Report: Employers lag on immigration effort

KRTWire ^

[Happy2BMe]

Report: Employers lag on immigration effort

BY DENA BUNIS
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."

[blackie]

Protect our borders and coastlines from all foreign invaders!

Support our Minutemen Patriots!

Be Ever Vigilant ~ Bump!

[janetgreen]

Impeachment

I agree with that, but of course it won't happen because most Congressional members of both parties are part of the same bunch.

Hopefully when the elections come up next year Americans will remember:

NO MORE VOTES FOR OPEN BORDERS/GLOBALIST POLITICIANS! NO MORE DONATIONS FOR POLITICIANS WHO FAVOR OPEN BORDERS AND LOSS OF AMERICAN SOVEREIGNTY. THROW THE BUMS OUT!!

[Das Outsider]

"I'm SHOCKED!"

Why you shock, Meesa Ra-Ha Main?



Say, you wun new Sosha numba? I got rike a hore buttroad on da Mac.

[dagnabbit]

In 1999, INS issued 417 notices that it intended to fine an employer. In 2003, ICE issued three such notices.

Clinton sucked on immigration. Bush sucks beyond Clinton.