Thread: New immigration rules could force mass firings

Can I throw up now PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14665853/



New immigration rules could force mass firings
By Kent Hoover
The Business Journal of Jacksonville
Updated: 7:00 p.m. CT Sept 3, 2006

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Even if Congress fails to pass immigration reform legislation, new regulations and public pressure may make it harder for employers to keep hiring illegal aliens.

The Department of Homeland Security has proposed a regulation that could force businesses to fire hundreds of thousands of workers if they can't resolve discrepancies between the Social Security numbers reported by employees and government records.


Under the proposed regulation, employers would have 14 days to see if a clerical error caused the discrepancy and contact DHS or the Social Security Administration to correct it. If the employee said the number is correct, the employee should contact the agency. If the employee's eligibility to work cannot be verified within 60 days, the employer should terminate the employee. Otherwise, it runs the risk of being prosecuted for knowingly employing an unauthorized worker.

The comment period on the proposed regulation ended Aug. 14. Business groups urged DHS to postpone the new rule until Congress acts on immigration reform.

"Taking a new regulatory position when Congress has proposed alternative approaches may needlessly confuse employers on what to do when no-match notices are received," the National Restaurant Association contends.

Most experts doubt the House and Senate will be able to resolve their differences on immigration reform, but Laura Reiff, an immigration attorney who co-chairs the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition, said there is "a move afoot" for a compromise.

She thinks the proposed "no-match" regulation is part of the Bush administration's effort to prove it is enforcing immigration laws and pressure Congress to create a legal mechanism for employers to hire now-undocumented workers. EWIC contends the U.S. economy needs these workers.

DHS now is filing criminal charges -- instead of seeking administrative fines -- against employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens. This year, the department has made arrests in about 450 cases.

"We've made some very dramatic strides over the last year with respect to interior enforcement," said DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff.

Business groups, however, said "no-match" letters shouldn't be used to prosecute employers because of widespread errors in the Social Security Administration's database.

"Many of our members conduct background checks or use other means to verify an employee's Social Security number ... but nonetheless receive no-match letters on those very same employees," states the Building Service Contractors Association International.
Optimistic and unrealistic

Business groups also say the proposed regulation doesn't give employers enough time to resolve discrepancies.

"A 60-day turnaround time from a federal agency on a routine basis is optimistic," said the American Hotel & Lodging Association. "A 60-day turnaround to correct a discrepancy in paperwork when the processing system will most likely be overwhelmed by the heavy volume of requests is unrealistic."

The Department of Homeland Security also plans a major marketing push for its Basic Pilot program, a voluntary electronic system that employers can use to verify whether a new hire is eligible to work in the United States. Both the House and Senate immigration reform bills would require employers to participate in this program. Even if the program doesn't become mandatory, however, the public will question the motives of any business that doesn't participate, said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies.

Krikorian, whose think tank favors strict enforcement of immigration laws, expects more companies to follow the lead of Dunkin' Donuts, which requires all of its franchisees to sign up for the Basic Pilot program.

The number of employers participating in the Basic Pilot program has more than doubled this year to around 11,000. Gerri Ratliff, chief of DHS' verification division, said the program can verify the eligibility of 80 percent of new hires in three seconds.

Most of the businesses that have signed up are in industries that employ a lot of immigrants, she said.

"If they think they might be targeted for ICE enforcement, they're running right to us to sign up," Ratliff said.

New immigration rules could force mass firings

Yes, Mr. Hoover - duly noted. So what exactly is your point?

I`m surprised that the ACLU has not jumped in and claimed this to be "unconstitutional". Or tried to anyway. LOL

A lot of illegals will be working "under the table" if they`re not all ready.