Thread: Government goes after identity fakers

Government goes after identity fakers
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/st ... _0811.html
By EUNICE MOSCOSO
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/11/07

Washington — The Bush administration on Friday announced a broad crackdown on illegal immigration, including increased fines or criminal prosecution for companies that hire illegal workers.

The rules drew heavy criticism from immigrant advocates, labor unions and business groups. But they received cautious praise from conservatives, who have long advocated using existing laws to crack down on undocumented border crossers.

Under the new rules, a company that ignores warning letters about employees with potentially fake Social Security numbers could be fined up to $10,000 per employee or face criminal prosecution.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the fines would increase by about another 25 percent and that the number of investigators would also go up.

"The magnet that brings most economic migrants into this country is work. And if we have work site enforcement directed at illegal employment, we strike at that magnet," he said at a news conference.

President Bush said in a statement that the administration was acting after Congress failed this year to pass a White House-backed measure that would have created a guest worker program and given illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.

"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," he said.

Businesses faced with having to fire thousands of workers are likely to increase pressure on Congress to pass such reforms.

In a session with Spanish-speaking reporters after the news conference, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said he hoped the enforcement measures would convince people that broader immigration reform is necessary.

"There is no doubt that there are people suffering only because they want to work," Gutierrez said in a somber tone. "The only solution is to reform the law."

Gutierrez also said that to lessen the impact on businesses, the administration would streamline and improve temporary visa programs that allow foreign workers to come to the United States for agricultural and other seasonal jobs.

Under the new employer regulations — which go into effect in one month — employers who receive so-called "no-match" letters that identify discrepancies in a worker's tax records will have 90 days to resolve the problem.

The reason could be a clerical error or a name change because of marriage, but such irregularities often suggest the employees may be using a phony Social Security number to qualify for work.

If legal status can't be confirmed within 90 days, the employee must be fired.

"These guidelines will make it more difficult for illegal aliens to use a fraudulent Social Security number to get a job, and will help employers take appropriate action to protect themselves," Chertoff said.

Chertoff also announced that the Bush administration will eventually require government contractors to use an employment system called E-Verify that helps them verify whether an applicant or employee is in the United States legally. He said it soon will include a feature to let an employer check photos on an employee's documents against 14 million images in Department of Homeland Security databases.

The system — previously known as Basic Pilot — is currently voluntary. Requiring contractors to use it involves changing federal rules on contracting, which could take months, Chertoff said.

The administration also announced several border enforcement measures. By the end of 2008, it said, it will have 370 miles of fencing along the Mexican border, 300 miles of vehicle barriers, 105 camera and radar towers, and 18,300 Border Patrol agents.

The Department of Homeland Security also announced plans to reduce the number of documents acceptable for employees to confirm a worker's identity and to expand the list of organized gangs from foreign countries to ensure their members are not allowed to enter the United States.

The Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform, which includes 300 agriculture business groups from around the country, said the department is offering "Band-Aid" solutions that will not fix the problem.

"Agricultural employers are desperate for a legal work force for the current harvest season. Farm workers cannot suffer another year living in the shadows of our society," the coalition said in a statement.

Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.), who chairs the House Immigration Reform Caucus, said he is cautiously optimistic about the new efforts. "Ultimately, the devil is in the details, but if the administration follows through with the promises they are making today, we can demonstrate to the American people that we are finally getting serious about addressing illegal immigration," he said.

Chertoff said:

"The magnet that brings most economic migrants into this country is work. And if we have work site enforcement directed at illegal employment, we strike at that magnet,"

Well now isn't he a bright one! What has ALIPAC, Numbers USA and ALL other grassroots groups been saying about this all along? Enforcement works, DUH Chertoff. So I love how he says this like this is something he just came up with. Unbelievable.

Huh... I'll say that again Huh!!!!

maybe these goof balls dont understand the basic principles of this country and the rule of law.

King George W. and his court jester Chertoff have twisted and contorted the law for so long most of the Illegal Immigrant community and La Raza is going through a little Shock therapy

I still believe there is an agenda by Kind George; he is hoping that the government is so ruthless in enforcing the law it pull's at the American public's heart and divides us once again to give him what he wants... a pathway to citizenship

How bout this:
- Illegals removed from this formerly great country
- King George kicked off the throne
- Chertoff fired and thrown into jail for breaking the laws he was payed to enforce (can anybody tell me what exactly is in his job description) better yet; does he know What a goof ball
- La Raza expelled to Mexico; or what ever goofy country will take them

- Any thoughts for the chamber of Commerce
- McCain
- Kyle
- Kennedy
- Mel Martinez (Florida) besides Re-call were working on that

Ban them all from ever holding ANY public office again. Yes, deport La Raza to some Central American country, and they can lobby those governments for the rights of "their" people there. Would love to see the results of that!!!

Steam comes out my ears when they keep saying we need immigration reform when they really mean we want open borders.

we need our laws upheld which they have never been and illegals will go home but they keep hanging the carrot out there saying congress must pass immigration reform.

It sounds like they are doing this so congress will do their biding and pass a shamnesty bill.

