Illegal Immigration: Hiring, Penalties, Solutions

If you read my previous post, you know that I’m alarmed at the number of illegal immigrants living in the United States.

THE MAGNITUDE

Part of the reason it’s shocking is the magnitude of the problem: anywhere from 10-14 million people with most people guessing 12 million people here illegally.

The 2005 Census indicated the entire state of Pennsylvania, including large cities such as Philadelphia, Pittsburg and Harrisburg totaled 12,429,616.

Here are some state population listings from the 2005 Census:
Illinois 12,763,371
Pennsylvania 12,429,616
Ohio 11,464,042
Michigan 10,120,860
Georgia 9,072,576
New Jersey 8,717,925
North Carolina 8,683,242

THE NEW HIRE PROCESS

I work in Human Resources and when we make a new hire, we have 3 days in which to complete a Federal form, the I-9. You can see this form at http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/files/i-9.pdf. There are specific instructions and the company must view documents indicating the person has the legal right to work in the United States. You can read about the process and penalties at http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/services/employerinfo/EIB102rdln.pdf.

The Employee signs “Under Penalty of Perjury” that she/he is: “A citizen or national of the United States”, “A Lawful Permanent Resident” or “An alien authorized to work until {date}”.

The Employer, usually represented by a Human Resources professional, must sign under the following statement:

“l attest, under penalty of perjury, that to the best of my knowledge, this employee is eligible to work in the United States, and if the employee presented document(s), the document(s) l have examined appear to be genuine and to relate to the individual.”

Page 3 of the I-9 provides a list of acceptable documents for certifying work eligibility. This list offers three columns of possible documents, and you can use something from Column A or one from Column B and one from Column C. Column A lists “Documents that Establish Both Identity and Employment Eligibility”, including the US Passport, a Certificate of US Citizenship, and other federally issued documents. Column B lists documents that establish identity such as a Driver’s License. Column C lists documents that establish employment eligibility such as a US Social Security Card or other items.

Penalties for misrepresentation, for providing or accepting on the I-9 are serious. You can read the penalties at http://www.immigrationlinks.com/news/news1113.htm. and http://www.immigrationlinks.com/news/news1113.htm

Using forged or counterfeit documents are punishable by law, and soliciting people to work who do not have the right to work in the United States is also punishable. The Social Security site lists penalties for abusing their system, and you can read about it at http://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/ssact/title02/0208.htm. If you use a forged, altered, counterfeit, etc. Social Security card, you “shall be guilty of a felony and upon conviction thereof shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both.”

There are severe penalties for false US Passports as you might imagine. One website, http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/false-passport-application.html, noted:

"Those found guilty of making false statements in the application and use of a passport can face:

1. Fines
2. Incarceration (jail or prison): up to 25 years for using the false statements in connection with international terrorism, 20 years for using the false statements in connection with trafficking drugs, or 15 years for other uses, or
3. Both a fine and incarceration"

QUESTION ABOUT THOSE FORGED DOCUMENTS

If a worker provides a Social Security number for the I-9 and payroll, and this is a fraudulent document, the money paid by the company to the Social Security account is being credited to someone else’s retirement funds. The Social Security Administration sends reports to you regarding the money you’ve deposited through your payroll. Check it carefully.

Let’s assume there’s a hot market for documents and a crime ring needs to get a whole lot of ID’s at once – names and Social Security numbers. Wouldn’t it be a great black market to get some of the stolen laptops we keep hearing about? Identity theft takes on additional ramifications.

TEMPORARY OR GUEST WORKER VISAS

I’ve heard this discussed as if it were something new. It isn’t. There is a temporary visa process if you are an agricultural worker, for example, and that is an H-2A. You can read about it at http://faq.visapro.com/H2A-Visa-FAQ2.asp. There are many other types of visas, but when politicians talk about the “value” of illegal immigrants in our economy, about doing jobs that other people don’t want, agricultural and janitorial work are the only types of jobs I think they are discussing. Believe it or not, there are people here legally who can and will do this work, and a visa such as the H-2A can take care of the agricultural needs. The key is that it must be enforced.

HEARTBREAK GOES BOTH WAYS

Let’s also address the dangers people face while sneaking into the country. If coming in from Mexico, you can run across the border, sometimes through miles of desert. Another option is to come in through the underground tunnels, facing miles of darkness, rodents, and many difficulties. In 2005, 516 bodies were found in the desert, and according to one CNN report I saw, the total number of dead bodies out there may be 1,000 or more.

