Thread: Employers not Required to Report Illegal Workers

Employers not Required to Report Illegal Workers

CARROLLTON, Texas (AP) - Did a suburban Dallas employer go too far when it told police about a job applicant who presented what turned out to be a counterfeit social security card?

Relatives and advocates for Maria Martinez say that's what happened when she was arrested, jailed and deported as an illegal immigrant after applying for a hospital cafeteria job.

But a spokeswoman for Trinity Medical Center in Carrollton contends the hospital was simply following policy and has a responsibility to report criminal activity, including possible identity theft, to the proper authorities.

During yet another year marked by several high profile immigration raids targeting both undocumented workers and the companies who hire them, the case raises questions about what employers can or should do if they discover an applicant is not authorized to work legally in the U.S.

Martinez, a single mother of a 3-year-old son and a teenage daughter, showed the hospital's cafeteria director a social security card when applying for a job there in July and also included the card's number on her application, according to police reports. About a week later, however, a background check revealed the number had been issued to a person who had since died.

The hospital's personnel director notified Carrollton police of the discrepancy. Detectives also were informed that Martinez had an appointment the next day at the hospital's human resources office, according to documents filed in the case.

Police were waiting at the hospital and arrested Martinez on a charge of tampering with a government record.

According to police, Martinez acknowledged buying the social security card for $110 at a Wal-Mart. She also had a second social security card and two counterfeit cards stating she was a legal permanent resident.

Martinez initially planned to fight the state charge but after being held in jail for nearly three weeks, she agreed to be deported with her son to Mexico in August.

"She told me to please forgive her. She told me she wasn't strong enough to fight," said Martinez' 19-year-old daughter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she also is in the U.S. illegally.

What makes Martinez' case stand out is that employers aren't required to report someone suspected of a crime, attorneys say. They also aren't mandated to report a worker or applicant suspected of being in the U.S. illegally, say immigration attorneys and enforcement officials.

"For an employer to go ahead and take it upon themselves ... to report that is unusual," said immigration attorney Kathleen Walker. "There's no obligation on my part to go call law enforcement."

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Carl Rusnok agreed, saying employers and local police typically don't have the training needed to determine whether someone is in the country illegally.

Carrollton's mayor has emphasized that one of his priorities is to rid the city of illegal immigrants. In the neighboring suburb of Farmers Branch, city officials have unsuccessfully tried to prohibit landlords from renting houses and apartments to tenants who cannot prove they are in the U.S. legally.

But hospital spokeswoman Susan Watson said the decision to report Martinez had nothing to do with the immigration debate swirling in suburban Dallas. The hospital reported what it considered a crime, said Watson.

"Regardless of whether they were an illegal alien, legal immigrant or an American citizen, it still wouldn't have mattered, they still would have been reported," she said.

Watson said it was the first time in at least two years that the hospital reported a possible crime involving a worker or applicant to police. It is always on alert, she added, because many employees have access to patients' medical records and other private information.

Immigration attorneys and others, however, are concerned that many employers have become overly cautious, to the point that they may be bending or breaking the law, as well.

Laws and policies prohibit employers from scrutinizing a job applicant's identity or work eligibility before they are hired, said Walker, an El Paso lawyer and former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

"When people are being prescreened before a decision to hire is being made, then you could have exposure to discrimination charges," she said.

Recent workplace raids around the country have increasingly focused on identity theft and use of someone else's social security number. But those have resulted from federal ICE investigations into workers at specific companies, not calls from an employer to local police.

Still, those raids have left employers edgy, said Muzaffar Chishti, director of the Migration Policy Institute at NYU School of Law.

"I think employers are beginning to feel the pinch and in many cases I think they are trying not only to be sort of extra cautious but ... to be pre-emptive," said Chishti. "What's troubling is that employers have taken it upon themselves the job of ascertaining whether a crime has been committed."
http://www.woai.com/news/local/story.as ... d4ef16c572

"For an employer to go ahead and take it upon themselves ... to report that is unusual," said immigration attorney Kathleen Walker. "There's no obligation on my part to go call law enforcement."

Maybe not legally buddy, but how about MORALLY.

"Regardless of whether they were an illegal alien, legal immigrant or an American citizen, it still wouldn't have mattered, they still would have been reported," she said.

Watson said it was the first time in at least two years that the hospital reported a possible crime involving a worker or applicant to police. It is always on alert, she added, because many employees have access to patients' medical records and other private information.

That's right and those records have your social security number, names, addresses, telephone numbers etc. This is why E-verify is SO IMPORTANT for cities, counties, states, and critical business.

Let's not let them get across our border again.

Originally Posted by dep0rt

Let's not let them get across our border again.

If she does and she's caught its a felony and she does prison time and she cannot come into the US again.

"(Katheleen) Walker,...former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association."

The AILW has been one of the primary lobbist groups pouring money into the quest for "comprehensive immigration reform" (amnesty) - to them, it only means lots of more clients!

Originally Posted by Texas2step

"(Katheleen) Walker,...former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association."

The AILW has been one of the primary lobbist groups pouring money into the quest for "comprehensive immigration reform" (amnesty) - to them, it only means lots of more clients!

Well, Walker would have a heck of a time backing this statement up:

Immigration attorneys and others, however, are concerned that many employers have become overly cautious, to the point that they may be bending or breaking the law, as well.

If they check everyones paperwork at application, she wouldn't have a leg to stand on. If the ones that are illegal are stealing or using stolen ID's then they pay the price. You don't single them out , "they self identify" by using false documents.

WELCOME dep0rt:

Thank you for posting and joining us here at ALIPAC.

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Population-
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Those Who Doubt the NWO Conspiracy...Listen Closely
http://tinyurl.com/6nao7g

NON-ENERGY CRISIS:
http://tinyurl.com/5flubk

New World Order by Eustace Mullins:
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-125703-.html

ENDGAME- ALEX JONES -
Blueprint for Global Enslavement
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Poor poor woman no one told her she could be deported for being here illegally LOL

Originally Posted by vmonkey56

WELCOME dep0rt:

Thank you for posting and joining us here at ALIPAC.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$

RELATED SOURCES WORTH A MINT:

Population-
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-128739-.html

Those Who Doubt the NWO Conspiracy...Listen Closely
http://tinyurl.com/6nao7g

NON-ENERGY CRISIS:
http://tinyurl.com/5flubk

New World Order by Eustace Mullins:
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-125703-.html

ENDGAME- ALEX JONES -
Blueprint for Global Enslavement
http://tinyurl.com/2gmljp

CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION:
http://tinyurl.com/6k2253

The Challenge Facing America -14 Amendment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNv20S1K8w0

CHUCK BALDWIN FOR PRESIDENT:
http://tinyurl.com/5qgxat

vmonkey check you links. Some aren't working. You can do that if you preview your posts first and check the links to make sure they work before you submit the posts.

But hospital spokeswoman Susan Watson said the decision to report Martinez had nothing to do with the immigration debate swirling in suburban Dallas. The hospital reported what it considered a crime, said Watson.

Thank you Susan Watson. I would hope all employers report an illegal alien who tries to get a job using a stolen Social Security card.