CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The biggest employer of people not authorized to work in this country, the government. A little noticed audit last year of so-called non-work Social Security numbers showed the government, retail and universities are top employers of non-citizens who are not authorized to work here.

From 2001 to 2003, seven federal agencies, seven state agencies and three local governments employed thousands of people using Social Security cards clearly marked as non-work documents. The government has issued some 7 million such cards, certain foreign nationals are eligible for them so they can get public benefits. But it is illegal for them to work. Yet the government over three years illegally employed more than 49,000 such cardholders.


REP. STEVE KING (R), IOWA: It's obvious that if they have the tools at their very disposal and they are not utilizing them to purge the illegals that they have on their own payrolls, how can they go to the private sector employers and demand that they comply with the law when the federal government is not complying with the law.

ROMANS: About a third of those workers found in the audit were later identified to have paperwork mix-ups. But the rest had no legal basis to be employed. The audit found unauthorized work by non- citizens weakens SSN integrity, and may require that the agency pay benefits to these individuals.

SHANON BENTON, THE SENIOR CITIZENS LEAGUE: We're concerned that because of a loop in the Social Security Protection Act of 2004 that they'll be able to go back and claim work that they performed while here illegally, which, as the report says, is going to be detrimental to the Social Security trust fund.

ROMANS: The report also found, "non-citizens who work without DHS authorization could affect homeland security because they may obtain employment in sensitive areas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: It's a well-documented problem. Another Social Security audit several years ago found some half a million earnings files for Social Security numbers that were not authorized to work. Some employment histories as long as 38 years. That's 38 years working illegally on a non-work card -- Lou.

DOBBS: Well, thank goodness, Christine, that Congressman Steve King is working on the issue, and others. This is just another example of a dysfunctional, ineffective government. And this Senate, at least 46 members of this Senate, wanted to give this president more authority to screw up more programs? It's unbelievable.

ROMANS: Many folks saying that if the administration wants to prove that it wants to enforce the labor laws, they should look in their own personnel files and make sure the people who have Social Security numbers who are not allowed to work are not working for the federal government.


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