The Wallstreet Journal
NOVEMBER 19, 2009, 4:49 P.M. ET
U.S. Plans Immigration Audits at 1,000 Employers
By CAM SIMPSON and MIRIAM JORDAN
WASHINGTON — About 1,000 employers nationwide will be audited for possible immigration violations in an escalation of the Obama administration's effort to increase pressure on business owners not to hire illegal immigrants.
The businesses will get a notice that the government intends to audit their compliance with immigration laws, the Department of Homeland Security said. The sweep follows a similar action in July during which authorities audited 654 employers. Agents will check the eligibility of workers at each firm, with violations potentially leading to fines, as well as civil or criminal charges.
None of the companies was named publicly, but each is "associated with critical infrastructure," officials said. That is the label the government applies to private functions that are vital for protecting the proper functioning of society, such as utilities, transportation or communications. Critical infrastructure entities are also seen as national-security assets or potential targets for terrorists.
"The second shoe has fallen," said Tom Roach, an immigration lawyer in Pasco, Wa., who represents farmers, landscapers and other employers of immigrant workers in Washington state. "The Obama administration is getting very serious about punishing employers."
The enforcement actions come as the Obama administration is trying to win support in Congress for an overhaul of immigration laws that would offer a path to citizenship for millions of foreign nationals now living illegally in the U.S. Administration officials and allies in Congress have said stronger enforcement of existing immigration laws would go hand-in-hand with efforts to legalize undocumented aliens already in the country.
The administration has increased its audits of employers while reducing the number of workplace raids, which targeted workers. The government chose companies for audits based on specific leads or because firms had some connection to public safety or national security, officials said.
Investigators are committed to "finding and penalizing employers who believe they can unfairly get ahead by cultivating illegal workplaces," said John Morton, an assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security.
Also Thursday, the government said it was giving a sort of "seal of approval" to firms that voluntarily use a government electronic system to verify the immigration eligibility of their workers.
Write to:
Cam Simpson at cam.simpson@wsj.com and Miriam Jordan at miriam.jordan@wsj.com
