Posted on 09/22/2005 10:45:24 AM PDT by Happy2BMe
Report: Employers lag on immigration effort
The Orange County Register
WASHINGTON - (KRT) Making sure that employers are hiring only legal residents has been a low priority for federal officials, despite the fact that U.S. workplaces are magnets for illegal immigration, according to a congressional watchdog agency report.
Since 1986, federal immigration law has required businesses to verify that their employees are legally entitled to work here. But federal officials have not devoted the manpower or resources necessary to enforce that law, the General Accountability Office report concludes.
"Under the former INS and now ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement,) worksite enforcement has been a relatively low priority," says the report, which was released Wednesday.
And enforcement efforts have decreased in recent years. The report found that:
* In 1999, INS devoted about 9 percent of its agent investigative work years to worksite enforcement. In 2003, that dropped to 4 percent.
* In 1999, INS issued 417 notices that it intended to fine an employer. In 2003, ICE issued three such notices.
* In 1999, there were 2,849 workplace arrests of unauthorized workers. In 2003 there were 445.
Department of Homeland Security officials generally agreed with the findings of the GAO study.
But ICE officials said that since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, workplace enforcement has centered on places that pose national security threats, such as airports and military bases.
"We're prioritizing our resources," said ICE spokeswoman Jamie Zuieback.
"Despite a substantial increase in enforcement officers and a huge public outcry about weak border security and increased levels of violent crime visited upon local communities by alien criminals, ICE can find no time for one of its most basic functions," said Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., chairman of the Judiciary Committee, which is responsible for immigration policy. "That is unacceptable and must be addressed by any immigration legislation."
Several immigration bills are being considered in Congress and include enhanced workplace enforcement.
Currently, employees produce documents such as driver's licenses, birth certificates or passports when hired. Federal law accepts 27 documents as proof of identity. Allowing so many documents undermines an employer's ability to guard against fraud, the report found.
Those who have closely followed federal immigration policy for years say Congress has sent a mixed message on workplace enforcement.
Congress has said "we don't want illegal immigration, we want accountability in the system," says Doris Meissner, a former INS commissioner. "But when it comes to that particular industry in my district or that particular harvest time in the industry that is important to me, then it's very different."
Meissner said the 1986 law was a weak one because it didn't include a good document verification system.
The newest tool employers have been given to help check an employee's identity is called the Basic Pilot Program. Employers enter the prospective workers name and Social Security number into a computer database, and the Social Security Administration says whether it's valid.
The program was in effect for just a few states up until last year when a bill authored by Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., expanded the program to all 50 states. Calvert has introduced another bill that would make the program mandatory.
The GAO report said the Basic Pilot Program has the potential to reduce document fraud and better identify illegal workers, but that as it now stands the program would be overwhelmed if large numbers of employers start to use it.
In 2004, about 2,300 of the 5.6 million businesses used the pilot program to verify identity.
"This is the only system we have now that's working," said Calvert, who says the system's problems can be solved. "We need to make this program mandatory, and, trust me, if you start enforcing this, once employers are given the opportunity to find out if their employees are here legally or not and there's penalties involved, they are not going to hire people using fraudulent documents."
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Since 1986, federal immigration law has required businesses to verify that their employees are legally entitled to work here.But federal officials have not devoted the manpower or resources necessary to enforce that law, the General Accountability Office report concludes.
Instead of improving/increasing immigration reform/controls, our fearless leaders have actually almost abandoned them.
The very least they could have done was informed us of it.
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And enforcement efforts have decreased in recent years. The report found that:
* In 1999, INS devoted about 9 percent of its agent investigative work years to worksite enforcement. In 2003, that dropped to 4 percent.
* In 1999, INS issued 417 notices that it intended to fine an employer. In 2003, ICE issued three such notices.
* In 1999, there were 2,849 workplace arrests of unauthorized workers. In 2003 there were 445.
My God.
When local police start a program to arrest the johns, rather than the hookers, prostitution dips.
THe feds should target businesses that hire illegals, and hand out large fines. Might put a dent in this huge problem.
Fines for a first offense is OK but a second offense should carry some real jail time.
Shocking. Just shocking.
Couldn't because profits are more important that border security could it? Naw! Businessmen and women and politicians couldn't be THAT corrupt could they? LOL!
(sarcasm off)
It would be nice to live in a country that values integrity and loyalty but none like that exist anymore.
ping
They are only taking the jobs....Americans don't want.
Dereliction of duty. Someone needs to be fired and criminally charged.
This means nothing. If the illegal is using the name that matches the SS# then it comes up as okay.
We should be forcing employers to validate citizenship.
. But federal officials have not devoted the manpower or resources necessary to enforce that law, the General Accountability Office report concludes.
"Under the former INS and now ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement,) worksite enforcement has been a relatively low priority," says the report, which was released Wednesday.
"I'm SHOCKED!"
So much for how WONDERFUL the '86 AMNESTY was...boy can I feel the 2005 SHAMNESTY coming...
Though North Carolina has an estimated 300,000 illegal immigrants, the state has one federal deportation officer who's among fewer than 10 people in the state who work for Detention and Removal Operations, a unit of ICE.
If the next terrorist strike is attributable to leaky borders in any way, the resulting press treatment of this administration will make their Katrina related coverage of it look positively glowing.
To date, some 1 million non-Mexicans have entered the U.S. through Mexico, of which about 700,000 have disappeared, according to a report in the Dallas Morning News.No one knows how many might be terrorists, though rough estimates are that about 70,000 of those non-Mexicans are Saudis between the ages of 18 and 34.
Ponder that as you abhor racial profiling and replenish your stores of duct tape.
What say you?
And who here is going to defend it? Not me!
The first offense should carry jail time. This is a national security issue and employers who hire illegals are engaging in activity that borders on treason.
How about the President who refuses to demand enforcement of existing laws? I believe he and his cronies are the head enablers. They want the borders wide open - Americans want them closed.
Impeachment.
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