Homeland Security Blog Addresses Worksite Enforcement
Opponents of immigration enforcement “continue to propagate mythical objections” to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) worksite enforcement efforts, wrote Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, in a July 9, 2008, blog entry. “Some have claimed we are unfairly targeting low-level employees and not the employers who hire them. Others have misstated the facts about our E-Verify system, claiming it is riddled with errors and harms legal workers at the expense of identifying illegal ones.” Chertoff’s blog discusses DHS’s worksite enforcement operations, seeking to separate supposed “myth from fact.”
Though it hardly needed confirmation, Chertoff confirmed that DHS has stepped up its worksite enforcement efforts in three targeted areas: (1) employers that have built their business model on hiring an illegal workforce; (2) employers that disrupt critical infrastructure by supporting illegal immigration; and (3) critical infrastructure sites, like our airports, seaports, military bases and nuclear facilities are staffed with individuals authorized to work in the country.
Arrests in worksite enforcement operations have jumped from a total of 850 in FY 2004 to 4,940 last year, including 863 arrests based on criminal charges. For FY 2008 (as of May 31), there have been a total of 875 criminal arrests and 3,000 administrative arrests. Of the 863 criminal arrests in worksite cases last year, 92 were in the company’s supervisory chain. Already in FY 2008, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), DHS’s largest enforcement arm, has arrested 80 individuals in the supervisory chain. This follows the arrests taking place at Agriprocessors, a Kosher meet processor (in Postville, Iowa), in which 389 undocumented workers were arrested on administrative immigration violations, the most ever arrested in a single-site worksite enforcement operation. Additionally, 302 of those arrested have been charged with criminal offenses, including identity theft, false use of a Social Security number, illegal re-entry into the United States and other crimes.
“Of course, when comparing employer to employee arrests, it’s important to keep in mind that in most companies there will be a larger number of employees than employers and top-level managers,” wrote Chertoff. “Moreover, cases against supervisors and employers are more complex, and often depend on proving knowledge and intent. Therefore, it often takes time to build a criminal case against an employer, but the charges and penalties will likely be more serious as a result.”
E-Verify. E-Verify is a “proven tool currently used by more than 73,000 employers nationwide, with another 1,000 employers enrolling every week,” confirmed Chertoff “I’d venture to say that if the system didn’t work or was riddled with errors, very few employers would want to use it.” Chertoff said that “under E-Verify, almost everyone who is authorized to work in the United States is immediately verified by the system. Only about 0.5 percent of those queried who are ultimately confirmed as legal workers receive what is called a ‘tentative non-confirmation’ and need to correct their records.” An employee who receives a tentative non-confirmation has a right to contest it and update his or her information while he or she continues working. E-Verify does not require that these workers to be immediately fired. Of course, said Chertoff, “many non-confirmations relate to employees who are not legally authorized to work in our country -- estimated to be around 5 percent of all workers sent through the system. But those who employ illegal workers have no grounds to complain when the system uncovers that illegality.”
In his blog, Chertoff admitted that an “enforcement-only approach” will not fix the problem of illegal immigration in the United States. “We must find a way to meet our nation’s temporary workforce needs in a legal manner while also securing the border and enforcing the interior. Ultimately, this will require Congress to act on comprehensive reform. Nevertheless, our Department will not turn a blind eye toward illegality. We will continue to meet our obligations to the American people under the law, which includes enforcing the rules at worksites.”
Chertoff’s blog can be found at: http://www.dhs.gov/journal/leadership.
Reprinted with permission. © CCH
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff confirmed that DHS has stepped up its worksite enforcement efforts, in a July 9, 2008, blog entry.