I would like to point out that the Secretary is authorized to reduce or mitigate penalities against employers who in good faith are trying to comply with the law. Certainly, we understand that not all employers knowingly hire illegal immigrants; this will remain the case, especially before the bill’s new secure documentation requirements are fully phased in. We do not seek to wrongly penalize honest employers who unknowingly hire illegal immigrants, therefore we reserve the right to reduce or mitigate their penalties if the employer can show good faith compliance in following the law.
For those employers who do knowingly hire illegal immigrants, please know that we intend to penalize these employers strongly, and the Administration has already stepped up these penalties in the last couple of years. For example, a 2005 program, “Operation Rollback,” assessed $15,000,000 in civil fines to employers, an amount greater than the sum of administrative fines collected in the previous eight years and was the largest worksite enforcement penalty in US history. In the first quarter of FY07, criminal and civil forfeitures have totaled $26,700,000 for employers.
As a reminder of what’s in the bill, fines for hiring an illegal worker are $5,000 maximum per illegal worker for the first offense, $10,000 maximum per illegal worker for the second, $25,000 maximum per illegal worker for the third , and $75,000 maximum per illegal worker for the fourth. In addition, the bill increases the maximum criminal penalty for a pattern or practice of unlawful hiring twenty-five-fold, from $3,000 to $75,000, and would impose a prison term of up to six months. This represents a significant increase in fines for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.
Nicholas Thompson
White House Office of Strategic Initiatives
And if it manages to pass, I'll cease supporting the Republican Party entirely.
L
We are your base. Listen.
I agree with Lurker. Furthermore, the GOP is killing their own party by ignoring what the American People have been saying via fax, phone calls and letters.
Apathy in the core of the RNC should scare the heck out of the WH and any GOP contender for 08.
A little history lesson about apothetic voters in the GOP only has to go back to Perot. Unless that is the whole idea?
Agree 100% with Lurker. I will not give another dime to the republician party while this bill lives.
Whoop-dee-doo! So what was the taxpayers' tab for medical care to illegal aliens in the first quarter of FY07? And for federally mandated access to public schools for the non-citizen children of illegal aliens? Care to share those figures with us (with reliable sources to back them up)?
You need to know that Republican offices at EVERY LEVEL of state and local government are being flooded round the clock with calls on this. If the President signs any bill like this we can all kiss goodbye the party we’ve all dedicated our lives and careers to for so many years. The backlash will be immense.
You people are killing us in “fly over country”.
Anything short of deportation is AMNESTY....we don’t need more bad laws that won’t be enforced.
Light a fire under Chertoff, BUILD THE FENCE, enforce current law.
By the way, DEPORTATION is enforcing current law.
The president signed a bill authorizing 10,000 new border patrol agents, Where are they?
The President signed a bill authorizing 800 miles of border fence, where is it?
The President says giving 12-20 million illegal aliens instant legal status is not amnesty. We are not that stupid.
If the President wants support for immigration reform, enforce the laws he already signed and above all, TELL THE TRUTH.
Reminds me of “Read my lips, no new taxes”. The legacy...
FYI, we’re not all not with you...
Millions of Americans who supported this President twice are mad at what is being done to us. I am one of them! I don’t support this Amnesty sham one iota. Please tell your bosses that they have no credability on this bill. Build the fence, fine employers who hire illegals and then we can talk.
The President's refusal to secure our borders, refusal to secure the sovereignty of this nation, and refusal to enforce the immigration laws as they exist now are, in my opinion, IMPEACHABLE OFFENSES. Why the Dems haven't pursued this yet is open to speculation.
This bill hasn't been presented to the GAO for an estimate of costs to the nation. Gee, I wonder why? Because it will cost us TRILLIONS of dollars??? Because it allows the Secretary to suspend these Fines, suspend the requirement for the illegals to leave these lands and apply for access?
How many more illegals will run for our border to get in if this were to pass? And I notice the Mexican Gov't CONTINUES to do NOTHING to assist us in preventing ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION...
In other words, sir, WHY SHOULD WE TRUST YOU?
I understand that people who have been ordered deported by a court of law and have refused to leave are going to be allowed to stay.
I find that to be very insulting.
This sham of a bill is a slap in the face of all who obey our laws and have respect for a court of law.
With all due respect, Sir, the amount you have collected in fines probably wouldn’t be enough to keep your standard L.A. County Hospital emergency room open.
President Bush needs to understand that, though he is at the end of his term, what he does will affect those around him. The future of the Republican party is at stake. We are not out here beating our collective chests because we like the sound it makes.
Uphold existing law. Secure our borders. That is all we ask. And, that is what he promised.