www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-us-immigration-employers,0,3943076..story
SUZANNE GAMBOA
Associated Press Writer
2:37 PM CST, November 19, 2009
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Homeland Security Department will give a seal of approval to businesses volunteering to use an electronic program to check workers’ immigration status.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Thursday the public should know which companies are following the law. The problem is, the program known as E-Verify is still under development, and the law does not require employers to use it. They are required to use a paper system.
In addition, some businesses that use E-Verify have been found to have hired undocumented workers who used stolen, fraudulent or borrowed documents. ICE announced later it plans to audit the hiring records of another 1,000 employers. The audits are based on investigations and intelligence and include some businesses connected to public safety and national security, ICE said.
About 169,000 of the nation’s 7 million employers use E-Verify. Napolitano made the announcement at an meeting with employers about immigration enforcement in Washington.
Telling the public who uses E-Verify “will let consumers know which businesses are working hard to follow the law and are committed to protecting employment opportunities,” Napolitano said.
The approval seal Napolitano unveiled says in large letters “I E-Verify,” with a waving American flag. Below, in smaller letters, the label says “This business uses E-Verify in its hiring processes to achieve a lawful work force.”
Although DHS has been working to shrink the error rate of E-Verify, the program does sometimes flag legal workers as illegal. The program also cannot determine if someone is using bogus documents.
Congress gave DHS $137 million to run E-Verify and authorized it to operate for another three years. Chris Rhatigan, a spokeswoman for Citizenship and Immigration Services, said that will allow the system to make checks on 65 million employees.
An attempt to make the program permanent was rejected but is likely to be proposed again as part of the Democrats’ immigration reform bill.
“There is no doubt that a major part of any reform bill will be to make sure that employers are held accountable for maintaining a legal work force,” Napolitano said.
Immigration lawyer Scott Wright of Minneapolis, who attended the meeting, said the E-Verify seal “is grooming the business community and the public to get into the mindset” of what is to come.
Rep. Lamar Smith, ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, criticized DHS’ enforcement record, saying DHS statistics show a dramatic increase in audits and significant drops in criminal arrests, criminal indictments, criminal convictions and administrative arrests. There has been a 317 percent increase in audits.
“Audits may result in fines, but most companies consider them a cost of doing business,” Smith said in a statement.
According to ICE, it has assessed $2.3 million in fines against 61 businesses this year. The total is not final because the businesses can negotiate the fines.
House Immigration Subcommittee Ranking Member Steve King R-IA, with Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lamar Smith R-TX led a forum, questioning whether all immigration should be stopped–legal and illegal, until the country was back from unemployment insolvency. E-Verify could become mandatory if NumbersUSA President Roy Beck’s urgent plea be recognized by Congressional conferees, who listened intently to the horrendous jobless statistics of American workers. Evidence was provided that unemployment was steadily climbing, beyond a 12.8 rate and millions of people were looking to the US government for relief of some kind? Within a group of professionals and academic groups testifying was Dr. Steven Camarota, Vanderbilt Political Science professor Dr. Carol Swain, and Jerry Kammer an investigative reporter with the Copley News Service.
Kammer stated,” Here is strong evidence that the company had a preference for illegal immigrants because they were more likely to accept low wages and poor conditions and they were vulnerable to what a federal court called the company’s “intense and widespread coercion” aimed at defeating the union’s organizing efforts.” This has become widespread problem throughout the US, which seems to be accepted by many politicians. He also described the aftermath of raids at Swift six plants. He said, “All six facilities resumed work on the day of the raids, though at a reduced pace. To replenish its depleted ranks, Swift launched a campaign to recruit American citizens, green card holders, and refugees. It raised wages, provided bonuses to new workers, and paid relocation expenses. As a result, all the Swift plants were able to resume full production within four or five months. Kammer also detailed the industries’ response to the ICE raids that provided an opportunity to test the claim, often heard in the immigration discussions which many US companies have to employ illegal immigrants because Americans are unwilling to do the work? Kammer however, observed that the raids had a profound traumatic experience for the illegal families that were affected by the raids. BUT IT IS ALSO MADE CLEAR THAT ENFORCEMENT HAD A POSITIVE EFFECT IN THE LIVES OF AMERICAN CITIZENS AND PERMANENT RESIDENTS WHO NEEDED AND WANTED THE JOBS—ANY JOBS?
