Briefing on Immigration Enforcement and Border Security Efforts

Excerpted from press release:
Remarks by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Attorney General Mukasey at a Briefing on Immigration Enforcement and Border Security Efforts
Release Date: February 22, 2008

Secretary Chertoff:

In fiscal year 2007, ICE made 863 criminal arrests including 92 individuals who were in the employer/supervisory chain. We also made over 4,000 administrative arrests. Most of these arrests are for identity theft. And identity theft is not only a crime with respect to immigration laws, but it is a crime that hurts real people.

Let me give you some examples, some specific real-life examples of what we have done in the last year with respect to employer and employee work site enforcement actions. On February 7 of this year, 57 illegal aliens were arrested during a work site enforcement operation conducted at Universal Industrial Sales in Lindon, Utah. ICE forwarded roughly 30 cases to the Utah County Attorneys Office for criminal prosecution for offenses such as identity theft, forgery and document fraud. And the U.S. Attorney also unsealed two indictments charging a company and its human resources director with harboring illegal aliens and inducing or encouraging them to stay in the U.S. illegally.

In January of this year, a federal jury convicted a former human resources director at a poultry plant in Butterfield, Missouri of harboring an illegal alien and inducing an illegal alien to enter or reside in the U.S. Under federal statues this person faces up to 10 years in prison without parole. Another formal employer recently plead guilty to aggravated identity theft. A total of 136 illegal aliens were arrested as part of this investigation into identity theft, social security fraud and immigration-related violations at the plant.

In March of last year, 2007, a textile product company in New Bedford, Massachusetts was raided, and the owner and three other managers were arrested and charged with conspiring to encourage or induce illegal aliens to reside in the U.S. and to hire illegal aliens. Another person was charged in a separate complaint with knowing transfer of fraud human identification documents. Approximately 320 illegal workers were arrested on administrative charges as well.

And also in March of 2007, the owner of an Indiana business that performed construction services in seven Midwest states plead guilty to violation relating to the harboring of illegal aliens and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. He also forfeited $1.4 million. These are the kinds of cases that have high impact on those who would hire and employ undocumented and illegal aliens often facilitated through identity theft and document fraud.

I am delighted to say as part of our effort to continue to make it less appealing for people to break the law, we will soon publish a regulation with the Department of Justice to increase civil fines on employers as we announced last August. This is again, a way to keep that pressure up to make sure people are compliant with the law.

A couple of other brief things before I turn it over to the Attorney General. As important as it is to punish law breaking, we have got to make it easy to follow the law. There has got to be a path to legality as well as punishment for illegality. And so we want to continue to move forward, to get our no-match regulation out there. We are very close to publishing our new no-match rule, which we think will address the issues raised by the court as a consequence of an ACLU lawsuit last year, which was designed to make it impossible for us to tell employers a very simple, common sense principle that when you get information that someone may have something questionable about their social security number/identity, you should inquire further, and that you cannot hire illegal aliens. And we are looking forward to getting this issue resolved in the very near future.

Likewise, we are continuing to promote the use of E-Verify. The state of Arizona, I think, in the last couple of days had its new rule requiring E-Verify use sustained by the federal courts, and we are beginning to see that illegal workers are picking up and leaving, because they recognize this system is an impediment to their continued illegal activities and illegal employment in this country.

Nationally, we are adding 1800 new E-Verify users every week, that is the marketplace speaking. That is employers saying they want to get on board with this. We have over 53,000 employers now using E-Verify, which is more than double what we had fiscal year 2007. And more than 1.7 million new hires have been queried this fiscal year under the system. This is a good news story.

Now the federal government needs to lead by example, and in the coming weeks we are going to issue a proposed rule requiring federal contractors to use E-Verify. This will significantly expand the use of E-Verify, and continue to build capabilities that will help people comply with the law and make it harder to violate.

Finally, we need to talk about continuing to focus on those illegally in the country who are fugitives, criminals, and gang members, which we do through targeted enforcement operations again, in cooperation with the Department of Justice.

In fiscal year 2007, our fugitive ops teams arrested 30,000 individuals, double what was the case in fiscal year 2006. These teams, which we have quadrupled to 75 teams since fiscal year 2005 focused on people who have violated a judges removal order or who have criminal records. We have also expanded our criminal alien program initiating formal removal proceedings against 164,000 illegal aliens who are serving prison terms for crimes they have committed here in the United States. We don’t need to import criminals into America, we need to have them go back where they came from.

