Thread: Highlights of administration's illegal immigration crackdown

Highlights of administration's illegal immigration crackdown plan
By The Associated Press
http://www.mercurynews.com/natbreakingnews/ci_6592653
News Fuze
Article Launched:08/10/2007 10:04:27 AM PDT

WASHINGTON—Highlights of tactics the Bush administration plans to use or has been using to beef up enforcement on immigration:

—Hold employers liable for employing workers who have been notified of problems with their Social Security information and have not resolved those problems in 90 days.

—Reduce the number of documents employers can accept to verify a worker's eligibility.

—Raise civil fines imposed on employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants by about 25 percent.

—Prevent illegal immigrants who have agreed to leave the country from remaining in the country through legal maneuvers by making them subject to deportation if arrested and fining them $3,000.

—Direct the Labor Department to make changes to the H2A agricultural seasonal worker program so it is easier for farmers to use, provides them workers on time and protects workers' rights.

—Correct processing delays in the H2B program for hiring seasonal workers for the landscaping, hospitality and other industries.

—Extend from one year to three the duration of a visa for hiring professional workers from Canada and Mexico to attract more such workers to the U.S.

—Spend more money to speed up background checks on immigrants.

—Require the Social Security administration and Department of Homeland Security to devise a way to prevent undocumented workers from earning credit in the Social Security system for work they've done while in the country illegally.

—Expand lists of organized gangs from other nations whose members are barred from automatic entry to the United States.

—Continue to work on creating a system that will record the exit of foreigners from the country for air, land and sea ports.

—By Jan. 31, 2008, begin phasing in requirements for U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean to carry passports to re-enter the country at sea and land ports.

—Homeland Security Department will deliver "state of the border" reports regularly.

Those things may be very good.

Now while all those 'new' rules are getting implemented, and the 'technology in place' - let's use those laws we now have and get to work. They seem to work pretty well, when applied.

These new laws, new border security action, new everything is just a stalling tactic I fear.

While they are telling you this to get your attention, the other hand is probably passing our green cards, and citizenship papers.

We have what we need already to solve much of the problem. We don't need this.

U.S. cracks down on employment of illegal immigrants
By Andy Sullivan
10 minutes ago http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/usa_immigrat ... Wcs8FQuk0A


The Bush administration said on Friday it would increase scrutiny and impose heftier fines on U.S. businesses that employ illegal immigrants as it sought to step up enforcement despite Congress's failure to reform immigration laws.

Employers who ignore immigration laws will face an increased likelihood of criminal charges and 25 percent higher penalties, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said.

Chertoff said the new effort was the most the government could do to fight illegal immigration as long as Congress does not act.

"These are ... not the best tools we can use," Chertoff said at a news conference. "This is kind of a half measure."

Congress failed to pass a comprehensive overhaul of immigration laws in June despite heavy lobbying by the Bush administration.

The new enforcement effort could create headaches for farms, restaurants, construction companies and other businesses that rely on low-skilled immigrant workers.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the effort would impose new costs on businesses, and the AFL-CIO labor group said it could give abusive employers more power over workers.

Employers must currently verify that their workers are in the United States legally by collecting their Social Security numbers and immigration documents. Those numbers are checked against the U.S. government's database, and employers are notified of those that don't match up.

Under the new rule, which will take effect in 30 days, employers notified of a mismatch will have 90 days to confirm that the employee is in the country legally, or fire them if not.

Those who do not comply could face fines of up to $12,500 per violation, a 25 percent increase over the existing maximum, as well as possible criminal charges.

Employers will be encouraged to use a new electronic system to check workers' immigration status. New government contractors will be required to use the system.

The government has already stepped up raids of companies that use illegal immigrant workers, deporting a record 185,421 in fiscal year 2006.

Criminal investigations of employers have increased dramatically as well, with 742 arrests since October.

The government also will streamline seasonal worker programs and expand the visa term for professional workers from Mexico and Canada from one year to three years and add 1,700 border guards.

But these efforts alone will not stop illegal immigration, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said.

"We do not have the workers our economy needs to keep growing each year," Gutierrez said. "Ultimately Congress is going to have to pass comprehensive immigration reform."

There are an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States.

U.S. Seeks to Curb Illegal Immigration
By SUZANNE GAMBOA 08.10.07, 12:40 PM ET
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/ ... 08865.html

WASHINGTON - A crackdown on illegal immigration will have to go forward without help from Congress, the Bush administration said Friday, asserting that an executive-branch-only approach is better than doing nothing.