Fake IDs catch up to laborers
Bush administration to crack down on Social Security fraud by targeting immigrants, employers

By Javier Erik Olvera
SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS
Contra Costa Times
http://www.mercurynews.com/crime/ci_6600777
Article Launched:08/11/2007 03:02:39 AM PDT

WATSONVILLE -- Eleuterio knew it was against the law when he sneaked into the United States 11 years ago and used someone else's Social Security number to find work.
For years, the 26-year-old, along with millions of other illegal laborers, escaped the eyes of government enforcers, buttressing the nation's agriculture industry by doing, as he put it, "the work nobody else wants to do."

Friday, illegal laborers became the focal point of the Bush administration's newest push against illegal immigration, a sweeping effort to step up enforcement of the nation's existing rules set to begin next month.

Authorities are promising a widespread crackdown, concentrating on Social Security fraud with new scrutiny for workers who use bogus numbers and increased fines against those who employ them. To avoid those higher fines, employers must fire any employees whose numbers can't be verified within 90 days of being notified.

The announcement has revived the immigration debate and sent ripples from Washington, D.C., to the Salinas Valley. At least half -- and as many as 80 percent -- of the United States' estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants have used false paperwork to secure jobs.

"This is going to hurt everyone," said Eleuterio, a strawberry picker and father of two who didn't want his last name used.

The push comes two months after Congress failed to pass President Bush's proposed immigration overhaul, a package of laws that would have tightened borders, clamped down on employers and set up a series of guest-worker programs.

Instead, the administration pushed forward by looking at other tools to crack down on immigration without a decision from lawmakers. The hope, said Michael Chertoff and Carlos Gutierrez, secretaries of Homeland Security and Commerce, respectively, is to put the onus on Congress to take up reforms once again. Other provisions include tighter border control, a system to track deportations and reduced processing times for immigrant background checks.

Although some conservative groups such as the Federation for American Immigration Reform, lauded the decision, saying it would be welcomed by a population tired of watching illegal immigrants and their employers go unchallenged, labor experts and others warned of economic devastation.

"It doesn't deal with the reality of the service needs of this state, which depends heavily on illegal immigration," said Mike Garcia, president of the local Service Employees International Union. "If you try to remove these people, whole industries would go belly under."

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, noted that although the White House is enforcing laws already on the books, reforming those laws would have been the best solution.

"The impact is apt to be a significant one in several aspects of the economy," she said.

The Social Security Administration each year analyzes millions of Social Security numbers that for several reasons, including fraud and human error, don't match names provided by employers.

About 8.6 million "no match" letters will soon go out to employees across the country for the 2006 tax year, said Lowell Kepke, spokesman for the office's San Francisco branch. Social Security earnings for those workers -- billions of dollars a year -- are placed in a holding fund until it can be determined where the money should go. The pot of unclaimed earnings now tallies about $585 billion.

Industry leaders -- chiefly in the agriculture, construction and service fields -- began to brace themselves this week for a rocky transition after officials indicated a crackdown would be announced.

The state's $32 billion agricultural industry, which relies on immigrants to make up a majority of the 450,000 employees it needs each harvest, would be among the hardest hit. Experts estimate that as many as 70 percent of farm workers use false paperwork -- known in the fields as "papeles chuecos" -- to receive their weekly checks.

"It will result in a loss of perishable crop," said Bob Perkins, executive director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau, adding that the bureau's 500 members would adhere to the laws.

The Salinas Valley, where the farm bureau is based, is home to what he calls "full-time workers" who have jobs tending farms year-round because of the various crops that are grown.

He predicts the region -- home to vast lettuce and strawberry fields -- will initially be fine because a large number of laborers in the region live there legally. But he anticipates those workers will be in high demand for other jobs and eventually be enticed from the fields by industries offering higher wages and less-grueling work.

California's restaurant industry also expects a blow to its workforce, which studies show has a high number of undocumented immigrants, although the amount is unclear.

"It's going to cause a serious issue given the tightening of the California labor market," said Jot Condie, president and chief executive officer of the California Restaurant Association.

Friday morning, Condie said, he received a document from the Department of Homeland Security outlining the stricter sanctions against employers who hire illegal immigrants.

"It's burdensome for the employer," he said, "because they're being asked to do some of the enforcement work for the Department of Homeland Security."

Labor expert Katie Quan said federal leaders have failed to consider the fallout from the new push: With millions of people losing their jobs, employers will scramble to fill behind them -- and that will lead to a new influx of people crossing the border illegally.

"Why enforce now?" asked Quan, associate chairwoman of UC Berkeley's Center for Labor Research and Education.

For Eleuterio, who has spent years looking over his shoulder, the concern now is for his 6-year-old son. The boy, who was born here, has already started school, and Eleuterio said he doesn't want to pull him out. It wouldn't be fair to the boy, he said, and to his future.

"This is going to ruin families," Eleuterio said.

San Jose Mercury News Staff Writer Jennifer Martinez and the Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Javier Erik Olvera at jolvera@sanjosemercurynews.com or 408-920-5704.