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[b]Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Compromise a Must


Winston-Salem Journal


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A federal court ruling in San Francisco last week demonstrates once again why Congress and the American people must compromise on immigration reform.

Judge Charles R. Breyer ruled that the federal government acted improperly when it began using the Social Security Administration in enforcement efforts against illegal immigrants.

In a move to crack down on illegal workers in the United States, the government warned employers of consequences for employing workers with incorrect Social Security numbers. The employers had 90 days to either correct mistakes or fire the workers with the disputed numbers.

In principle, the strategy made some sense. Many illegals use stolen identification numbers. When the Social Security Administration finds an incorrect number, there is a good chance that there is an illegal worker behind it. Pursuing those incorrect numbers is, therefore, a good way to find suspects of illegal entry into the country.

But it is not a foolproof method, and that is what the judge objected to. There are laws on the books that are designed to protect workers from government mistakes, and many of the numbers with which Social Security has a problem have nothing to do with illegal workers.

The judge ruled that the administration would have set off a series of events with “massive ramificationsâ€