WASHINGTON, Aug. 14, 2007
U.S. Businesses Worry As Border Tightens
Crackdown On Illegal Immigrants Has Construction Firms And Farms Concerned For Future
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A worker from Mexico picks oranges on a citrus farm in Arcadia, Fla. (AP Photo)
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As the nation's recent passport debacle showed, dealing with any U.S. government bureaucracy can be a daunting task, critics say.
"A lot of burden will fall on the employee to fight the government bureaucracy to figure out what went wrong," says Jenna Hamilton, a spokeswoman for the National Association of Home Builders. "There's a lot of concern in the employer community that there may be legitimate reasons for a mismatch, but you may end up terminating people who are eligible to work because they have not been able to navigate the bureaucracy."
In the run-up to Senate votes on a comprehensive immigration reform, President Bush often said that enforcement alone would not solve the nation's border crisis.
Since January 2007, more than 1,400 immigration bills have been submitted by state lawmakers to deal with enforcement, and 170 have become law. But many of these laws face court challenges. The resulting confusion is also bad for business and communities, critics say.
"States and localities are moving because they view the federal government largely as incompetent when it comes to border security," says Bruce Josten, executive vice president for government affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which lobbied for comprehensive immigration reform.
The new federal crackdown "will have teeth on any work site that they care to go," he adds. "We saw 20 to 30 percent of the nation's fruits and vegetables die on the vine last year, when the crackdown was only on the border. It's happening again this year. And now they're going to the farms."
Immigration activists and unions representing the service industry say the new enforcement moves will drive illegal workers deeper into the shadows. "We must ask why this president, who supports immigrants and workers when it's politically expedient, would consider using precious federal resources to tear up families, militarize work sites, and hurt local communities," says Eliseo Medina, executive vice president of the Service Employees International Union.
The no-match crackdown is aimed at people who are trying to do the right thing: paying taxes and Social Security, he adds. "I'm hoping Congress will step up to the plate and say this procedure is unworkable."
Some Republicans called the administration's immigration enforcement plan encouraging. "Americans want to know that the government is serious about enforcing our borders and reducing illegal immigration," said Sen. Jon Kyl (R) of Arizona, one of the sponsors of comprehensive immigration reform, in a statement.
Some key provisions:
Border security
DHS plans to implement the following measures by Dec. 31, 2008:
It will also seek to ensure that 1,700 more Border Patrol agents are added in 2009.
Work site enforcement
The Social Security Administration will send an employer a 'no-match' letter when an employer has a number of employees with inaccurate personal identity information. Employers may be held liable if they fail to take certain steps within 90 days.
DHS will raise civil fines by about 25 percent on employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.
The administration will require all federal contractors and vendors to use the federal electronic employment verification system to ensure that their employees are authorized to work in the US.
Streamlining guest-worker programs
The administration will review regulations implementing seasonal worker programs 'to ensure an orderly and timely flow of legal workers.'
Source: DHS fact sheet: Improving Border Security and Immigration Within Existing Law — www.dhs.gov
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