'No-match' letters still pending, officials say; U.S. wants to reinstate warnings to employers
By: EDWARD SIFUENTES - North County Times | ∞
The federal government is looking for a way to reinstate a plan to send written warnings to employers it suspects of hiring illegal immigrants.
The Department of Homeland Security planned to start sending letters to employers in September, but U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer blocked it last month after civil, labor and business organizations sued the government.
Officials at the Department of Homeland said the agency may rewrite the rule to eliminate some concerns from the judge, who said the plan would impose hardships on businesses and the workers.
"We're currently seeing what we can do to address the concerns that the judge entered in order to see whether we can get the injunction lifted, and then go forward with this regulation," Michael Chertoff, Homeland Security secretary, told Congress earlier this month.
Labor groups and others filed the lawsuit challenging the plan, saying it would put a heavy burden on employers and could cause many legal immigrants and U.S. citizens to lose their jobs over innocent paperwork glitches.
The government argued that the rule doesn't impose a heavy burden on employers and that some businesses oppose the plan because they want to avoid liability for hiring undocumented workers.
Each year, the Social Security Administration sends letters to about 140,000 employers pointing out problems between the information sent by the employers and the information in its database. The letters involve an estimated 8 million workers each year, according to the Social Security Administration.
Much of the mismatched information is often attributed to illegal immigrant workers, who use false information to gain employment.
Under a new regulation, the so-called "no-match" letters from the Social Security Administration would include a letter from the Department of Homeland Security explaining that employers risk criminal and civil sanctions by hiring illegal immigrants.
It would also include what it called "safe harbor" steps that businesses can take to avoid being held responsible and are meant to protect employers who attempt to comply with the letter. The employer would have 90 days to resolve any problems.
However, Breyer said in his ruling that:
n the "safe harbor" steps were too strict and could result in legal workers being fired from their jobs;
n the rule went too far, saying employers who followed those steps could not be sued for discrimination;
n the department did not follow proper procedures in issuing a regulation that would result in substantial impact to businesses.
Immigration attorneys said the government may change the language and eliminate some provisions to reflect the judge's ruling and reintroduce the regulation.
"My best guess is that the Department of Homeland Security will go back to the drawing board and change what it thinks will satisfy the judge's concerns," said Carl Borden, associate counsel for the California Farm Bureau Federation.
Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, an organization that supports tighter immigration controls, said he was skeptical whether the Bush Administration would push to enforce the regulation and whether changing it would render it toothless.
"We don't really know whether they're all that serious," Krikorian said.
Earlier this month, a group of more than 80 representatives, including Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Solana Beach, introduced the Secure America with Verification and Enforcement Act, a bill that includes a provision requiring employers to verify their employees' status through a federal database.
After efforts in Congress to reform immigration laws failed earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security decided to use current laws to bolster immigration enforcement, including the new work site rules.
Chertoff said the changes have been effective, pointing to statistics such as an increase in work site arrests. Since 2002, arrests at workplaces have increased from 485 to over 4,000 this year.
Immigration attorneys have said the government's efforts are also making employers nervous.
Earlier this year, the founder and a vice president of Golden State Fence Co. - one of California's largest fence-building companies with offices in Oceanside and Riverside -- were sentenced to probation and large fines for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.
"This has been an incredibly effective strategy of really putting the fear of God into employers," said Laura Lichter, a Denver-based immigration attorney.
On Friday, a spokesman for the Social Security Administration said the agency will not issue no-match letters to employers this year. The letters are typically sent out in batches starting in March or April, according to spokesman Mark Hinkle.
Due to the lawsuit, the letters were delayed. The administration needed to make revisions and will not start sending them out until about February or March, Hinkle said.
Contact staff writer Edward Sifuentes at (760) 740-3511 or esifuentes@nctimes.com.
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Democrat Robert wrote on Nov 18, 2007 9:59 AM:More obstructions from the ACLU and Union attorneys ... lets get them out of the way and get on with enforcement.. my gosh these democrats sure want the latino vote dont they? Rep Bilbray sure has them ducking for cover as his SAVE bill will force this liberal garbage to plain view for all of us to see clearly. Enforcement now please!
In 1972 wrote on Nov 18, 2007 10:07 AM:I was hired by Pacific Telphone Co. I had to produce my birth certificate to prove I was a U.S. citizen as well as my social security card. The key phrase here is BIRTH CERTIFCATE. Is this no longer acceptable? Or is this another item that is faked?
winza wrote on Nov 18, 2007 10:26 AM:The letters would be pointless if they meet the Judges needs. The Judge is apparently saying that the Federal Government does not have the right to enforce the laws Congress wrote regarding immigration if they "impose hardships on business and workers." The real question should be: Does the need for the law override the hardships it causes to bussiness and those legally entitled to employement in the US. "Officials at the Department of Homeland said the agency may rewrite the rule to eliminate some concerns from the judge, who said the plan would impose hardships on businesses and the workers."
JanetP wrote on Nov 18, 2007 10:26 AM:What an insane system! One activist judge can overcome the will of millions of people.
The issue is this. wrote on Nov 18, 2007 11:09 AM:The vast majority of business owners are Republicans. They have a lot of money. Illegals are good for them. Easy to exploit, etc. They will see to it that nothing comes between them and financial riches. It's simple arithmetic. Get it?
Alf wrote on Nov 18, 2007 11:29 AM:Heaven forbid, "JanetP" at 10:26AM, that a judge use the law to deal with a case before him. If the will of the people does not comply with the law, there are proper channels to go through, but the judge is only an "activist" if that judge strays from the law or precedent. Try again. Regards, Alf.
