Thread: STOP MAKING ILLEGAL EMPLOYERS THE IMMIGRATION ENEMY!

IMMIGRATION LAWYER'S VIEWPOINT, NOT A SPECIAL INTEREST OR AGENDA!

FEEL FREE TO COMMENT ON THE EDITORIAL!

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/edi ... 65922.html

Viewpoints, Outlook

May 8, 2008, 11:00PM
Stop making employers the immigration enemy
Those doing hiring should be enlisted by feds as allies


By JAY AIYER


TOOLS
Email Get section feed
Print Recommend
Comments (1 Yahoo! Buzz
The recent raid of the Shipley Donut factory here has brought the immigration debate back to our doorstep. During the first six months of this fiscal year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained more than 2,700 illegal immigrants in its work-site operations, putting it on pace to significantly top the more than 3,600 apprehensions made for all of fiscal 2006.

Even more ominous for businesses, ICE is increasingly bringing criminal charges in work-site investigations, hoping to go after those who knowingly hire illegal immigrants. Already in fiscal 2008, criminal charges have been filed against 527 people, compared with 718 for all of fiscal 2006 and just 25 in fiscal 2002.

This approach is misguided, a waste of scarce resources and potentially destructive to our economy.

There is little doubt that millions of undocumented aliens are working in the United States without authorization. We all know that. But we must also accept the reality that we as a society watch, as they build our homes, care for our children and grow the food we eat. They are part of the modern American workplace, and we need to take an approach that is realistic and part of broader immigration reform.

The current approach of raid and detention is neither of those. Moreover, the approach itself undermines its stated goal by driving those already in the underground economy further underground.

The reality is that the overwhelming numbers of businesses never knowingly hire anyone they believe is here illegally. They are required by law to inspect employment authorization and to determine if a person can legally work. One problem is that there is no realistic way to verify the authenticity of documents.

A possible solution would be to invest in a workable national database that can accurately determine the work authorization of workers. Instead, the government has decided to step up arrests and detention that cost millions more.

Programs like the "E-Verify" program are still too error-prone to be of assistance, and current law doesn't even require such verification. Moreover, while businesses must visually inspect documents, they run the risk of being accused of discrimination if they ask too many questions. Additionally, the documents themselves often can be easily duplicated and forged, making it even more difficult.

Businesses have a duty to inspect work authorization documents and maintain an "employment eligibility verification form" known as an I-9. For the most part, the majority of employers try their best to comply. But the federal government should not place the entire burden of enforcement on them. Instead the government needs to bring employers in as partners.

We all recognize that there are some employers out there who collude with document vendors to their advantage. That is where ICE's resources should be targeted — not in random raids.

All businesses should conduct regular audits of their own hiring policies and procedures to make sure that all employees are properly filling out I-9 documents. However, federal authorities need to recognize that businesses ought to be encouraged and applauded for a self-audit process without potential penalties from ICE.

Our current immigration system is broken. Ultimately, the only real answer is to embrace a comprehensive approach that acknowledges the reality that we have more than 12 million hardworking individuals here who lack legal status but play a crucial role in our daily lives.

Federal authorities must stop viewing them — and their employers — as the enemy.

Aiyer is an immigration lawyer at Tindall & Foster, P.C. He can be e-mailed at jaiyer@tindallfoster.com.

Better idea: I would make ICE and its officers the employers. They could pose as contractors seeking labor and advertise in local Spanish language newspapers. An international sting operation!

TOOLS

I agree.

This editorial is so weak and so easily refuted it's barely worth responding to. Just for the sake of it, here's one quick point that reveals this attorney is just another hack whose clients don't want our very reasonable laws enforced:

Programs like the "E-Verify" program are still too error-prone to be of assistance

Bull. Here's what Rep. Shuler recently said:

"E-verify is free, easy to use, and allows participants to successfully match 93 percent of new hires to government databases in less than 5 seconds...Of the remaining 7 percent, the vast majority do not contest the result...every employee of a federal agency has passed through the E-Verify system."

Furthermore, "DHS is not aware of any case since 1996 where a [legal] employee has lost a job because of E-Verify."

Interestingly, although the progressives (the left-leaning Dems) and conservatives (right part of Republican base) usually disagree on almost EVERYTHING....

Well, at least with respect to illegal immigration they typically disagree on: 1. Border Fence (physical security at borders) 2. Amnesty for IAs...etc.
They actually DO agree on punishing illegal employers for the most part.
Because it is so damaging to the American workforce and is very unpopular, I would think that interior enforcement geared at illegal employers would be a great - and politically, more 'do-able' - place to start.

Having written the above, once again, the vertical barriers or demarcation in describing the problem pops up once again (elites, corporatists vs. ordinary working people). There you have it.

ILLEGALS, ILLEGAL EMPLOYERS, and ILLEGAL UNIONS should all receive HEAVY Fines and Felony Jail Time if they conspire to have ILLEGALS take the jobs of United States Citizens.

They will continue to hire from outside of the United States NO matter how many Citizens are AVAILABLE because the NON-Citizens are initially easier for the ILLEGAL EMPLOYER and the UNION to control. Just remember "My Friends" follow the money always the money!

I wonder if Calderon, the pope, the Bushwacker, or any of "our" Presidential candidates have ever suggested any solution to mexico's problems other then invading the United States with their ILLEGALS?

What an IDIOT! What would happen if we deported a few attorneys too?

Already in fiscal 2008, criminal charges have been filed against 527 people, compared with 718 for all of fiscal 2006 and just 25 in fiscal 2002.

These numbers are miniscule and are further proof how miserably George Bush has failed the American people with his open border agenda.

Final memo to Jay Aiyer: NO "broader immigration reform" (i.e., amnesty); we had a mass amnesty in 1986 -- now it's time for the promised, long-overdue enforcement. Any further amnesties will only exacerbate the problem.

TOOL !! stood out to me also .
Jay , grow up get some nerve and stand up for your country . You own America , Not the other way libs think . judging from your article you penned
you seem so scared . Remember , There is alway a brave American willing to go fight for American . So be a Patriot , open your eyes and see the truth . Illegal Immigration is killing us and a big part of our corruption problem

Those doing hiring should be enlisted by feds as allies

Thought they were.....lord knows they sure never missed checking me. Problem is they quit or SS sluffed off or something.....because someone dropped the ball and once they found out they could get away with it ..... it became common practice.

E-verify might not be 100% perfect but it beats a blank.....and so far nothing the government does is 100% perfect....if that's the case then why bother with anything? Past employers lie, Credit companies make mistakes, the IRS makes mistakes, police make mistakes, heck nothing is perfect so forget it all? Oh what a world that would be. I bet they can't show me 1 illegal immigrant who was caught and was innocent. If anyone is denied anything it's the citizen and they have the means to fix it.

Heck I remember working retail when people passed counterfit money. We were supposed to "catch it" but no one ever told us how or what to look for. We were allowed 1 mistake and then it was taken out of our checks. Naturally it always happend at Christmas time when we were the busiest, when they put out new money, had tons of tourists with bogus travelers checks and stolen credit cards and the whole nine yards. They refused to buy us the pens the bank uses, the customers were livid if you held the money up to the light to hopefully find an ink mark because it embarrassed them and made them feel like they were potential criminals and we were accused of being racist and every other thing going.....finally someone got a friend from the bank to order the pens for us and we paid for it. We weren't police officers or trained counterfit agents and we were punished if we missed it and we didn't have the tools either. People lost money and jobs and accused of all sorts of things because of it. What's the difference?