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Homeland Security Targets Illegal Immigrant Employers
While the Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to renew debate on comprehensive immigration reform this week that would call for strict border security and interior enforcement coupled with a guest worker program, the Administration is already taking action to beef up enforcement strategy and to crack down on the hiring of illegal immigrants.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on April 20 announced the results of the “largest single work site enforcement operation against a company in American history.” In a raid that spanned 26 states, federal officials arrested seven managers and nearly 1,200 illegal employees of IFCO Systems, a major provider of pallet services in the U.S.
At a news conference detailing the unprecedented sting operation, Chertoff unveiled a comprehensive immigration enforcement strategy that he said would expand existing efforts to target employers of illegal aliens and immigration violators inside the U.S.
A press release issued by Homeland Security said that the primary objectives are to “reverse the tolerance of illegal employment and illegal immigration in the United States.”
The three primary goals of the government initiative are to:
- Identify and remove criminal aliens, immigration fugitives and other immigration violators from this country
- Build strong work site enforcement and compliance programs to deter illegal employment in this country
- Uproot the criminal infrastructures at home and abroad that support illegal immigration, including human smuggling and trafficking organizations and document-benefit fraud organizations
As part of its enforcement efforts, Chertoff said that the Department of Homeland Security will urge the Congress for legal authority to obtain routine access to Social Security data in order to detect workers who attempt to supply employers with false Social Security numbers. The agency will also seek to develop an administrative regulatory program to provide clearer guidance to employers.
With lawmakers back in Washington following their two-week spring recess, NAHB continues to work with members of the Senate to craft a meaningful reform bill that would:
- Create an efficient, temporary guest worker program that allows employers to recruit legal immigrant workers when there is a shortage of domestic workers
- Provide for increased national security and control of the nation's borders, without mandating verification burdens and requirements on employers
- Ensure that U.S. workers are not displaced by foreign workers
- Create an immigration system that functions efficiently for employers, workers and government agencies
The House on Dec. 16 passed a strict immigration bill (H.R. 4437, the "Border Protection, Antiterrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act") that is opposed by NAHB and would focus on border security and punitive enforcement penalties for employers. It does not include a guest worker program that would help meet the workforce needs of NAHB members nationwide.
To read legislation, click here and enter the bill number in the box at the center of the page.
For more information, e-mail Jenna Morgan Hamilton at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8407.
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