Give me a break!! wrote on Nov 18, 2007 11:55 AM:It seems to me 90 days is long enough for legal residents to take care of a paper work glitch!! And as far as the illegals we have seen at our business, when they get no match letters, they come back the next day with a new SSN.
Ridiculous wrote on Nov 18, 2007 12:28 PM:What a compleet waste of time with the letter scenario. If you have strong suspicions and irrefutable proof that an employer is has illegals on his payroll, what the hell's wrong with a good old fashion raid by the INS and Border Patrol? Bring the whole damned cavalry along with a couple of buses to physically remove these people, and transport them to a processing center for immdiate deportation!
Crickett wrote on Nov 18, 2007 12:39 PM:Democrats want their votes, Republicans want to hire them. I want a job in higher education admin support but most positions in my home state of Massachusett openly state that Spanish language skills preferred. Why? English is spoken exclusively in these institutions. Is that not blatant discrimination against the vast majority of applicants who are native Americans and are not bilingual? How are they getting away with it?
Skip wrote on Nov 18, 2007 1:09 PM:It must be Sunday. Edward's stories are back.
RG wrote on Nov 18, 2007 1:35 PM:So labor groups said "it would put a heavy burden on employers..." Well I don't feel sorry for employers who have been getting rich off illegal workers while the taxpayers are getting ripped off! If "innocent paperwork glitches" can't be fixed in 90 days for a legal citizen caught up in the rules, somebody is sleeping on the job. It's way past time to put national security and immigration laws ahead of illegals and greedy employers who have been thumbing their noses at taxpayers and laws.
JH wrote on Nov 18, 2007 2:03 PM:These people cry about states/locals enforcing immigration laws. They say only the Feds should enforce immigration laws. However, as you can see, once the feds begin enforcing the law, these idiots start to cry and run to the courts. All I have to say is run and hide illegals. The free ride is over.
Skip wrote on Nov 18, 2007 2:26 PM: Forget carpooling. I have been doing it for 10 years now and it does not work. Gasoline getting scarce and going up in price? How about our water supply? Got Water? Electricity? What about California taxpayer supported programs such as education, K- College? Plenty of hospitals, medical insurance, and medical? These situations have only gotten worse during the 2,000's. Guess what? Our population is skyrocketing and being driven by immigration! Want to conserve our natural resources, and get our society back on track? Well it is way past time to secure our borders, and take back control of our country and its destiny.
Whats the big deal wrote on Nov 18, 2007 3:03 PM:I got a "NO INSURANCE...and we are going to suspend your registration" letter from the DMV stating that my truck was uninsured (even though it has been insured to the hilt continuously for the past ten years). A five minute phone call to my insurance company got the problem cleared up. Same thing happened with my other (newly purchased) vehicle a week ago....just placed a 5 minute call and that was cleared up as well. Will the employee verification be any different or more time consuming?? ....I don't think so!!
Mary wrote on Nov 18, 2007 4:12 PM:When I go to workout at 24 Houre Fitness, before I enter I key in a ten digit number of my choosing and then place either of my index fingers on a scanner and within seconds it finds my membership record, unlocks the turnstile and I can then enter the gym. A lady I know with small children has a similar device hooded to her PC she uses to keep her small children from getting on the internet when shen is not around to supervise them. In other words, there is technology readily available today that would allow people to be instantly verified. Imagine if this was in use for using credit cards or applying for credit. This would make a major dent in Identy theft which I understand is hitting the americans with spanish surnames dispropotionately due to so many illegals using false documents. We woould have to be willing to be fingerprinted but that already happens in California when you get a drivers license and I imagine that this may also be the case with many other states. With a system like this in place, we could then issue Guest Worker Permits that would allow workers to go back and forth freely over the border and we would know who is here. Taxes could be collected on paychecks - even Mexican or other country social security taxes. Health insurance premiums collected. All kinds of problems could be solved with a tamper proof bio-ID system.
to Janet P 10: 26 am wrote on Nov 18, 2007 5:36 PM:We have three activist judges on the supreme court who want to overturn the Constitution of the United States. Judge Roberts flat out lied to the Senate committee when he swore he respected and would uphold precedent. He was nominated because he is an activist judge and he will be a danger to the Republic for years and years to come!
nntrixie wrote on Nov 19, 2007 1:26 AM:This seems silly to me. I am so jaded, I think the government may have consulted a judge before announcing this program and wrote it in such a way it would have something to stop it. Then they can say, 'See, we are trying.' Well, they aren't trying; they haven't been trying for two decades now. II do think the arrests and raids are jokes. They certainly are not cost effective. With much less time and manpower, there are workplaces they could raid that would net several hundred - perhaps - thousands - so why are they working on smaller fish? So they can alert the media and say they are doing something? Just my thoughts, but I feel like they are probably going either after smaller fish that don't donate anyway - or whose donations are so small they don't matter - or who donated to the wrong candidate. Also, I have a feeling they alert the media every time they are going to make a raid so they can get the sob stories all fixed in advance. I also think they alert Mexico - so Mexico can get its outrage worked up and go on TV.
jack d wrote on Nov 27, 2007 3:04 PM:How can the judge interfere with writing letters which state the facts of the law. Lets get that 8 million (people) on board or get them out of here. There shouldn't be an underground society with an underground economy living and operating among us. United we stand, divided we fall.
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