Posted on 05/05/2002 10:20:40 PM PDT by Minutemen
Letters make illegals nervous
By Justin George Camera Staff Writer
Steel welder Luis Sagala says he has been a hard-working employee for more than a year, and his jump in pay from $9 an hour to $13 an hour proves it.
But the Longmont man, who is in the United States illegally, thought his job might be in jeopardy after his boss asked him about a letter from the Social Security administration. It said that the Social Security number Sagala, 25, used to fill out tax forms does not match federal records.
Sagala said he used a fake Social Security number to get his job. Although he said his boss won't fire him ? but just wants him to clear up the matter ? other businesses are taking action.
Boulder County Latino help centers say they have seen an unusual number of illegal immigrants coming into their centers complaining that they have been fired after Social Security officials sent their employers similar letters the last few months.
The notices say that they can't match names and Social Security numbers that employees and businesses reported in Wage and Tax Statements forms for tax year 2001.
"We've been seeing an increased number of individuals that are losing their employment due to their undocumented status," said Carmen Ramirez, a Longmont Community Relations Department specialist.
Ramirez, whose office serves as a mediator between many Spanish-speaking Longmont residents and the city of Longmont, said at least six people have complained about the letters.
Officials at El Comite, a Longmont immigrant help center, say they have fielded at least 40 questions or complaints from concerned Latinos about the letters. In one instance, eight Latinos reported being fired from a landscape company. Another man, who has worked 17 years at an area landfill, said he was terminated after his boss was sent a letter.
Latino immigrant advocates said they thought the Social Security Administration sent "no match" letters only to individuals before Sept. 11 and not to business owners. Some said they think the administration is contacting employers, urging them to fire or investigate workers with fraudulent or questionable Social Security numbers as part of the federal government's war against terrorism, which has increased pressure on illegal immigrants.
Some illegal immigrants get jobs using fake green cards with Social Security numbers that are easily available in metro Denver for a couple hundred dollars each. Before the terrorist attacks, advocates said, undocumented Latinos would receive the letters and often clear up the discrepancy or just keep working.
Now, they said, many illegal immigrants fear for their jobs.
Social Security officials said they want to clear up misconceptions about the letters, known as Employer Correction Requests.
Mark Hinkle, spokesman for the administration's Baltimore headquarters, said officials have been sending businesses these letters since 1993 to make sure someone isn't using another person's Social Security number. The administration also wants to ensure that people get credit for the Social Security earnings they deserve, Hinkle said.
Administration officials said the reported rise in firings could be a result of employers taking the letters more seriously after Sept. 11 and because more "no match" letters are being sent out this year than in years past.
But administration officials said a policy change in 2000 ? not after Sept. 11 ? is spurring more mailings as the administration increases its record-keeping accuracy.
Before this year, the administration sent letters to employers who had 10 or more employees who had Social Security numbers or names it couldn't verify. But this year, the administration sent letters to employers who have at least one worker whose information doesn't match up.
The number of letters sent out increased from 110,000 last year to an estimated 750,000 this year, Hinkle said.
"The letter makes no statements of a person's immigrant status or that an employer or employee has provided us erroneous information," Hinkle said. "It's just that the numbers don't match."
The form letter clearly states that it should not be used as the basis for firings, suspensions or discrimination. It also says that any employer that uses the letter to terminate or harass an employee may violate state or federal laws. The letter makes no statement about a person's immigration status.
The only penalty the Internal Revenue Service could levy against employers is a $50 fine per missing or incorrect Social Security number, the letter says. An employee may be fined $50 as well.
The administration holds onto incomplete files and does not turn them over to the Immigration and Naturalization Service or any other enforcement agency other than the IRS, said Delia Lasanta, an administration spokeswoman in Denver.
Nina Muniz, INS spokeswoman in Denver, said her agency rarely is called by the Social Security Administration to investigate.
But many businesses, Latino advocates said, are not willing to take risks employing illegal immigrants in this anti-terrorism climate, and they terminate employees.
"They don't want to be on '60 Minutes,'" said Lasanta, whose office has been fielding more questions from anxious business owners receiving the letters.
"People are saying, 'I haven't been getting these records in the past,'" she said. "Yes, you were."
Lasanta said business owners are making knee-jerk reactions when they fire employees after being sent Employer Correction Requests.
Laurie Herndon, an immigration attorney who works at El Centro Amistad, a Boulder immigrant rights center, said about 12 people have complained about the letters, including some who have been fired.
Some employers ask undocumented workers to get "good" Social Security numbers after they receive the letters, Herndon said. But inevitably, she said, some illegal immigrants cannot and are fired. Legal status in the United States is a requirement for receiving a Social Security number.
"These business owners have obviously known all along that these people are not in good immigration status, and all of a sudden these (owners) are scared" after Sept. 11, Herndon said. "We can all understand their nervousness, but instead of discharging their employees who have been good employees for years, they need to stand up and say the standards need to change."
Employers are withholding taxes assigned to these phoney SS accounts. How was it ever possible for this to happen without it being flagged as a no match? Perhaps the business lobby's need for cheap labor really does have this much influence over the INS.
The only way for an illegal alien to get a "good" SS number would be for them to use my name AND my correct SSN as THEIR id. Normally that's called fraud, identify theft.
Yea and it proves the excuse they come here to do the work our workers won't do a myth as well. $13 an hour is good skilled labor wages in most all states. And what if this clown got hurt? If he is using a false number it is likey or soon to be likely someone elses ID number. Someone elses idenity he is stealing to be exact about it. But I forgot illeagls are law abiding citizens worthy to become instant citizens for thumbing their noses at our laws.
If banks had this level of record keeping "accuracy" there would be no money in the vaults after about a week.
That's not true. The company I work for got one. We just forwarded a copy of the guy's drivers license, his social security card, and his I-9. We didn't even tell the guy there was a problem.
This is all a result of the new computer system they put in a few years ago. It's finally up and running. Another thing they're going to do is match up 1099's with tax forms to make sure that people are reporting their earnings.
It's probably why they started to contact the employer. Face it, it could be a simple thing like the wrong number input into the computer. If it's not rectified, you could go to retire and have absolutely no record of contributions. It's not a method of "catching" illegals, it's a way to make sure your social security contributions and wages are recorded correctly.
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