Renewed Crackdown On Illegal Immigrants (U.S. Plans to Target 140,000 Employers)

WashingtonPost ^ | October 24, 2008 | Staff Writer

[Tennessee Nana]

The Bush administration in its final weeks will revive a stalled crackdown on U.S. companies that hire illegal immigrants, issuing a new regulation and asking a federal judge to lift a ban on the measure, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced yesterday.

If the court agrees, the government could begin mailing notices to 140,000 employers regarding suspect Social Security numbers used by an estimated 8.7 million workers, pressuring businesses to either resolve discrepancies or fire workers within 90 days.

-Snip-

Bush unveiled the Social Security "no-match" letter initiative in August 2007 after the Senate failed to pass an immigration overhaul measure. However, the program was stayed by U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer of San Francisco, who wrote last year that the plan could have "staggering" and "severe" effects on workers and businesses.

The plan had been challenged in a lawsuit filed by the AFL-CIO, the American Civil Liberties Union and a cross-section of industry led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Business groups say the administration failed to consider the cost of the plan to small businesses and to justify subjecting employers to possible criminal liability for the first time. Labor leaders and civil libertarians said the plan would lead to discrimination against many legal workers, including native-born Americans, because of errors in the government's Social Security database and in the program's structure.

-Snip-

Lucas Guttentag, director of the ACLU's Immigrants Rights Project, said, "Instead of fixing the database, the Bush administration has turned a blind eye to reality and is intent on punishing American workers in the middle of an economic meltdown."

-Snip-

Still Chertoff said the government was "turning the tide on illegal immigration," citing decreasing border arrests, immigrants' remittances to their home countries and estimates of the number of illegal immigrants in the United States.

[Prokopton]

Illegal immigration is the fed’s problem, not small business.

Crime is everyone's problem. If you're not part of the solution you're part of the problem. If a business, small or otherwise, can't succeed without supporting illegal behavior they should be allowed to fail.

[dalereed]

You belong in prison and/or deported!!!!

[ari-freedom]

only if I lived in a fascist state.

[ari-freedom]

but it’s an invented crime. By default it should be legal for anyone to come into the country if they feel like it as long as they aren’t hurting anyone.

Now there are illegals that hurt people but there are also legal immigrants that hurt people and they should both be deported.

But if people aren’t doing anything wrong then I don’t understand why we need to punish companies for hiring them. Especially when we are still giving immigrants welfare and other govt programs. That’s just totally twisted

[Man50D]

However, the program was stayed by U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer of San Francisco, who wrote last year that the plan could have "staggering" and "severe" effects on workers and businesses.

It's irrelevant even assuming that assessment is correct. The issue is enforcing the law, not how many dollars are at stake or the rate of unemployment.

"Instead of fixing the database, the Bush administration has turned a blind eye to reality and is intent on punishing American workers in the middle of an economic meltdown."

Only one problem there Lucas. They aren't U.S. citizens.

[bcsco]

This is a ping list promoting Immigration Enforcement and Congressional Reform.
If you wish to be added or removed from this ping list, please contact me.

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Voter fraud?

End sought to checks for voters' citizenship-confirm if citizen is intimidation.

[3AngelaD]

So, small businesses get a pass, and don’t have to obey the law? If you are a small business, you get to pick and choose the laws you obey? I don’t want to patronize any business that takes such a cavalier attitude toward law-breaking. You have to wonder what other corners they are cutting. For instance, it would be reasonable to assume that if a restaurant employs illegal alien help, it is breaking santitation and food-handling laws as well. Slippery slope.

[seemoAR]

Do you think they would come to OUR country if employers didn't give them jobs and OUR government didn't give them the benefits that should be reserved for legal American citizens?

[angkor]

>>>>the plan would lead to discrimination against many legal workers ... because of errors in the government’s Social Security database and in the program’s structure.<<<<

BS. The “plan” was specifically written to allow (force, cajole, impel) workers and employers to FIX errors in the database. You get THREE MONTHS to fix your erronious SSN, using the “no match” letter sent to the employer.

[Cacique]

Of course, all these future obama voters should not be thrown out. Pray for a depression, all these people will leave if there are no jobs.

