Thread: Judge blocks controversial illegal worker plan

Judge blocks controversial illegal worker plan

Oct 10, 2007
ABC News

"SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. federal court judge on Wednesday granted a preliminary injunction barring the Bush administration from going ahead with a controversial program to remove illegal immigrants from the U.S. work force.

Judge Charles Breyer of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California said in his ruling "the balance of hardships tips sharply in plaintiffs' favor and plaintiffs have raised serious questions."
The federal program developed by the Department of Homeland Security is at the heart of a new crackdown on the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the country and those who employ them.

It was challenged in a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union, the AFL-CIO and other labor groups claiming the program was unlawful.

Earlier this month, Breyer extended a temporary restraining order against the program and blocked the Social Security Administration from sending out 140,000 letters to employers with 8 million employees whose names did not match their Social Security numbers.

Under the proposed program, employers notified of a "no-match" would have 90 days to confirm that an employee was in the country legally or fire him if not.

Employers also could face fines as well as criminal charges if they did not comply with the program.

Breyer said in his decision Wednesday that the no-match letters will result in the firing of lawfully employed workers because letters based on Social Security Administration records include numerous errors.

(Reporting by Leonard Anderson; Editing by Mary Milliken and David Wiessler; Reuters Messaging: leonard.anderson.reuters.com@reuters.net 1 415 677 3923))

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=3712833

SAN FRANCISCO...are you/we/ anybody surprised... I am not...I would have won big in Vegas....

Well, then I guess ICE just continues to pick them up immediately like they have been doing without giving them notice. No judge has the right to tell the government they can't enforce our laws. I think the illegals just made it worse for themselves, because I doubt ICE is going to stop doing what the law allows. The employers just screwed themselves out of a 90 day repreive.

Amen Tiny...It ain't over...not by a long shot

There is chaos out there guys. Something is going to give. We have a funny farm government in relation to illegal immigration.

Psalm 91

Federal judge blocks crackdown on illegal immigrants' employers

Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

(10-10) 13:54 PDT SAN FRANCISCO - A federal judge in San Francisco barred the Bush administration today from threatening to prosecute businesses for knowingly employing illegal immigrants if they fail to fire workers whose Social Security numbers don't match government records.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer issued a nationwide preliminary injunction barring the government from enforcing the so-called no-match rule, which was scheduled to take effect last month but was blocked by temporary restraining orders from Breyer and another judge. Today's order remains in effect until a suit by labor unions challenging the rule goes to trial sometime next year or until a higher court intervenes.

The rule, if implemented, "would result in irreparable harm to innocent workers and employers," Breyer said.

The administration had planned to send letters this fall to 140,000 employers with a total work force of more than 8 million. According to the government, those employers typically had at least 10 workers whose Social Security numbers on W-2 tax forms did not match the government's database.

The letters would give the employer 90 days to resolve the discrepancy and an additional three days for an employee to submit a new, valid number. After that, an employer who failed to fire the worker would be subject to civil fines or criminal prosecution under a 1986 law that prohibits businesses from knowingly employing illegal immigrants.

In their lawsuit, unions said the no-match rule would lead to widespread firings of legal employees, including hundreds of thousands of union members. They said the government and employers commonly make clerical errors that lead to no-match letters, and that name changes for reasons including marriage and divorce often prompt similar confusion.

Many innocent workers would be unable to locate records within sprawling federal agencies and clear up discrepancies within 90 days, the unions said.

The Service Employees International Union, a plaintiff in the suit, praised the ruling.

"The federal court has seen the administration's Social Security 'no-match' regulations for what they are - an illegal, ill-conceived measure that would threaten thousands of innocent workers and lead to discrimination and massive workforce disruptions," the union's executive vice president, Eliseo Medina, said in a statement.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, whose agency issued the rule, said the government would consider its options, including an appeal to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

The premise of the rule is that "employer diligence will make it more difficult for illegal aliens to use a fraudulent Social Security number to get a job," Chertoff said in a statement. He said the ruling was "another reminder of why we need Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform."