In fiscal year 2007, ICE arrested 3,302 gang members and their associates as part of operation community shield, including 1442 arrests for criminal activity. And this year we have arrested a further 723 gang members and their associates. This is focusing on people who are a threat to the safety and security of American citizens.

States Taking Matters into their Own Hands

Employers face increasing pressure to verify worker identity
States, with Arizona in the lead, are also going after employers for hiring practices, threatening to revoke business licenses if employers do not make a serious effort to verify their workers' identities.

Lawmakers' feelings mixed on immigration bill
Mississippi bill mandates that employers use the e-verify system, a free Internet database ran by the Department of Homeland Security in conjunction with the Social Security Administration, to check a potential employee's work eligibility.

Misspissippi Passes Employer Sanctions Bill Which Criminalizes Unlawful Employment
The Mississippi Employment Protection Act requires all employers in the state to use E-Verify.

SC Governor expressed concern about pitfall immigration bill
Gov. favors requiring private employers to check South Carolina driver's licenses, a new S.C. version of the I-9, or to use the online E-Verify system. He noted that five states already use E-Verify: Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Missouri and Georgia.

Measure targeting illegals shaped
The final version of South Carolina’s illegal immigration reform plan could be completed soon.

Missouri business groups fret over E-Verify bills
Businesses that don't use E-Verify and hire illegal immigrants would be punished more severely than those that do use the system.

Hearing Tuesday on Suffolk County, NY contractor law
Law that requires contractors doing business with the county to confirm employees' legal status.

UPS crackdown hits workers, spares business
A year after Washington state work-site raids, fully two-thirds of the 51 illegal immigrants arrested have either been deported or told to leave the country. But no charges have been brought against the employment agency that hired the immigrants or UPS, where they worked.

2007 Enacted State Legislation Related to Immigrants and Immigration

In the absence of federal immigration reform, state legislatures have passed an unprecedented amount of legislation related to immigrants in a range of policy arenas.

• The number of state laws enacted in 2007 is nearly triple that of 2006: 240 compared to 84.

• Immigration is being debated in all 50 state capitols. 1562 bills were introduced in the 50 states. Laws were enacted in 46 states in 2007, compared to 32 states in 2006.

• States are passing legislation that utilizes a broad range of enforcement and integration strategies to address legal and unauthorized immigration.

• The top 3 topics in enacted laws are identification/licenses (40), employment (29), and public benefits (33). In 2006 they were employment (14) and human trafficking (13).

• Immigration continues to being addressed in a broad range of policy arenas, including education (22), health (14), human trafficking (18); law enforcement (16); and resolutions (50).

• One state passed omnibus legislation in 2007 – Oklahoma. The bill addresses identification, public benefits, law enforcement; and employment verification, and creates a felony for harboring or transporting unauthorized immigrants. In 2006, Georgia passed omnibus legislation addressing employment, enforcement and benefits. In 2006, Colorado enacted a slate of 12 laws in special session addressing employment, enforcement, voting, and benefits, and placed two on the general election ballot regarding business deductions and suing the federal government to demand it enforce immigration laws.

• Identification/licenses laws (40 laws in 30 states) relate primarily to driver’s licenses or REAL ID, while others address professional licensing or recreational licenses.

• Employment laws (33 laws in 19 states) relate to the verification of work authorization by employers and contractors; disallowing tax deductions for unauthorized workers; and eligibility for worker’s compensation and unemployment insurance. Arizona and Illinois took different approaches to the federal work authorization database, Basic Pilot, recently renamed E-Verify. Arizona mandates the use of the pilot program, while Illinois bans its use until the accuracy has improved. The laws in Arizona and Illinois are being challenged in the courts.

• Public benefits (32 laws in 19 states) laws address eligibility and exemptions for immigrants for state funded benefits. Several laws fund programs for migrant workers. Four states set guidelines in child abduction cases where immigration or citizenship status changes may adversely affect a petitioner’s ability to remain in the United States.

The 2007 report is available at: http://www.ncsl.org/programs/immig/2007immigrationfinal.htm

Immigration issues continue to dominate the political landscape

Complying with immigration laws has become a critical subject. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) increasingly has focused its immigration enforcement efforts on employers who hire unauthorized workers and during the past months has brought several high-profile enforcement actions against employers alleged to have knowingly employed unauthorized workers. Those actions, coupled with DHS's recent updating of the I-9 form and activity surrounding the no-match letters issued by the Social Security Administration (SSA), should give you reason to take notice.