The group all determined that unemployment in American was so bad that all jobs being held by unauthorized employees, if vacated by enforcement, would be filled readily? Dr. Swain’s testimony focused on the impact of immigration, specifically illegal immigration, had on Black and Hispanic Americans who were in the legal workforce? Dr. Camarota’s testimony focused on the fact that there is no evidence of a worker shortage at the bottom end of the labor market. He also said that there is a huge supply of less-educated workers, and it’s that group that’s been most affected by the current job recession. Kammer’s testimony had focused on the positive impact that work-site enforcement raids have had on American workers. He talked about how the raid at the world’s largest pork processing plant in Smithfield, North Carolina freed up jobs for African Americans. It seems that, “jobs Americans won’t do anymore” doesn’t hold water? As Krammer added, “I was frequently told by current and former Swift workers, these are jobs Americans are willing to do–if they are provided decent wages and working conditions.”
In final deliberations Kammer stated, “We have often heard from farmers in California and Arizona that if they improved wages enough to attract legal labor, Americans would be confronted with the $5 head of lettuce. But agricultural economist Philip Martin destroyed that myth by showing that since fieldworkers’ wages account for only six percent of the retail cost of lettuce and other crops, their wages could rise sharply without a major effect at the checkout counter. Similarly, the labor of meatpacking workers accounts for only seven to nine percent of the retail cost of beef and pork. So if wages were increased by a third, the cost at the grocery story would only rise by three percent, at the most.”
Unequivocally we must recall that when Comprehensive Immigration Reform was passed in 1986, that millions in agriculture and other poorly paid industry labor vanished, to only reappear in the mainstream of the job market, taking jobs from low-skilled blacks, Caucasian and Hispanic workers. Employment normally open to senior citizens, students, single mothers, veterans suddenly disappeared, given as it was to the newcomers. E-VERIFY WILL NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN? E-Verify will not be the whole answer, but random checks by Police using the 287(G) police law, to be trained in immigration rules of apprehension are a strong counterpart? Then a much more streamlined E-Verify will deliver a nationwide commitment of ICE and immigration audits to do random checks on any business. It would keep pariah employers looking over their shoulder for agents of ICE. Popularity has grown with each upgrade of E-Verify and the need for expensive deportation could be a thing of the past? Penalties should not be lenient anymore and those employers, who take the risk of knowingly hiring illegal workers, should be dealt with severely.
In this disastrous recession our politicians must be savoring being unemployed themselves, if they force America into another Amnesty. How can they even conceive such an idea when so many of the legal population is wondering how they are going to feed their family? Every last one of them must be hounded down and told, DO NOT SIGN ON FOR A 2009-10 AMNESTY? THERE WILL BE NASTY REPERCUSSION IN THE VOTING BOOTH, STARTING WITH SENATOR HARRY REID OF NEVADA NEXT YEAR? MAJORITY SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI WILL BE CLOSE BEHIND FOR THE WRECKING BALL? Warn all politicians at 202-224-3121, or go to their offices in person. Read about corruption and sanctuary city policies at JUDICIAL WATCH. CAPWEB, ALIPAC, CAPSWEB, AMERICAN PATROL & THE DARK SIDE OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. Tell them E-Verify must be made permanent, to start the “ATTRITION” enforcement procedure for every illegal worker in America? What can you do for AMERICA? YOU CAN USE YOUR VOTE! VOTING–OUT SEN. HARRY REID WILL BE A GOOD START AND ALARM THEM ALL! We cannot afford overpopulation growth, or corrupt politicians pandering to illegal immigrant and open border proponents anymore?