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"...The magnet that brings most economic migrants into this country is work. And if we have worksite enforcement directed at illegal employment, we strike at that magnet."
-- Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff
August 10, 2007 |
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) just announced a package of initiatives designed to strengthen immigration enforcement, including new rules for employers that begin next month.
DHS Secretary Chertoff said federal regulators were disappointed that Congress did not
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Here are the Steps to Take
If You Get a "No-Match" Letter Beginning in September 2007, an employer must follow certain procedures if it receives a letter from the government stating that an employee's Social Security number does not match federal records.
Such discrepancies may be the result of
honest clerical mistakes. But in many cases, says DHS Secretary Chertoff, "the failure to have a match with records is a good indicator that the employee has provided a phony Social Security number to the employer or, perhaps, that the employer himself has provided a fake number."
Here are the basic steps an employer must take:
 Within 30 days of getting a no-match letter, businesses should check their records to make sure the discrepancy isn't a clerical or administrative error.
If that is not the problem, the employer must then ask the employee to confirm the accuracy of the information. If necessary, the employer must contact the Social Security Administration to correct the problem if, for example, there is a change in marital status that is causing the discrepancy.
Within 90 days, the employee has to come forth with some new reliable evidence that he or she is authorized to work (such as a passport). If work eligibility cannot be confirmed after 90 days, the company must terminate the employee.
If the employer does nothing to resolve the problem or doesn't act in good faith, the organization can be held liable for employing an unauthorized worker and could face stiff penalties or sanctions.
Secretary Chertoff said the new rules contain a safe harbor provision to protect employers that follow the guidance and attempt to comply. "We don't want to punish people who try to do the right thing," he added.
How big is the problem? Out of 250 million wage reports the Social Security Administration receives every year, as many as four percent show no matches. |
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Social Security Reporting Questions
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Q. What should an employer do when hiring foreign workers who don't have Social Security numbers?
A. Advise them they are required to apply for Social Security numbers and cards. If a worker applied for, but has not yet received, a number, get as much of the following information as possible: The person's full name, address, birth date, birth place, father's full name, mother's full maiden name, gender and the date of a Social Security number application.
Q. What if the worker doesn't have a Social Security number when wage reports (W-2 Forms) are due to Social Security?
A. Paper Filers: If the worker applied for a card but didn't receive the number in time for filing, enter "Applied For" in Box a.
Magnetic Tape/Disk or Electronic Filers: If the worker applied for a card but didn't receive the number in time for filing, enter all zeros in the field for the Social Security number.
-- Source: Social Security Administration | pass sweeping immigration legislation earlier this summer but "we're going to be taking some energetic steps of our own."
Here is a rundown of eight of the changes announced by the DHS on August 10:
A "no-match" regulation has been issued to ensure workers are legal and help the government identify and crack down on employers who knowingly hire illegal workers. When an employer has an employee with inaccurate personal identity information, the Social Security Administration sends the employer a no-match letter. A new regulation clarifies that employers may be held liable if they ignore "no-match" problems by failing to take specified steps within 90 days of receiving a letter (see right-hand box for more information).
In the coming months, rules will be published to reduce the number of documents employers must accept. Presently, 29 categories of documents can be used to establish the identity and work eligibility of employees.
"Employers have little capacity to verify the authenticity of these documents, and the sheer quantity of accepted documents is an invitation to fraud," according to the DHS. An upcoming regulation will reduce unlawful employment by weeding out documents now often used for identity fraud.
The DHS will raise the civil fines imposed on employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants by approximately 25 percent. According to the DHS, "the fines for relying on illegal workers are so modest that some companies treat them as little more than a cost of doing business." The department will update civil fines for inflation, boosting them by about 25 percent, as much as is allowed under current law.
Criminal investigations against employers that knowingly hire large numbers of illegal aliens will continue to be expanded. Arrests for criminal violations increased from 24 in 1999 to a record 716 in 2006. There have been 742 criminal arrests so far in 2007 through July 31.
The Administration will begin a rulemaking process to require all federal contractors and vendors to use "E-Verify," the Federal Electronic Employment Verification System, to ensure employees are authorized to work in the U.S. There are more than 200,000 companies doing federal business and expanding the use of E-Verify will make it more difficult for illegal immigrants to obtain jobs through fraud.
Several other steps will be taken to make greater use of E-Verify. For example, the government is planning to expand the data sources E-Verify can check, including cross-checks of Visa and passport information.
The Administration will also seek voluntary state partners willing to share their Department of Motor Vehicles photos and records with E-Verify. Agreements to allow access to the repository of photographs in state DMV databases will help prevent illegal immigrants from using fraudulent driver's licenses to obtain employment.
The Department of Labor (DOL) will reform and streamline the H-2A Agricultural Seasonal Worker Program and the H-2B Program for workers not involved in agriculture. "No sector of the American economy requires a legal flow of foreign workers more than agriculture, which has begun to experience severe labor shortages as our southern border has tightened," according to the DHS. Therefore, the DOL is reviewing the regulations implementing the H-2A program and will institute changes to "provide farmers with an orderly and timely flow of legal workers, while protecting the rights of laborers."
In addition, regulations will be streamlined in the H-2B Program for non-agricultural seasonal workers, which has been popular "because businesses in seasonal industries such as landscaping and hospitality frequently have a difficult time locating temporary workers," DHS explained. However, some employers report significant processing delays. DOL's proposed rules will speed processing.
The DHS will extend the Visa term for professionals from Canada and Mexico to attract more talented workers. American employers must compete for foreign professionals, and "those who elect to lend their talents to the U.S. economy should be welcomed with open arms, not given a bureaucratic runaround," according to the DHS.
Yet the roughly 65,000 workers who enter the United States each year on a TN visa must renew them every year. A new regulation will extend the TN visa duration to three years -- the same term as other professional visas.
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