Obama Plan to Audit Employers Is "Soft" Immigration Enforcement Says Lamar Smith

By Elizabeth Llorente

Published January 21, 2011

2008: Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) speaks during a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill.

Rep. Lamar Smith, the Texas Republican who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, says the Obama Administration’s plans to create an office to sniff out employers who hire illegal immigrants is deficient and will not discourage the hiring of unauthorized workers.

In a statement sent to Fox News Latino, Smith said the new auditing efforts, announced Thursday by immigration officials, “are soft enforcement at best.â€