Two Cabinet secretaries - Homeland Security's Michael Chertoff and Commerce's Carlos Gutierrez - said they hoped to have new tools to combat illegal immigration before moving further to cope with the problem. But Congress could not agree on comprehensive legislation to attack the problem.

The officials said they'll rely instead on tools already in their arsenal, some of which are already under way, including a plan to administratively sanction employers who hire illegal immigrants.

At a joint news conference, Chertoff and Gutierrez put the onus on Congress for any consequences that may be suffered by employers as result of the stepped-up enforcement effort.

"Our hope is that key elements of the Senate bill will see the light of day someday, but until Congress chooses to act we are going to be taking some energetic steps of our own," Chertoff said. The steps will "significantly strengthen our hand with respect to immigration enforcement."

The White House emphasized that its package of enforcement changes was all it could do under "existing law" - the same law that President Bush has repeatedly called unacceptable.

"Although the Congress has not addressed our broken immigration system by passing comprehensive reform legislation, my administration will continue to take every possible step to build upon the progress already made," Bush said as the changes were announced.

Presidential spokeswoman Dana Perino said Bush has used his executive authority in the past to improve immigration enforcement, such as by strengthening border enforcement. She was pressed on why - if the new changes were such a good idea - Bush hadn't done them already.

Perino, talking to reporters at the Kennebunkport, Maine, seaside home of his father, George H.W. Bush, said the president held off on sweeping administrative action while pushing Congress to pass better legislation to address the matter. With that effort now sidelined, she said "We're going as far as we possibly can without Congress acting." enforcement.

The administration rolled out a proposed rule that will mandate employers to fire employees unable to clear up problems with their Social Security numbers 90 days after they've been notified of such discrepancies in so-called "no match letters." Employers who fail to comply will face possible criminal fines and sanctions.

"This regulation lays out a clear pattern for doing the right thing which will afford protection for employers," Chertoff said. The new rule will be effective in 30 days.

Recognizing that the crackdown could hurt some industries, particularly agriculture where more than half of workers are believed to be undocumented, Gutierrez said the Labor Department will try to make existing temporary seasonal agriculture worker and non-agriculture worker programs easier to use and more efficient.

In addition, Chertoff said he will try to use the department's regulatory authority to raise fines on employers by about 25 percent. Current fines are so modest that some companies consider them a cost of doing business, the agency said in a summary of the new enforcement effort.

The administration also wants to expand the list of international gangs whose members are automatically denied admission to the U.S., reduce processing times for immigrant background checks, and install by the end of the year an exit system so the departure of foreigners from the country can be recorded at airports and seaports.

The Homeland Security Department will ask states to voluntarily share their driver's license photos and records with the agency for use in an employment verification system. The sharing is meant to help employers detect fraudulent licenses.

Some of the initiatives are similar to proposals contained in the recent immigration measure which failed to pass in the Senate, though they are not nearly as sweeping.

Bush suffered a major political defeat when Senate immigration legislation that he had backed and Chertoff and Gutierrez helped draft failed to pass this year.

Senate Republican Mitch McConnell offered a different view of Congress' work on immigration, saying the White House and the Capitol heard the call of "countless, well-informed Americans" who wanted improved enforcement of border security and immigration laws.

He said the billions of dollars that Congress added for immigration enforcement and the administration's "enhanced commitment" on immigration enforcement will secure borders.

But Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said the administration "can talk until they're blue in the face" but "I won't be happy until I see action that's more than just a press conference and words on a piece of paper."

The Senate legislation was opposed by many conservatives who complained that people don't trust their government to start new immigration programs since existing immigration laws are not enforced.

The Senate bill would have allowed millions of illegal immigrants to obtain legal status and eventually apply for legal residency. It also would have created a guest worker program and stepped up border security.

Some lawmakers have kept up efforts to tighten the border. Last month, the Senate added $3 billion to a homeland security bill and devoted the money to U.S.-Mexico border security.

Some lawmakers have kept up efforts to tighten the border. Last month, the Senate added $3 billion to a homeland security bill and devoted the money to U.S.-Mexico border security.

Will this be used for border security - or will it be carved up as pork and given to various companies in each person's district and the border will still suffer?

Enforcement now - enforcement now not next month, or next year - but yesterday!!!