Thread: A stunning stat on immigration enforcement

A stunning stat on immigration enforcement

Someone once said there are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics. (These days, I’d add a fourth lie: a campaign promise. But I digress.)

It’s true that statistics can be misused and blown out of context to serve an agenda, but often, when they’re accurate, they wield meaningful power.

Take this small, but stunning statistic buried in an August 2005 U.S. Government Accountability Office report.

First, some background: The Bush administration in August proposed this grand plan to make sure employers were hiring legal workers. Basically, the new rules would force employers to fire workers whose names and Social Security numbers don’t match government records. Businesses could be penalized up to $10,000 per illegal worker if they fail to follow the new rules.

Before the changes, there were no penalties for ignoring any of the hundreds of thousands of “no-matchâ€

It is plain nonsense that employers get away with saying that they do not know employees are illegal with the basic pilot program(now called E-VERIFY-which can be looked at www.dhs.gov/E-VERIFY.) available since 1996 -all employers can use this for free to verify SS# which if strickly used by all empolyers would prevent 90% of illegal hiring.Only 23,000 businesses use it today which is nothing.With an executive order Bush could make this manadory or hundreds of sites on the internet that for 29.00 employers can do backgound checks.Also , if social security violations were inforced employers with 5 or more false socials under thier employment can befined 250,000 dollars and 10-15 years imprisonment.If just one employer(owner of marriott hotel defied law on tv and said he could not make it without illegals and laughed and said they will just have to arrest me) was given this penalty and it was put on the front page of the usa today things would change over night.

You bet DHolmes...good analysis.