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Report: Immigration workplace fines and arrests plummet (1999-2003)
North County Times ^ | 10/22/05 | WILLIAM FINN BENNETT

Posted on 10/22/2005 10:35:26 AM PDT by NormsRevenge

When it comes to cracking down on companies that hire illegal immigrants, the federal government appears to be missing in action, according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office.

Between fiscal year 1999 and fiscal year 2003, the report shows that the number of work-site arrests in the United States by government immigration agents fell by 83 percent, dropping from 2,849 arrests in 1999, to 485 in 2003, the last year for which Immigration and Customs Enforcement provided data to the accountability office.

Another indicator of the downward trend revealed in the report was the number of employers who were fined for hiring undocumented immigrants.

In 1999, the Immigration and Naturalization Service issued 427 "Notices of Intent to Fine" to companies across the nation.

But in fiscal year 2004, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which was formed in 2003 to do the job of the INS, issued just three such notices in the entire country, according to the report.

State Assemblyman Mark Wyland, R-Vista, said Friday that he was "dismayed" by the numbers.

"We are not enforcing the law and not demonstrating that we are serious about enforcing order and immigration law," Wyland said.

A top official with the U.S. Government Accountability Office said Thursday that the federal government needs to make drastic changes in immigration policy to control illegal immigration, as highlighted by the report, which he helped write.

The Government Accountability Office is an independent, nonpartisan agency within the legislative branch of the federal government that is commonly called the "investigative arm of Congress." It supports congressional oversight by reporting on how government programs and policies are working, auditing federal agencies for effective use of taxpayer dollars, investigating allegations of illegal and improper activities and issuing legal decisions and opinions.

The late August report, entitled "Immigration Enforcement: Weaknesses Hinder Employment Verification and Worksite Enforcement Efforts," shows a third indicator of the downward trend ---- the number of man-hours dedicated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to workplace enforcement.

The amount of time spent on work-site enforcement efforts dropped by 63 percent between 1999 and 2003, the report states.

Accountability office urges reform

Top GAO official Rich Stena, director for Homeland Security and Justice with the accountability office, said that for years the government has focused on enforcement along the nation's borders and security-sensitive work sites such as nuclear plants and airports, but has failed to adequately police other types of businesses that often hire undocumented immigrants.

"What happens is you put everyone on the line of scrimmage and once you get past the line of scrimmage, everyone scores a touchdown," Stena said. "What we really need is an entire reformulation of our immigration policy."

An effective restructuring would have to include several elements, he added, such as:

a method for determining the number of foreign workers the U.S. economy needs.

a reliable worker verification system that would allow employers and the government to know who is authorized to work in this country.

a credible enforcement strategy, so that those who violate the law can be dealt with.

"Right now, we have none of the three," Stena said Thursday. "The question is: How many of those people does our economy require and how do we as a nation get control over the work-site?"

An official with Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Thursday that she believes the agency is doing an excellent job in the areas that are most important, such as protecting security-sensitive sites in the country and targeting serious criminal activity.

"The story is in post 9-11 era, (the agency) has protected national security and public safety, as well as (making) countless arrests of illegal aliens working at critical infrastructure and sensitive security sites such as power plants, chemical plants, military bases and commercial airports," said agency spokeswoman Jamie Zuieback.

In the last year, they have caught about 150 illegal immigrants at military installations around the country, according to Zuieback.

Wyland says enforce first

Wyland, who is preparing to run for a seat in U.S. Congress next year, said Friday that while he agrees with Stena's calls for a reformulation of immigration policy, he would only support the reform recommendations once the federal government has increased enforcement of the nation's borders and called Mexico to task for what he called its tacit endorsement of illegal immigration into the United States.

"The No. 1 element is showing that you mean business about the border," Wyland said. "Unless we enforce the law, there is no credibility to the rest of it."

He said the U.S. Border Patrol needs to hire thousands more agents to patrol the border and conduct inland sweeps such as the ones it conducted in June 2004. Those sweeps, which resulted in 11,000 people being questioned and 330 arrests in inland communities in San Diego and Riverside counties, caused a firestorm of protest from immigration activists.

"If you dramatically increased the sweeps inland and at the same time insisted with Mexico that (it help reduce illegal immigration), then you could have total reform," Wyland said.

A local immigration activist said that she believes that Wyland is extremist in his views on immigration. She said that the Latino community was outraged by the sweeps and that many people were stopped on the streets by Border Patrol agents simply because they were Latino.

