Thread: CRACKING DOWN ON PHONY SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS NO BRAINER

Cracking down on phony Social Security numbers is a no brainer

GORDON DILLOW
Register columnist
GLDillow@aol.com

Saturday, October 13, 2007

I'll give the Irvine-based Western Growers Association this much. Unlike the ACLU and labor unions and pro-illegal immigration groups that opposed the so-called "no-match letters" program, at least the growers association admits that there actually is an illegal immigration problem.

I'll get back to the WGA later. But first the background.

Every year the Social Security Administration (SSA) handles millions of employee earnings reports in which the employee's name doesn't match the Social Security number being used. In many cases there's an innocent explanation. Maybe some digits in the number were transposed, or maybe someone changed her name after getting married and forgot to notify the SSA.

But in recent decades the number of these "no-match" cases has skyrocketed, particularly among agriculture, restaurant and "services" employees. The reason for that is simple: Millions of illegal immigrants have been using fraudulent Social Security numbers to get work – which is a felony.

For years the SSA has been sending out "no-match letters" to employers to let them know if there's a problem with an employee's Social Security records. For a responsible employer this is no problem, and it's also good for any legal employee. Since his future Social Security benefits may depend on his reported earnings, if he's not getting full credit a legal employee will want to clear it up.

But for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants, or don't care if they hire illegal immigrants, the SSA's no-match letters were simply fodder for the circular file. There was no penalty for failing to follow up on the no-match report.

So the Department of Homeland Security decided to make it a little tougher. The agency had planned to put a notice in the Social Security Administration's no-match letters advising employers that if they didn't take steps to have their no-match employees' records straightened out within 90 days, it could be used as evidence that they had knowingly hired illegal workers.

Sounds reasonable to me. After all, the warnings would only be sent to employers with 10 or more no-match employees on the payroll – which, astonishingly, is about 140,000 employers with almost 9 million employees.

And hey, if I were an employer I'd like to know if I had 10 or more guys working for me who might be committing felonies – and if they were, I'd have no problem being required to give them their walking papers.

Nevertheless, the ACLU and various labor and pro-illegal immigration groups took it to court, saying it would cause "irreparable harm" to millions of "innocent" workers and their employers.

And they won, at least for now. Last week a federal judge temporarily blocked the no-match warning letter program – a decision that was also praised by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups.

Which brings us back to the Western Growers Association.

The association represents about 3,000 farmers in California and Arizona who collectively employ up to 200,000 workers. The association says it opposed the no-match warning letters on various practical grounds: not enough time allowed for verification, excessive burdens on employers and so on.

Of course, the real reason that farmers (and restaurant owners and hotel chains and so on) oppose any employer sanctions is because illegal workers are cheap, and if they don't have them – or have equally low-paid workers from some other source – the crops will rot in the ground or on the vine and they'll go broke.

But as I said, unlike the ACLU and the pro-illegal immigrationists, at least the WGA will admit that there's a problem – and that it needs to be fixed.

"We've acknowledged for years that we have an illegal immigrant work force," says Jasper Hempel, the association executive vice president. (About 70 percent illegal, the association says.) "And for years we've been begging Congress to give us a legal workforce" through some sort of guest-worker program.

"Look, we're Americans first," Hempel says. "We want strong borders, we want enforcement (of the immigration laws)…It drives us nuts that we're caught in this predicament."

It's a predicament we're all in. Before we get too self-righteous about farmers hiring illegal immigrants, we should remember that even those of us who oppose illegal immigration are tacitly supporting it almost every time we eat a California tomato – or dine in a restaurant or stay in a hotel. Whether we like it or not, it's woven into our daily lives.

So maybe Mr. Hempel is right. Maybe some form of non-amnesty "guest worker" program would be a solution.

But in the meantime, it's hard to see how this nation can tolerate a system in which millions of people are committing felonies on a massive scale with fraudulent government documents.

And frankly, even if it causes some economic pain, it really wouldn't be that hard to make a lot of them stop.

All we'd have to do is send their bosses a letter.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7953 or GLDillow@aol.com

http://www.ocregister.com/column/illega ... -employers

glad to see someone in Cali is smart.

Here is my problem with this article:

Of course, the real reason that farmers (and restaurant owners and hotel chains and so on) oppose any employer sanctions is because illegal workers are cheap, and if they don't have them – or have equally low-paid workers from some other source – the crops will rot in the ground or on the vine and they'll go broke.

