were threatened with sanctions in 2004, compared with 162 the previous year and 417 in 1999, Richard M. Stana, director of the homeland security and justice team at the Government Accountability Office, testified Tuesday.
Meanwhile, he said, the number of agents devoted to enforcing employer sanctions has dropped by more than half.
"Worksite enforcement has been a low priority," Stana told a House Judiciary Committee panel on immigration.
A top reason, he said, has been high-level decisions since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to devote immigration enforcement resources toward protecting critical U.S. infrastructure, such as airports and nuclear plants.
But although those efforts have led to increased deportations, no employers who were found to have hired the illegal immigrants faced any kind of financial penalty.
He said that a program called Operation Tarmac, in which the Justice Department conducted sweeps of airport workers, identified 1,000 undocumented workers "but perhaps not as many terrorists as they thought they might identify."
The focus on national security-related investigations, Stana said, "has taken resources away from workplace enforcement."
Sanctions as well as workplace arrests of illegal immigrants have fluctuated since the attacks, dipping sharply in 2002, rising again a year later and deflating once more in 2004.
Also contributing to the lax enforcement, Stana said, is the availability of fraudulent Social Security cards and other documents. Stana said some employers who knowingly hire unauthorized workers avoid sanctions by going through the motions of compliance: certifying to federal authorities that they have reviewed work eligibility documents that appear genuine.
Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Calif., said the worker sanction program has "failed dramatically," adding, "it's not very easy for something to succeed if it's never implemented."
"Worksite enforcement (of arresting employers of illegal aliens) has been a low priority," Stana told a House Judiciary Committee panel on immigration.
Why uisn't Congress holding hearings on this? One would think that it would make great opportunities for grandstanding.
"Why isn't Congress holding hearings on this? One would think that it would make great opportunities for grandstanding."
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You and 150 million other Americans would like an answer to that very same question.
Our leaders are not stepping up - refusing to do their jobs - in essence just acting like nothing is happening.
And we should trust the Bush Admin with a guest worker program? When they say they will improve border security? Pfft...
We really need to start electing some grass-roots people into the government, these lawyers, businessmen and bureaucrats just aren't working out.
I think they're getting that already with the never-ending demands for apologies.
Duh. The GOP has always bragged about being a friend to business. Now they are a friend to business at the expense of the taxpayer.
(And time is running out very, very quickly.)
I think the GOP (and DNC) position is crystal clear. Stall, Stall, Stall.
Time is on their side. If it isn't already, soon it will be politically impossible to stem the illegal tide.
That's what both parties seem to want.
The Republicans get to please their big business supporters with cheap labor.
The Dems get to please their big business supporters with cheap labor and build up a new voting block to boot.
The Republicans are going to lose big time on this, as is the country.
"All I want is for the GOP to come clean on this."
Good luck with that. I can't understand for the life of me how the "law and order" party has come to this.
Friggin' TRAITORS!!!
Sold out by our own government.
Batards!
I see no flaws in any of those summations.
Very factual.
Thank you.
EDUCATE - EDUCATE - EDUCATE
(Thoughts on where we came from and where we may be going.)
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We need to communicate with our Congressmen in these same strident terms. If they are having some public meeting in your home town- go confront them. Maybe some will listen.
We do seem to have Tom Delay on our side- that's something. He's the one who got the Real ID bill included in the must-pass supplemental appropriations bill. Thanks Tom. At least we have one non-traitor in leadership.
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my grandpa; 1926'
ping
IMO, Illegal aliens ARE Terrorists..they terrorize our citizens with murders, they terrorize our pocketbooks, their gangs terrorize our neighborhoods.
Sounds like the Government is using the WOT to NOT protect our Borders.
Is this a surprise to anyone? Another example of our hard earned tax dollars at work.
Disgusting.
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