"The sweeps resulted in violations of human rights and racial profiling," said Consuelo Martinez, coordinator for the Escondido Human Rights Committee, which has fought strict immigration enforcement efforts, such as the sweeps.

Causes of declines

The report attributed the decrease in work-site arrests and fines to two main causes: the shifting of agents away from traditional work-site enforcement as the immigration agency focuses on criminal alien cases and homeland security; and the increasing use of falsified documents by illegal immigrants to get work.

Under current law, employers can only be fined if it can be demonstrated that they knew workers' documents were forged.

"Various studies have shown that the availability and use of fraudulent documents have made it difficult for ICE agents to prove that employers knowingly hire unauthorized workers," the report states.

In addition, GAO's Stena said, computers and the Internet have allowed forgers to significantly improve the quality of forged documents that some workers are presenting to employers.

Referring to the drop in work-site enforcement, the report stated GAO officials interviewed several Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and immigration experts, who "noted that the focus on critical infrastructure protection does not address the majority of work-sites in industries that have traditionally provided the magnet of jobs attracting illegal aliens to the United States." Advocates on both sides of the immigration debate have said illegal workers are common in many fields, such as agriculture, hotels and restaurants.

Effects on families

Christian Ramirez, a local advocate for protecting the human rights of undocumented immigrants, said Friday that he agrees with Stena's call for a complete reformulation of immigration policy.

However, he said that whatever the government decides to do, it must not allow increased work-site enforcement to threaten immigrant families already in this country. If a working mom or dad is deported because of increased work-site enforcement, it would have a devastating effect on the children, he said.

"We have to recognize the fact that (some) folks have been living in this country without documents for 20 years, and we cannot separate families," Ramirez said. "Any reform that does not guarantee the integrity of families will fail."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: aliens; arrests; fines; gao; ice; illegals; immigrantlist; immigration; ins; plummet; report; workplace
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1 posted on 10/22/2005 10:35:30 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
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To: NormsRevenge

"Between fiscal year 1999 and fiscal year 2003, the report shows that the number of work-site arrests in the United States by government immigration agents fell by 83 percent, dropping from 2,849 arrests in 1999, to 485 in 2003, the last year for which Immigration and Customs Enforcement provided data to the accountability office."

You can bet that in the next election this will be spun as the Bush43 administration being much weaker on illegal immigration that the Clinton administration.

But Clinton didn't have 9/11 to deal with.


2 posted on 10/22/2005 10:38:59 AM PDT by gondramB
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To: NormsRevenge

When it comes to cracking down on companies that hire illegal immigrants, the federal government appears to be missing in action



Shocking! Just Shocking! That this would happen under El Presidente.


3 posted on 10/22/2005 10:42:19 AM PDT by trubluolyguy (Dude seriously, if you don't quit being so poor I'm gonna start huckin' rocks at ya!)
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To: NormsRevenge

Enforcing the border is cheaper than all the other enforcement activities. That should come first.


4 posted on 10/22/2005 10:44:14 AM PDT by DannyTN
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To: NormsRevenge

screw us! who cares about reality, figuring out who we "sleep" with, infected or not (privacy), or becoming a guest into your own home to unwanted individuals?

AFTER ALL ISLAM IS ABOUT BEING GUEST AND MAKING THE HOST FEEL LIKE THEY ARE THE UNWANTED GUEST OF THE HOUSE! AH!

IS IT AN ISLAMO AGENDA WE BOW TO? ISLAM THEN BECOMES THE BEST COMMUNIST'S PROSTITUTE AVAILABLE


5 posted on 10/22/2005 10:45:03 AM PDT by JudgemAll (Condemn me, make me naked and kill me, or be silent for ever on my gun ownership and law enforcement)
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To: trubluolyguy

"Shocking! Just Shocking! That this would happen under El Presidente."

Now Hillary's got some REAL evidence that her Administration would do more to combat illegal immigrant than a Republican administration.

Great job by all our party leaders. (sarcasm)


6 posted on 10/22/2005 10:49:31 AM PDT by nj26
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To: NormsRevenge
Since there aren't any fewer illegals here there can be only one conclusion. There is no government attempt to enforce our immigration laws!
7 posted on 10/22/2005 10:49:58 AM PDT by FreePaul
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To: NormsRevenge; HiJinx; gubamyster

8 posted on 10/22/2005 10:52:36 AM PDT by Travis McGee (--- www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com ---)
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To: NormsRevenge

ping for later


9 posted on 10/22/2005 10:52:59 AM PDT by Stellar Dendrite ( Mike Pence for President!!! http://acuf.org/issues/issue34/050415pol.asp)
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To: gondramB

"But Clinton didn't have 9/11 to deal with."

