Thread: U.S. offers olive branch to businesses

U.S. offers olive branch to businesses in crackdown on immigrant hiring

Web Posted: 08/10/2007 09:30 PM CDT
http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/st ... e4604.html
Hernán Rozemberg
Express-News Immigration Writer

Johnny GarcÃ*a saw it coming long before dozens of other employers with immigrant-heavy work forces realized it: The government is coming after you, so get ready.
But besides targeting employers who hire illegal workers, the government also is offering businesses an olive branch, and GarcÃ*a's firm became one of the first to grab it.

In exchange for meeting the Department of Homeland Security's "best practices" threshold, employers can become certified members of the ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers, or IMAGE, program.

ICE is the acronym for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency within the Department of Homeland Security leading an employer crackdown that it formally announced Friday.

"You're never safe anymore," said GarcÃ*a, human resources director for Systems Painters and Drywall in New Ulm, about a two-hour drive east of San Antonio. "You need to do everything you possibly can to show you've got your records straight."

GarcÃ*a, the only Texas employer so far to receive IMAGE certification, estimated that about 85 percent of his 350 workers are immigrants. Since the mere perception of supporting illegal immigration could hurt business, he would rather not take any chances.

If for some reason immigration agents were to show up at his door, he would prefer that they gave a friendly knock instead of kicking it down.

In Washington, the agency rolled out its initiative to go after companies who routinely have ignored letters informing them some of their employees' Social Security numbers don't line up with those in government databases.

The move — employers could be fined as much as $10,000 per violation — coupled with an ongoing ramp-up of workplace raids producing criminal prosecutions, has instilled fear in the minds of formerly careless employers.

Criminal arrests skyrocketed from 25 in 2002 to 718 last year, while those nabbed on civil immigration charges jumped from 485 to 3,667 in the same four-year stretch.

But while maintaining a tough public image, the government quietly has been encouraging cooperation with concerned bosses.

One tool employers have tapped for a decade is the Basic Pilot Program, an Internet-based system showing whether workers' listed Social Security numbers match government databases. Word about the program spread gradually, but nearly 20,000 companies, including more than 1,300 in Texas, have signed up.

The IMAGE program goes further. After completing all requirements, the first nine "charter" members were revealed in January, including GarcÃ*a's painting company.

Under it, employers seeking to impress Homeland Security officials literally have to prove they have nothing to hide — starting by voluntarily opening their books. They must use Basic Pilot for all hiring, form a team to detect document fraud, and even set up an internal hot line for employees to anonymously report co-workers perceived to be working illegally.

To date, ICE has received more than 350 applications, said Pat Reilly, an agency spokeswoman. IMAGE is expected to eventually become the hiring standard for industries popular with illegal workers, such as agriculture, construction, landscaping and meatpacking, she said.

"It's our Good Housekeeping seal of approval, our ideal image of what an employer should be," Reilly said.

Even with such certification, no employer is immune from investigation. But cases against them would be hard to prosecute because they acted in good faith against knowingly hiring illegal workers, Reilly said, and any wrongdoing discovered during initial audits would not get them in trouble.

Critics of the program say that, crackdown or not, employers may want to consider whether it's a good idea to essentially become the government's immigration enforcement lackey.

The Basic Pilot Program already has proven unreliable because it can't pick up identity theft, and reports abound of cases involving legitimate workers who were wrongly targeted, said Mónica Guizar, employment policy attorney with the National Immigration Law Center, a migrant advocacy group in Los Angeles.

"IMAGE lumps together all worksite programs," Guizar said. "It's intended to simply hand over the responsibility and duty of enforcing immigration law to employers."

Even with training, employers cannot turn into experienced document fraud investigators — and the result will be discriminatory firings, Guizar said.

Labor unions complained that IMAGE will give ruthless employers more legal muscle to quickly weed out workers looking to unionize. They also pointed out that labor violations — federal law provides rights to all workers regardless of their immigration status — will continue since the program doesn't touch the issue.

"The Basic Pilot Program already has proven unreliable because it can't pick up identity theft, and reports abound of cases involving legitimate workers who were wrongly targeted,"

A good reason for a SS card with PHOTO, NAME, ADDRESS, DOB.

Babies would not have a photo, but DOB would help there. Photo should then be required by age 15.

Originally Posted by NCByrd

"The Basic Pilot Program already has proven unreliable because it can't pick up identity theft, and reports abound of cases involving legitimate workers who were wrongly targeted,"

A good reason for a SS card with PHOTO, NAME, ADDRESS, DOB.

Babies would not have a photo, but DOB would help there. Photo should then be required by age 15.

Social Security IS a voluntary program that not everyone participates in. Plus I suppos they would want the photos of everyone in a database instead of on the card. No Thanks. No biometric id for me.

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I'm sure that the employer named in this article (San Antonio is my hometown) knows perfectly well that he's been hiring illegal aliens. But, then, it's common practice in San Antone. The illegal population has taken over the city. It seems like all available tax dollars go to programs to benefit hispanics.
The Express-News panders to the hispanic population shamelessly and constantly insults English-speaking whites in articles/commentary in their paper. We have been called "fat and lazy" and "intolerant bigots", while any hispanic is referred to in noble terms.
When that whole thing came out about Imus' remarks, the Express-News ran an article discussing the reasons why there are so many racists in our society. They had a dozen or so quotes by whites and blacks, but not a single racist quote by an hispanic---imagine that. They interviewed an hispanic professor to find out what in the world is wrong with us white folks.

Originally Posted by zeezil

Labor unions complained that IMAGE will give ruthless employers more legal muscle to quickly weed out workers looking to unionize.

Say that with a straight face. Nothing like a bit of enlightened self-interest on the part of unions to keep those "ruthless employers" in check.

Originally Posted by zeezil

They also pointed out that labor violations — federal law provides rights to all workers regardless of their immigration status — will continue since the program doesn't touch the issue.

Hmmmmmm? And which rights are those? The ones "not otherwise enumerated" in the U.S. immigration laws, 8 USC ¶12 §1154 - §1531?

Originally Posted by slantedplanet

I'm sure that the employer named in this article (San Antonio is my hometown) knows perfectly well that he's been hiring illegal aliens. But, then, it's common practice in San Antone. The illegal population has taken over the city. It seems like all available tax dollars go to programs to benefit hispanics.
The Express-News panders to the hispanic population shamelessly and constantly insults English-speaking whites in articles/commentary in their paper. We have been called "fat and lazy" and "intolerant bigots", while any hispanic is referred to in noble terms.
When that whole thing came out about Imus' remarks, the Express-News ran an article discussing the reasons why there are so many racists in our society. They had a dozen or so quotes by whites and blacks, but not a single racist quote by an hispanic---imagine that. They interviewed an hispanic professor to find out what in the world is wrong with us white folks.

This garbage is all a charade.

Here in the town where our home is, we don't have many illegals, we don't have many jobs, etc., so I'm not seeing too much.

Are there increased want ads for employees in San Antonio?

Originally Posted by nntrixie

Are there increased want ads for employees in San Antonio?

nntrixie, this mostly is not about work for which there are want ads.

It's about crews of day laborers being picked up at the convenience store next to "Little Mexico."

As for newspapers trashing English-speakers and praising the noble Hispanics, fewer and fewer English-speakers are buying newspapers. So the newspapers have to praise those who still buy their product.