An Appeal to Grass Roots America Part 1!

[Prokopton]

but it’s an invented crime. By default it should be legal for anyone to come into the country if they feel like it as long as they aren’t hurting anyone.

Great! You won't mind then if I, and all my relatives, move into your house. We are just looking for a brighter future in a nicer house with better food. I'm sure you won't mind providing for all our needs including medical care and education. We promise we won't break any laws or hurt anyone when we're living in your house. Please send me your address ASAP and we'll just show up in your house one day. I'm sure you won't mind leaving the front door open, after all we're all God's children and I know you wouldn't want us to be denied the comfort of your home.

Thanks for everything!

[Kevmo]

Thanks for the ping.

I’m so disappointed that Bush waited until the last 3 months of his entire presidency to start doing his freeping job on this issue. He was focused on terrorism and any 2nd grader would see the link between terrorism and open borders.

[bcsco]

That’s a disappointment we both share along with many others. But that’s also water over the dam, and we have to gear ourselves up for a McCain presidency where we have to fight all over again...

[gubamyster]

ping

[ari-freedom]

that would be against my natural property rights. I own the land and the house. But if you were to buy or took a claim on some empty land and built your own house there you wouldn't be bothering anyone.

But even in your case, there is certainly no reason to punish your employer for what you did.

Instead of putting a burden on small businesses, why not just
1) build a wall like the Hunter fence or something like the fence in Israel
2) don't give welfare to immigrants
3) stop coddling Mexico and actually hold them accountable for creating the environment that causes so many illegals in the first place

[ari-freedom]

“For instance, it would be reasonable to assume that if a restaurant employs illegal alien help, it is breaking santitation and food-handling laws as well.”

No, because restaurants have regular checks by health inspectors. People can be harmed by bad food but I don’t think anyone would be harmed if the dishwasher has problems with his papers. I’m familiar with the food industry. It would be hard to find much to eat if you were so strict on these businesses. Many are quite small. They’d close down and a lot of legal Americans would also lose their jobs.

This is the situation we face: the govt screwed up and let all these people in. Enticed them with govt goodies. Now this govt is going to suddenly become the righteous defender of law and order and go after the small businesses that figured “might as well hire them so that at least they’d be productive”?

[pulaskibush]

Illegal aliens are less than 5% of the US workforce, they make less than 2% of the Gross Domestic Product According to the Dept of Labor. Most illegals are hired by massive multi-million dollar companies such as Tyson Foods. The same system that allows illegals into our country also allows drugs, criminals, and terrorist.

The only people who benefit from illegal immigration are the few crooks who can hire them. Companies that hire illegal aliens need to go the way of the slave plantations and for pretty much the same reason!

[ari-freedom]

But they are all over in small business, especially the food industry. Who do you think is washing the dishes and sweeping the floors?

Now you write: The same system that allows illegals into our country also allows drugs, criminals, and terrorist.

I agree that we have to be very strong on the border. We don’t want terrorists and thugs entering the country.

But we’re talking about businesses that hire people who aren’t hurting anyone. Shouldn’t we be going after the real criminals instead of making criminals out of people who just want to work hard and support their families?

[pulaskibush]

Working hard to support a family is not an excuse to commit crime. Car theives, con artist, ID thieves and other criminals have families too.Businesses need to either hire legally or go out of business. In Laurel, MS, within hours of the raid at Howard Industries, blacks were filling out applications for jobs. ICE did more for the minority community in Laurel than Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Barack Obama combined.

Here's the Laurel Story below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7scy5oKA84

http://keeparkansaslegal.blogspot.com/2008_08_01_archive.html

[Kimberly GG]

What’s wrong with expecting ALL those things, including enforcement of illegal employment? The Feds are just as much to blame as the Micky D’s with Americans taking orders and a kitchen full of illegals. It’s childish, and dangerous, to keep pointing the fingers at each other and none ever taking responsibility. I agree, the borders MUST BE EFFECTIVELY SECURED. But punishing employers who hire illegals, will result in illegals becoming unemployable and they will leave. Attrition through enforcement WILL work.