| Ianus |
08-02-2007 04:56 PM |
ICE to step up enforcement at the work-site
I know there has been a lot of bad news lately but I think everyone should take a look at this.The Bush Administration looks as though it will be taking the gloves off ICE since the compromise fell apart.Specifically,DHS seems to be proposing a new more aggressive rule with regard to mis-matched Name & Social Security numbers.I'm just letting everyone know to be careful,since this is the closest we have gotten to Dream act's passage.
Quote:
The Department of Homeland Security is expected to make public soon new rules for employers notified when their worker's name or Social Security number was flagged by the Social Security Administration.
The rule, as initially drafted, requires employers to fire people who can't be verified as a legal worker and can't resolve within 60 days why the name or Social Security number on their W-2 doesn't match the government's database.
Employers who don't comply could face fines of $250 to $10,000 per illegal worker and incident.
"There's a lot of fear and anxiety about what this rule is going to mean, particularly in the agricultural sector," said Craig Regelbrugge, spokesman for the American Nursery and Landscape Association and co-chairman of the Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform.
The Social Security Administration has sent "no match" letters to workers and their employers notifying them of the information discrepancies for years. Its goal has been to make sure money withheld from a person's paycheck is credited to the correct worker.......
........But those who don't comply with the new rule could be deemed as knowingly hiring an illegal worker.
The Homeland Security Department says the new rule provides guidance to employers on how to deal with workers who receive no match letters and give those who comply "safe harbor" if illegal workers are found at their business in an investigation or raid, said Russ Knocke, Homeland Security department spokesman.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a division of the Homeland Security Department, "is going to be tough and aggressive in the enforcement of the law," Knocke said. "You are going to see more work site cases. And no more excuses."
The administration trotted out the stepped-up enforcement plan last summer, but put it on hold while the Senate debated an immigration reform bill.
That bill would have granted a chance at legal status for the estimated 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants in the country and created a temporary worker program. It also would have required employers to verify the status of all their workers.
After the bill collapsed in Congress, employers started bracing for the tougher rule.
"Congress didn't act. They didn't do what they needed to do on comprehensive immigration reform. Now there's going to be some pain to pay, and Congress is not going to feel the pain right away, it's the communities (of employees) and that's a real shame," said Laura Reiff
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