Senate votes to keep Bush era illegal worker rule
Senate votes to keep Bush era illegal worker rule
July 9, 2009 6:45 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. Senate wants to force the Homeland Security Department to keep requiring employers to fire immigrant workers whose names don't match their Social Security numbers.
That would mean sticking with a Bush administration policy proposal.
By voice vote today, the Senate approved an amendment to stop the department's plan to dump the so-called "no-match" rule.
The House version of the spending bill does not include the provision. A House-Senate conference committee will have to iron out the differences.
Sen. David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican, sponsored the amendment to the Homeland Security Department spending bill.
The policy was aimed at rooting out undocumented workers through so-called no-match letters. Those are letters the Social Security Administration sends employers when a worker's name and Social Security number don't match government records.
There are various reasons for a mismatch: Records aren't updated when a woman changes her name after marrying or after a person becomes a U.S. citizen; a person submits a fake or someone else's Social Security number; or simple typos and errors.
The bill S. 1298.
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