Breyer did not decide the merits of the lawsuit, which claimed the new rule was unauthorized by law. But he said unions and business groups that supported the challenge had raised serious questions about the legality of the Bush administration's proposal.

Among other things, he said, immigration officials "did not supply a reasoned analysis" for their decision to reverse a decade-old government policy of not prosecuting employers on the basis of a discrepancy in a worker's Social Security number.

Since at least 1997, Breyer said, the government has assured businesses that a no-match letter, by itself, did not amount to official notice of unauthorized employment that could be grounds for prosecution. He said the Bush administration abruptly reversed course with the new rule, which was enacted in August 2006 but put on hold until a comprehensive immigration bill died in Congress this year.

"Needless to say, this change in position will have massive ramifications for how employers treat the receipt of no-match letters," Breyer wrote.

In addition, Breyer said, Homeland Security lacked legal authority for a statement in the letter that assured employers that the government would not sue them for discrimination if they fired workers because of unresolved no-match letters.

The judge also said he had "serious doubts" about the department's assertion that the new rule would not impose a significant burden on small businesses.

Breyer rejected unions' argument that the 1986 law imposed no duty on employers to verify their workers' immigration status after they were hired.

He said employees and businesses would be harmed far more by enforcement of the disputed rule than any hardship the government would suffer from a delay.

"There is a strong likelihood that employers may simply fire employees who are unable to resolve the discrepancy within 90 days, even if the employees are actually authorized to work," Breyer said.

E-mail Bob Egelko at begelko@sfchronicle.com

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... .DTL&tsp=1

The corruption in this country is astounding! You know it's bad when our courts pander to illegal aliens. Spineless Chertoff just whines like a pathetic baby, rather than demanding the enforcement of our laws. When the terrorists strike again (and they will), all of these traitors will have blood on their hands.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, 62, of San Francisco was appointed to the federal bench in 1997 by then-President Bill Clinton.

Want more of this?

Then elect Hillary Clinton!!

Dixie

perfect example of a liberal activist judge subverting our laws and our enforcement of basic common sense. that must stop.

and a very good point by Dixie, this is Hillary Clinton's legacy right here and now, committing another atrocity on the american people.

This is just does not sound right. Maybe Bush set this up in advance? We all know Bush wants all the illegals here. So maybe to make his approval rating go up he says to go ahead with that program, knowing that this judge was going to grant a injunction?? I just don't trust Bush...or anyone else in our congress....



quote="Bren4824"]Judge blocks controversial illegal worker plan

Oct 10, 2007
ABC News

"SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. federal court judge on Wednesday granted a preliminary injunction barring the Bush administration from going ahead with a controversial program to remove illegal immigrants from the U.S. work force.

Judge Charles Breyer of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California said in his ruling "the balance of hardships tips sharply in plaintiffs' favor and plaintiffs have raised serious questions."
The federal program developed by the Department of Homeland Security is at the heart of a new crackdown on the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the country and those who employ them.

It was challenged in a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union, the AFL-CIO and other labor groups claiming the program was unlawful.

Earlier this month, Breyer extended a temporary restraining order against the program and blocked the Social Security Administration from sending out 140,000 letters to employers with 8 million employees whose names did not match their Social Security numbers.

Under the proposed program, employers notified of a "no-match" would have 90 days to confirm that an employee was in the country legally or fire him if not.

Employers also could face fines as well as criminal charges if they did not comply with the program.

Breyer said in his decision Wednesday that the no-match letters will result in the firing of lawfully employed workers because letters based on Social Security Administration records include numerous errors.

(Reporting by Leonard Anderson; Editing by Mary Milliken and David Wiessler; Reuters Messaging: leonard.anderson.reuters.com@reuters.net 1 415 677 3923))

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=3712833[/quote]