New Rules Against IIlegal Immigrants: Employers are Responsible for Ratting Them Out

llegal Immigrants Can Choose to Stay, Work Underground or Leave; But the Choice is not Easy.

The current administration is dealing with illegal immigration. On August 10, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff announced that it is up to employers to fire workers who are unable to clear up problems with their Social Security numbers within 90 days after they've been notified in a "no-match" letter. There will be heavy fines exacted against employers who turn their back on the new rules. They face fine of at least $2,200 and possible criminal penalties. These new measures clearly show that the current administration is cracking down on employers who fail to verify the legal status of their workers.

Illegal immigrants live with a perpetual fear of being deported. They have no driver's licence and no possibility of establishing credit in this country. They can not even cash a check. Some illegal immigrants resort to borrowing or stealing social security numbers. Others are just too happy to work a family member or a friend's social security number. Many illegal immigrants have tried to avoid immigration rules by working for themselves. They do gardening, home repairs, window washing, car washing, yard sales and other vocations that allow them elude detection. They may avoid living in areas with high concentration of illegal immigrants. They try to blend in until they have to speak English or get stopped by a police officer to whom they have to show their driving licence. To this date, ICE made 745 criminal arrests and 3,561 administrative arrests of employers and employees.

Are there employers who are immune from arrests? ICE is saying that nobody is immune from complying with the nation's laws, regardless of industry or location. So American farmers who crow large varieties of crops may be in trouble. Where will they find workers to work their fields? Are Americans ready to go to the field to work in the California heat to harvest peaches, nectarines, plums, pluots in the Central Valley, lettuce in Salinas, and Cotton grown all over the Valley?

The rules announced by the Bush Administration officials will require employers to fire employees unable to clear up problems with their Social Security numbers 90 days after they've been notified of such discrepancies in what is called "no-match letters." It means that hiring undocumented workers, illegal aliens has been illegal for two decades, but until now, employers have had it easy due to lack of enforcement. It also means that their employees were not held liable for fraudulent documents. Now, the rules are saying that employers who fail to comply will face fines and sanctions.

Will all the immigrants start the self-deportation process? It remains to be seen wether people who have only known the good life in this country will pack up and return to their countries of origin where they have no more roots. In some cases, some of their own countries do not want them back. Whose problems is it going to be then? Countries of origin will be highly impacted by the rush to absorb people who had left the country for decades, people who have had some criminal lifestyle and engaged in gang activities, for example. El Salvador had to absorb many gang members from major U.S. cities such as Los Angeles, San Diego and New York. They export their criminal lifestyle to their new country.

This is a wait and see time. If employers or farmers have to pay more to work their fields and harvest their crops, will the US consumers be ready to pay more at the supermarkets? In everything, there is a price to pay. Who is willing to pay $5 for a head of lettuce? Who is willing to pay double for a house built mostly by the hands of Mexican workers? There may be a domino effect coming up. Even in the high tech sector, there are illegal immigrants who are waiting for a change in the rules in the Silicon Valley.

No matter what, something must be done to regulate our immigration laws.