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Chertoff Says U.S. to Crack Down on Hiring of Illegal Workers

April 20 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced a crackdown on companies that hire undocumented immigrants, including raids that have arrested more than 1,100 people.

The effort is aimed at those who are ``exploiting illegal aliens'' and ``who adopt as a business model the systematic violation of immigration laws,'' Chertoff told reporters today in Washington. The government will ``make sure we come down as hard as possible.''

Chertoff was joined at the news conference by Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief Julie Myers. The hiring of undocumented immigrants was the focus of legislation passed by the House of Representatives last year, including increased penalties for those who break the law and a national system for electronically verifying worker status.

The Senate has been debating legislation that would give most of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants legal status if they meet certain criteria. The measure would also create a new visa program for unskilled workers to enter the U.S. to work.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Nicholas Johnston in Washington at njohnston3@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 20, 2006 11:27 EDT

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Could it be possible our emails to ICE last week had something to do with this?