But that is the irony in it all. A number of the terrorist were here illegally, abusing our lax Imigration and Customs Enforcement. Expired student visas..etc..

So you would think that our Gov't would see the mistakes and try to correct it.


10 posted on 10/22/2005 10:54:43 AM PDT by Skeeve14 (1980's RR-Communism Evil Empire 2000's GWB-Communism good for Business)
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To: nj26

Now Hillary's got some REAL evidence that her Administration would do more to combat illegal immigrant than a Republican administration.




Sadly it wouldn't take much.


11 posted on 10/22/2005 10:55:37 AM PDT by trubluolyguy (Dude seriously, if you don't quit being so poor I'm gonna start huckin' rocks at ya!)
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To: gondramB
"...You can bet that in the next election this will be spun as the Bush43 administration being much weaker on illegal immigration that the Clinton administration.

But Clinton didn't have 9/11 to deal with."

The sad part is that it is true, and even less excusable in the wake of 9-11.
12 posted on 10/22/2005 10:56:52 AM PDT by fallujah-nuker (Open Borders: The RINOcracy waging class warfare against America wage earners)
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To: DannyTN

I would not say that. The IRS can do a computerized match of names and SS numbers and catch several million illegal aliens in a few hours.

All they would have to do is tell their employers that they will be fined if they don't come up with valid numbers. The illegals would lose their jobs, and many of them would leave on their own.

That sounds pretty cheap to me. It is better to remove the incentive to come here and let economic forces control the flow. If no jobs were available, no one would try to sneak in.


13 posted on 10/22/2005 10:57:07 AM PDT by proxy_user
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To: Skeeve14

"But that is the irony in it all. A number of the terrorist were here illegally, abusing our lax Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Expired student visas..etc..

So you would think that our Gov't would see the mistakes and try to correct it."


And that's gonna be tough to argue against - because it's true.

I can see Hillary shifting right on illegal immigration and making some political hay.


14 posted on 10/22/2005 10:57:19 AM PDT by gondramB
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To: Travis McGee
Do you still have the pictures of the Israeli-Syrian border?
15 posted on 10/22/2005 10:58:03 AM PDT by fallujah-nuker (Open Borders: The RINOcracy waging class warfare against America wage earners)
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To: fallujah-nuker

16 posted on 10/22/2005 11:00:00 AM PDT by Travis McGee (--- www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com ---)
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To: proxy_user

"All they would have to do is tell their employers that they will be fined if they don't come up with valid numbers. The illegals would lose their jobs, and many of them would leave on their own."


isnt that already the law. I remember back in 1987 having my job acceptance held up beause of some Federal regualtion when I couldn't find my social security card.


17 posted on 10/22/2005 11:05:05 AM PDT by gondramB
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To: trubluolyguy
Shocking! Just Shocking! That this would happen under El Presidente.

Hey now, El Presidente is assuring us that he will be getting this under control... if he gets his "temporary worker" plan, that is. Really and truly, he's gonna get this taken care of.

Radio Address 10/22/2005

A critical part of any temporary worker program is ensuring that our immigration laws are enforced at work sites. America is a country of laws; we must not allow dishonest employers to flout those laws. So we've doubled the resources for work site enforcement since 2004.

(The title of this radio address should be "Bridge for sale".)

18 posted on 10/22/2005 11:06:59 AM PDT by DumpsterDiver
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To: DumpsterDiver

Hey now, El Presidente is assuring us that he will be getting this under control... if he gets his "temporary worker" plan, that is. Really and truly, he's gonna get this taken care of.




Yeah, I remember when he said that. I posted than that he was flat out lying. And I will not believe him until and unless I see the ICE buses show up in my town that has almost doubled in population due to Mexican National Illegal Aliens.

I LIVE IN WASHINGTON STATE! I am no where near Mexico but you wouldn't friggnin' know it. Thank you Jorge!


19 posted on 10/22/2005 11:12:33 AM PDT by trubluolyguy (Dude seriously, if you don't quit being so poor I'm gonna start huckin' rocks at ya!)
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To: gondramB
My understanding is that the IRS is not allowed to communicate with neither the S.S.A. nor Immigration agencies. Heck, the IRS is the agency issuing ITINs to illegal aliens. They only care about taxes due, not where/how you managed to get your hands on the money.

(ITIN = Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. They are issued to those not entitled to an S.S.# and no proof of ID is required to obtain one.)

20 posted on 10/22/2005 11:15:37 AM PDT by DumpsterDiver
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