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Tancredo Hails Enforcement Action Against Illegal Alien Employer
Congressional Desk
April 21, 2006
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) hailed the government’s enforcement action against an illegal alien employer, IFCO Systems. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced today that it had targeted the wooden pallet manufacturer for hiring more than 1,000 illegal aliens in warehouses from Massachusetts to Arizona.


“After years of calls, letters and protests, DHS leadership finally might be getting the message: enforce the law. Today’s law enforcement action is a cautious first step, but if this approach continues, the federal government might be on its way to actually getting at the heart of the illegal immigration problem for the first time in memory,” said Tancredo.

“In a way, the enforcement action shows how irrelevant the Congressional immigration debate is: if this or any prior Administration wanted to get serious about controlling our borders, they always have had the power to enforce the law on their own,” Tancredo continued. “However, Congress can help set up the infrastructure to gain control of our immigration system. It’s clear that ICE has been working on the IFCO case for a long time. Today’s enforcement action underscores the need for an employer verification system so that we can hold employers accountable without months-long stakeouts. Providing a quick and inexpensive way for employers to verify their employees’ legal status is the backbone of any serious immigration reform plan, yet it is not included in McCain-Kennedy.”

“IFCO and similar rogue businesses are often referred to euphemistically as ‘willing employers’ giving jobs to ‘willing employees.’ But they are also criminal organizations that systematically lure illegal aliens into the U.S., help forge identifications, and conceal their actions from law enforcement. Criminal businesses are dangerous to illegal aliens, they’re dangerous to their communities, and they’re dangerous to our economy,” concluded Tancredo