Federal government wants workers without valid Social Security numbers to be fired
By Luis F. Perez, Sun-Sentinel

Originally published 08:57 p.m., November 20, 2008
Updated 08:58 p.m., November 20, 2008

The federal government wants a judge to let it force businesses to make sure its workers have legitimate Social Security numbers, or fire them.

The so-called "no-match letter" rule is meant to root out immigrants who don’t have permission to work here. But critics say the system for checking is full of errors that can wrongly cost American citizens and legal residents their jobs, and that requiring businesses to enforce it is an undue expense for companies. It depends on a flawed Social Security Administration database, they say.

Stan Wood, who owns Everglades Botanical Services in Davie and has worked with immigrants in agriculture businesses all his life, had a quick answer when asked whether the no-match letter program would work:

"No. Hell no!" he said.

The government estimates that 4 percent of about 250 million — or 10 million — W-2 forms it receives each year have mismatched names and Social Security numbers. If employers take "responsible" steps to resolve the differences, they face no penalties, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Essentially, this is kind of an anti-ostrich regulation," DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff recently said.

The rule is part of the department’s efforts to reduce the number of undocumented immigrants working in the country, he said.

Homeland Security officials first instituted the rule in August 2007. But the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, unions and immigrant advocates sued, and a California federal judged blocked the department from enforcing it. In October, DHS issued a revised rule and filed a motion on Thursday Nov. 6 asking the judge permission to enforce it.

"If it was a perfect world, this would be fine," said David Semadeni , secretary of the Palm Beach County Hotel and Lodging Association. "I’m an immigrant myself. I and a lot of my friends have come through this road. It, frankly, can be a bureaucratic nightmare."

Under the rule, workers named as not having valid social security numbers would have 90 days to fix the mix-up, if it’s a mistake. After that, their employers would have to fire them, or face fines or jail time.

"Basically, a no-match letter is a sign that something is wrong," said Chertoff said.

There can be innocent explanations for no-match letters. For example, a newlywed doesn’t update the government on a name change. A typo, a mistaken number, a clerk misfiling paperwork.

"The bottom line is this case has never been about illegal workers, it has been about the cost of a badly thought out rule and the cost on legitimate businesses following all the rules," said Angelo Amado, the chamber’s director of immigration policy.

The department’s analysis, which the judge asked for, shows that up to 167,000 legitimate workers could lose their jobs, he said.

"The no-match rule is a lackluster attempt at immigration reform," said Jim Spratt , a spokesman for the Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Association. "It’s not going to fix anything."

Richard Kern , owner of the 25-employee Southeast Growers nursery in Boca Raton and Wellington, opposed the rule when it was first proposed. Now, he says, things have changed.

"A lot of these guys that didn’t have their paperwork are back in Mexico now," he said.

Walter Banks , owner of Fort Lauderdale’s Lago Mar Resort and Club, said his company works hard to make sure his 225 or so employees have the appropriate paperwork.

"The spirit of the law, I really have to agree with when you look at the big picture with what it’s trying to accomplish," he said.


© 2008 Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers
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