HR Groups Support Bill to Create New Employment Verification System
The New Employee Verification Act (NEVA), which was introduced this week, would eliminate the I-9 Form and would require employers to use a new paperless Electronic Employment Verification System (EEVS).

Bill proposes new employee verification system

The New Employee Verification Act proposes to replace the Homeland Security Department’s current E-Verify system, which began as a voluntary pilot program 10 years ago.

HR Pushes Alternative to E-Verify
Under the legislation, known as "The New Employee Verification Act," job applicants will visit contractors who would confirm identities through background checks and, if employers choose, through biometric data as well.

Economy serves up an unhappy meal
Last year, Illinois lawmakers passed a law barring employers in that state from using E-Verify, the federal online program that checks employment eligibility... Meanwhile, Arizona legislators passed the employer-sanctions law that virtually requires using E-Verify.

Order to screen worker IDs sparks debate Order to screen illegal
Minnesota recently mandated that thousands of the major state contractors use E-Verify - the federal employment verification system.

Kansas opens debate on illegal immigration
Legislators agree that Kansas employers shouldn't hire illegal immigrants, but they disagree over how the state should punish violators.

Immigration Crackdown's Backers Have Their Say

Kansas House bills 2836 and 2680 would require employers to check all employees for legal status through a database called E-Verify. House Bill 2921 encourages employers to use the system to avoid liability for hiring illegal workers, but would not mandate it. E-Verify checks names and identification numbers with the Social Security Administration and U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Bigger Fines for Hiring Unauthorized Workers
The federal government is raising the fines against employers that violate federal immigration laws. Under the new rule civil fines will increase by as much as $5,000 as they are adjusted for inflation. The new rule will take effect on March 27, 2008, and will be published in the Federal Register.

Employment Verification Requirements Passes Committee
The Utah Senate panel has approved a bill aimed at requiring companies that contract with the state use a federal Internet-based system to check employees' work eligibility.

US Presidential Initiatives Boost Immigration Reforms and Border
On on January 28, 2008, President George W. Bush delivered an important message on strengthening U.S. immigration in his State of the Union Address. While millions of Americans watched, he stated, "America needs to secure our borders -- and with your help, my administration is taking steps to do so. We're increasing worksite enforcement, deploying fences and advanced technologies to stop illegal crossings. We've effectively ended the policy of "catch and release" at the border, and by the end of this year, we will have doubled the number of border patrol agents. Yet we also need to acknowledge that we will never fully secure our border until we create a lawful way for foreign workers to come here and support our economy. This will take pressure off the border and allow law enforcement to concentrate on those who mean us harm. We must also find a sensible and humane way to deal with people here illegally. Illegal immigration is complicated, but it can be resolved. And it must be resolved in a way that upholds both our laws and our highest ideals."

SHRM-Endorsed Employment Verification Bill is Introduced in the US House of Representatives

Today, the SHRM-led “HR Initiative for a Legal Workforce” coalition hosted a news conference at the U.S. Capitol with U.S. Representatives Sam Johnson (R-TX), Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Kevin Brady (R-TX) announcing introduction of H.R. 5515, the “New Employee Verification Act” (NEVA). The bill would replace the federal government’s current employer verification process with a new electronic verification system, the Electronic Employment Verification System (EEVS).

Under the bill, employers would use the state “new hire” reporting process, which is currently used for child support enforcement, to access EEVS. This would allow employers to confirm the work eligibility of U.S. citizens through the Social Security Administration database and that of non-citizens through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) database.

In addition, the bill also would create a voluntary biometrics option that employers could choose to use in the verification process. This system would include a standard background check and the collection of a “biometric” characteristic — such as a thumbprint — to secure an employee’s identity and prevent the illegal use a Social Security number, stolen or fraudulently-obtained drivers’ license, or altered identification documents. To protect employers from liability, the legislation would provide employers a safe harbor.

Other key NEVA provisions of interest to HR professionals include:

Allows the entire attestation requirements to be done electronically as well eliminates the current Form I-9.

Applies only to employer’s newly hired employees and would not require employers to re-verify all existing employees as is required by other bills.

Allows employers to check the employee through the electronic system beginning on the date of hire and ending at the end of the third business day after the employee has reported to work.

Provides that federal immigration law preempts any state law in regard to employer fines or sanctions for immigration-related issues or in requiring employers to verify work status or identity for work authorization purposes.

Requires employers to be responsible only for the hiring decisions of their own employees, not those of their subcontractors.

Click HERE for more information on the bill from the House Ways and Means Committee’s website. For an in-depth summary of the bill’s provisions, click HERE.