There are stories of individuals and families with heartbreaking reasons for coming to the USA, and many of these people are hardworking, honest, and reliable, just wanting to get a chance to feed themselves and their families, educate the children, have a decent life. That said, it would be a mistake to lump all people into the same category. It’s very clear that a percentage of illegal immigrants are tying up our law enforcement resources, our justice system, and our jails.

On the June 15, 2006 CNN website, they stated that since May 26, 2006, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement {aka ICE} has arrested nearly 2,100 illegal immigrants across the country. “Officials said the raids are aimed at child molesters, gang members and other violent criminals, as well as people like Da Silva who sneaked back into the country after a judge threw them out.” Da Silva was a Brazilian arrested in 2002, deported, but returned to the USA. He now faces up to 20 years in prison.

More from the CNN site: “The operation has caught more than 140 immigrants with convictions for sexual offenses against children; 367 known gang members, including street soldiers in the deadly Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13; and about 640 people who had already been deported once, immigration officials said. The numbers include more than 720 arrests in California alone.

More than 800 people arrested already have been deported.”

The radio reports indicated that we had illegal aliens working in sensitive positions in airports. Stunning, but not surprising considering the Keystone Cops approach to law enforcement in this area.

“There are more than 500,000 "fugitive aliens" who have been deported by judges and either slipped back into the country or never left. There is often a disconnect between local and state prisons and the federal government that allows illegal immigrants to serve time and be released without being transferred to federal officials for deportation.”

OUR OWN GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORTED AND RECOMMENDED…

Our U. S. Government Accountability Office released GAO report number GAO-05-646R on May 9, 2005: “Information on Certain Illegal Aliens Arrested in the United States”. You can find the report at http://www.gao.gov/htext/d05646r.html and this includes specific data of arrests, crimes, and incarcerations. Read it and weep. I mean it. Recommendations were made and apparently ignored.

MY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NOW, AND I AM SURE TO THINK OF MORE LATER

If we took our laws seriously and enforced them, this issue would partly take care of itself.

A company that is determined to have gone out of the way to find, hire, utilize illegal immigrants - put the CEO and CFO or business owner in prison. Publicize the heck out of it and more companies will think twice about this practice.

If it’s found that an employee has used forged, altered, or counterfeit documents to secure work, punish that person as prescribed by our current laws and again, publicize this widely in every language.

Illegal immigrants who happen to give birth in this country do not automatically have a child who is an American citizen. The parent or parents are here illegally and are to return to their home country, and the child is a citizen of that country. Until their return to the native country, any bills for medical care, schooling, and other measurable expenses will be charged to that person and deducted from aid we send to that person’s home country. I am not talking about people visiting the country on a visa who happen to give birth here but return home.

Criminals who are illegal immigrants can either be deported or the costs of their trials and incarceration can be deducted from aid to the person’s nation of birth. For example, the USA currently provides around $30M/year in aide to Mexico. If the US costs for handling and housing criminal illegal aliens from Mexico total $15M/year, we deduct that money from our aide to Mexico. Mexico would have added incentive to fix their own economy for their citizen’s well-being and monitor their northern border. {I realize singling out Mexico seems very unfair, but you must review the statistics. I could also have said Uzbekistan, but their numbers are substantially smaller.}

We need a national identity card with biometric prints to cut down on our false documents. This issue goes beyond our current topic and into national security.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Want to read an interesting article covering some of the same topics with additional links? Take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_immigration_to_the_United_States.

SUMMARY

This is a serious problem we must face without fear of being politically incorrect. As a sovereign nation, we have the right to protect our borders, to enforce our laws. I lead workshops about preventing sexual harassment and I know that many people will find ways to break or bend the laws, but the more we educate and enforce, the high penalties, mandatory education, and adverse publicity can lessen the numbers of problems. We should do the same for this issue.

I am honestly surprised at the strength of my own emotions about this issue. Again, as always, I invite your considered opinion. If you just want to rant, please don’t do it here; I really want your opinion, even if you disagree. If you agree, please let me know and pass along this blog site. One of the reasons I have written this much is my own frustration with our elected officials. Contact your representatives, attend their meetings, call their offices, and be heard. Don’t let their only contacts be either insiders or lobbyists.