Feds unveil revised rule for hirings

THELMA GUERRERO-HUSTON

Employing illegal immigrants could bring prosecution

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has reinstated its plan to send written warnings to employers it suspects of hiring illegal immigrants, threatening businesses with prosecution unless they fire the workers.

The agency had to revise its no-match letter plan after a federal judge ruled that the policy would do irreparable harm to workers and employers. The judge's ruling was a result of a lawsuit filed against the Bush administration by civic, business and union groups who said the rule raised serious legal concerns.

Organizations that support migrant workers denounce the revised rule, saying the federal agency did little to correct flaws in the prior version as ordered by the judge. But groups opposed to illegal immigration say the policy is vital as the nation's economy continues to worsen.

"It is more critical than ever that we ensure that only American citizens and legal immigrants have the opportunity to find jobs," said Jim Ludwick, the president of Oregonians for Immigration Reform, a group that advocates in favor of curbing illegal immigration.

"It is unfair for citizens to have to compete for jobs against people who are illegally in the U.S. and are willing to work for less than living wages," Ludwick said. "It is also unfair for American companies that want to play by the rules and pay decent wages to have to compete for work against companies that hire illegal aliens."

In unveiling its revised rule, Homeland Security said the policy would not create new legal obligations on businesses.

But that's not how Rachelle Hong Barton sees it.

Barton is an attorney with Fisher & Phillips, a national labor and employment law firm with an office in Portland that represents industries that employ migrant workers.

"The (revised) rule does not do away with the safe-harbor provision," Barton said. "Employers would rather not have the rule in place."

The safe-harbor provision gives employers 90 days to rectify a discrepancy after they receive a no-match letter alerting them that an employee's information on a W-2 form submitted by the employer does not match the Social Security number on file with the U.S. Social Security Administration.

Failure of an employer to act or to fire the worker after that amount of time would subject the employer to criminal prosecution.

Such a timeframe is not outlined in current policy.

Jeff Stone, the director of government relations for the Oregon Association of Nurseries — a group that represents the state's largest sector of agriculture — said the provision unfairly would burden labor-intensive employers with additional regulations and create an environment of suspicion in the workplace.

"With such a large number of foreign-born workers contributing to (Oregon's) economy," Stone said, "the productivity in many sectors would be significantly reduced without them."

As a small-business owner, state Rep. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer, said she always is concerned about whom she hires.

As a legislator, she has sponsored many immigration-related measures.

"I believe most employers do not intentionally hire illegal immigrants, but there are some who disregard the law," Thatcher said. "I am hopeful federal and state agencies will adopt policies which treat employers fairly, don't overburden them with paperwork, but still ensure they are not employing people who are not in this country legally."

The Social Security Administration has been sending out no-match letters for nearly 30 years, first to workers in 1979 and to employers since 1994.

Enforcement at times has been lax.

But after Congress failed to pass immigration reform last year, Homeland Security decided to enforce existing laws, including the no-match rules.

"We are serious about immigration enforcement," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in a written statement. "The no-match rule is an important tool for cracking down on illegal hiring practices."

tguerrero-huston@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6815