The author seems willing to bash the ACLU and the unions, but stops short of bashing the very magnet that brings them here -- the agri-business employers. And the above is their typical BS rhetoric. They do not need to have "equally low-paid workers," and crops WILL NOT "rot in the ground or on the vine." As we have seen wherever there are raids or crackdowns, American employees quickly fill the void, and the wages go up (which is the agri-business' real issue). If they can not afford it (which they can) or crops rot (which they will not) these scum bags need to act like businessmen and automate.

The author was promoting big business and a guest worker program.

Amen BearFlagRepublic, agree with you completely!
I know Americans would take their place, I have some I guess you could call them relatives through marriage back East who live in West Virginia that has alot of poor Americans, them included. There are Americans that will work, I'm sure he could find several that would.
The food will not rot, it's just that the companies can't line their pockets as much, that's all. Shame on them.

This is good information. Chertoff's immediate response to this TEMPORARY ruling last week was that "it illustrates the country's need for comprehensive immigration reform." This administration sooooo badly does not want to enforce current laws. We need to call the White House and tell them that we understand what the judge's ruling means, we don't expect DHS to throw up their hands and quit, we want a revamped policy that will accommodate this judge's objections, and we want it sooner not later. And why are these letters only going to employers with 10 or more mismatches? Maybe Blackwater can handle this predicament.

DITTO "Bear" I feel that this is a plot with the Bush admin., Chertoff and the Judges to keep from enforceing our laws and cram an immigration reform bill (amnesty) down our throat. it is nothing more than BS.

GET YOUR CALLS IN NOW ON THIS NUMBERS ACTION ALERT (LINK BELOW) WE MUST STOP SANCTUARY CITIES, NOW!!!


illegal aliens!



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But in recent decades the number of these "no-match" cases has skyrocketed, particularly among agriculture, restaurant and "services" employees. The reason for that is simple: Millions of illegal immigrants have been using fraudulent Social Security numbers to get work – which is a felony.

For years the SSA has been sending out "no-match letters" to employers to let them know if there's a problem with an employee's Social Security records. For a responsible employer this is no problem, and it's also good for any legal employee. Since his future Social Security benefits may depend on his reported earnings, if he's not getting full credit a legal employee will want to clear it up.

With everything said and done, the use of the fraudulent Social Security numbers is a felony. And, we all know what the definition of a felony is.

Immigration reform needs to be addressed, but not in terms of declaring amnesty.

So DHS can not attach the penalty letter. Does that mean Social Security CAN NOT mail the no match letters, as they have for many years. Does anyone know if the injuction blocks the no match letters entirely?

Why can't we force Social Security Dept to notify CITIZENS when a number is being used in more than one location? Take the employer and employee out of the process. Let AMERICAN TAXPAYER'S clear up any problems with their numbers being used. Just like a Credit report. If something "doesn't match", we can prove who the real social security number belongs to and file a complaint against whoever else is using our number.

I know this won't stop the problem of made up numbers or numbers of the deceased but the SOCIAL SECURITY system must be protected and they must ALLOW AMERICAN TAXPAYER"S TO PROTECT THEIR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. sorry for shouting.........

[quote]I know this won't stop the problem of made up numbers or numbers of the deceased but the SOCIAL SECURITY system must be protected and they must ALLOW AMERICAN TAXPAYER"S TO PROTECT THEIR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. sorry for shouting.........[/quote


This would not stop the numbers that are made up. But, social security numbers of deceased can be run through database. The database should be able to should be able to show whether a number is active or inactive(such as deceased). If a number comes up deceased an investigation needs to be initiated.

Originally Posted by Cakers

But in recent decades the number of these "no-match" cases has skyrocketed, particularly among agriculture, restaurant and "services" employees. The reason for that is simple: Millions of illegal immigrants have been using fraudulent Social Security numbers to get work – which is a felony.

For years the SSA has been sending out "no-match letters" to employers to let them know if there's a problem with an employee's Social Security records. For a responsible employer this is no problem, and it's also good for any legal employee. Since his future Social Security benefits may depend on his reported earnings, if he's not getting full credit a legal employee will want to clear it up.

With everything said and done, the use of the fraudulent Social Security numbers is a felony. And, we all know what the definition of a felony is.

Immigration reform needs to be addressed, but not in terms of declaring amnesty.

Felony....Go to jail, do not pass go and do not collect 200 dollars!!! No amnesty!!