Posted on 7/25/2007, 2:16:19 AM by Dubya
Reports that the country's largest chicken processing company has begun firing undocumented workers in East Texas have business leaders and immigration experts bracing for a nationwide crackdown on employers who hire illegal aliens.
Pilgrim’s Pride, a Fortune 500 company that processes 44 million birds a week, confirmed Tuesday that it has recently terminated employees at its plants in Lufkin and Nacogdoches, but officials won't give numbers or reasons. Advocates for the workers estimate the company has already fired more than 100 people who can't produce valid Social Security numbers.
"Large layoffs is what I'm hearing," said Linda Morales, a Stephen F. Austin State University professor in Nacogdoches who assists migrant families. "It wasn't Pilgrim's that decided to do this. I think it was some kind of warning they got ... about hiring people who don't have documentation."
Experts say the firings underscore widespread concerns that federal authorities, often criticized for failing to punish employers who hire illegals, are about to embark on a major worksite crackdown.
"Tip of the iceberg doesn't even get it," said Tamar Jacoby, an immigration expert at the Manhattan Institute in Washington, a conservative think tank. "It's like if a plague were coming and (Pilgrim's) is the first person coughing. This is going to be really bad."
She said millions of workers nationwide could be impacted if the beefed-up federal enforcement is carried out as some anticipate.
Proposed rule
A major impetus for rising fears: the expectation that the Department of Homeland Security will soon complete a regulation that puts more teeth in the employer sanction law -- which can lead to fines of up to $10,000 per employee against companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants. The rule as currently designed would basically change the definition of "knowingly" and would put much more of the onus on employers to rectify discrepancies that arise over Social Security numbers, experts say.
Issued last year, the proposed regulation was left pending while Congress attempted to pass a comprehensive immigration reform package, which was controversial in part because it included limited amnesty for many workers already here.
Since the effort collapsed, business leaders have been expecting the long-pending rule to come out "any day," said Bill Hammond, president of the Texas Association of Business. Hammond, a friend of Pilgrim's founder Bo Pilgrim, stressed that he can't speak for the company. But Hammond said he believes the firings are "in anticipation of this rule."
"There are a lot of employees in Texas, some say 1.2 million to 1.5 million, who are undocumented workers," Hammond said. "A lot of them could be out of the workforce over the next six to 12 months."
Pat Reilly, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Washington, confirmed that the rule, known as ICEB-2006-0004, is awaiting final action. She had no timetable for its final adoption and publication in the Federal Register.
"This one is a well-intentioned regulation and one hopes that it will get full consideration," Reilly said.
Recent firings
Gary Rhodes, a spokesman for Pilgrim's Pride, would not say whether the threat of new regulations prompted the recent firings, describing the issue as an internal personnel matter.
"We have been terminating a number of employees at some of our facilities in Texas. We can't go into any details," Rhodes said. "There undoubtedly will be additional terminations." Rhodes said "layoffs" is an inaccurate description of the job terminations because the company is simultaneously hiring people. He said hundreds of applications have been coming in and noted the company has raised hourly pay for some jobs in order to remain competitive.
A receptionist at a law firm in Nacogdoches said she is married to an undocumented immigrant who works at Pilgrim's. She said her husband's manager recently told him he would be terminated if he did not give the company a valid Social Security number.
"It's almost over for him," said the receptionist, who wanted only her first name, Veronica, to be used. "It's not just him, it's probably even half of Pilgrim's Pride. ... They're just waiting to get tapped on the shoulder."
Morales, the university professor in Nacogdoches, said her 300-member Centro Cristiano Familiar church has seen a huge impact from the firings already. She estimated that more than 100 adults, many of them longtime residents with deep ties to East Texas, had lost jobs.
"We're going to be having to find some resources for these families that are being laid off," said Morales, a Sunday school teacher at the church. "We have a lot of folks in our congregation that depend on Pilgrim's for their livelihood." Cracking down on employers
-- A new federal rule could give authorities more power to punish employers who ignore warnings about discrepancies and possible misuse of Social Security numbers. (View the rule, Docket No. ICEB-2006-0004 at www.regulations.gov).
-- Companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants can be subject to fines of up to $10,000 per worker for repeat offenses.
-- Experts say companies currently face little sanction for ignoring federal "no-match" letters indicating something is amiss with a worker's Social Security number. Jay Root reports from the Star-Telegram's Austin bureau, 512-476-4294
(Experts say companies currently face little sanction for ignoring federal “no-match” letters indicating something is amiss with a worker’s Social Security number.)
That means that they do not care if it is your number, or mine. They will not even let me know.
This could be a big push to dump poor illegals out on the streets so that the MSM can show their pictures every nite to gain sympathy for the illegals and help a new amnesty effort.
Ha!
Can we all say “adios julio”?
asta la pasta illegals
Okay, only wishful thinking on my part.....
Just posted this on another thread. Seems timely.
Fred Thompson has just appointed Sen. Abraham as his new campaign manager.
In 1996, removed higher fines for businesses which hire illegal aliens Sen. Abraham, in committee consideration of S.1664 protected businesses from having to pay higher fines when they are caught hiring illegal aliens. Sen. Abraham voted with a 10-8 majority in the Judiciary Committee to remove the higher fines from the 1996 legislation against illegal immigration.
Doesn't look real encouraging.
Well she has experience she should do well living and working in Mexico. But she is the brightest bulb on the tree.
There you go again, Puddleglum, trying to be cheerful in the midst of impending doom. You must realize that Hillary Clinton is the odds on favorite to be the next POTUS/CIC of this Republic. She'll save all the sheep on FR from those evil Republicans ...
Amazing, what enforcing a few existing laws will bring about!
When I read this I started to panic, I must immediately go back to my country of origin, than reason begin to shine through … I was born here, I have no reason to fear deportation. I’m not an illegal alien. The sweat on my brew begin to reside.
I got my citizenship via the old fashioned way. My great (something) grandparents came here “legally”, established their foothold on American soil and prospered. Produced progeny and help build this great country.
The operative word in my discord is … legally.
This may be a stretch for all illegal members of our society and even our government, but there is a difference between legal and illegal. And it not just the spelling.
Bttt!
has begun firing undocumented workers
WTF is an undocumented worker? how do you get employment without any documents?
They just don’t like the title of illegal, do they?
Puleeze. We'll know they're serious when the fine is $100,000.
Good! I hope the lawbreakers are running scared and go back to THEIR countries. I think this is all just a temporary ruse but it’s better than nothing.
Ron Paul is our only hope.
“This could be a big push to dump poor illegals out on the streets so that the MSM can show their pictures every nite to gain sympathy for the illegals and help a new amnesty effort.”
You think Bush is still P.O.’ed because the GOP base stiffed him on his comprehensive solution?
Should we just ignore the details on Republican candidates, not speak of them, regardless of what they might be, because of some Democrat candidate?
Since they knew damn well what they are supposed to get in terms of ID when they hired, there is absolutely no way the presence of these illegals was unintended. They deliberately hired illegals. Malice aforethought, so to speak.
Personnel manager ought to be spending the weekend in jail in my opinion.
Illegals came here illegally one, two, three, a van-load at a time. When it starts to become difficult for them to get work, or when we start to have serious audits leading to some more arrests, plant closing, employer fines and deportations, they will start to leave in greater numbers than they are coming.
Although the Left scolded us that we could not possibly deport 12-20 million illegals, they got here because of jobs and when the jobs dry up, a lot of them will leave exactly like they came.
And starts with rumors that have more truth than hot air.
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