Highlights of administration's illegal immigration crackdown plan
By The Associated Press
http://www.mercurynews.com/natbreakingnews/ci_6592653
News Fuze
Article Launched:08/10/2007 10:04:27 AM PDT

WASHINGTON—Highlights of tactics the Bush administration plans to use or has been using to beef up enforcement on immigration:

—Hold employers liable for employing workers who have been notified of problems with their Social Security information and have not resolved those problems in 90 days.

—Reduce the number of documents employers can accept to verify a worker's eligibility.

—Raise civil fines imposed on employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants by about 25 percent.

—Prevent illegal immigrants who have agreed to leave the country from remaining in the country through legal maneuvers by making them subject to deportation if arrested and fining them $3,000.

—Direct the Labor Department to make changes to the H2A agricultural seasonal worker program so it is easier for farmers to use, provides them workers on time and protects workers' rights.

—Correct processing delays in the H2B program for hiring seasonal workers for the landscaping, hospitality and other industries.

—Extend from one year to three the duration of a visa for hiring professional workers from Canada and Mexico to attract more such workers to the U.S.

—Spend more money to speed up background checks on immigrants.

—Require the Social Security administration and Department of Homeland Security to devise a way to prevent undocumented workers from earning credit in the Social Security system for work they've done while in the country illegally.

—Expand lists of organized gangs from other nations whose members are barred from automatic entry to the United States.

—Continue to work on creating a system that will record the exit of foreigners from the country for air, land and sea ports.

—By Jan. 31, 2008, begin phasing in requirements for U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean to carry passports to re-enter the country at sea and land ports.

—Homeland Security Department will deliver "state of the border" reports regularly.