Monday, June 04, 2007
More on that Rushton E-mail… [Rich Lowry]
...of a few days ago. From Captiol Hill source:
1. WH - First, for aliens whose applications are rejected because they are criminals, frauds, terrorists, and so on, immigration authorities will be able to use any information in the application to hunt down the alien.
Response:
Not in EVERY case. Sure in those instances they allow it, thankfully. But why not in every case? We are providing the most generous legalization in our history. Why can we not draw up a system that says those who qualify are fine but those who do not qualify will be promptly removed. Why tie the government's hands on removing them. Why allow them a free shot at an application but if they fail, they can slide right back into the shadows? So, if an alien comes forward, applies honestly (no crime and is not a terrorist), and does not qualify (he did not maintain a continuous presence or came after Jan 1), ICE cannot take all of the great information about the alien in the application to go out, find him and deport him.
2. WH - Furthermore, aliens will be part of a significantly smaller pool of illegals in the country — a smaller pool that will be much easier for the immigration authorities to identify.
Response: There are currently 12 million in the US, a big population. But, ICE has said it is going to concentrate on criminal absconders, a far smaller population (600K or 5%). They have not been able to reduce even that number. As of April 28th, 2007, 636,553 fugitive aliens are listed in the ICE Deportable Alien Control System
The below Statistics are from the DOJ Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR)
Fiscal year – Number of "In Absentia Removal Orders" per EOIR
FY 02 37,316
FY 03 36,948
FY 04 47,407
FY 05 100,994
FY 06 102,834
**********************
3. WH - pass a background check on criminal and security history
Response: Section 601 of the bill gives the government 24 hours to do the background check or they default to probationary Z status. That status gives them travel and work rights. That works out to more than 4000 a day, if they came in that way. The bill as written will default numerous people to probationary Z status, automatically giving them travel and work permission. Further, industries will spring up around counterfeiting the probationary Z visa. While they say it is to be counterfeit proof, they are supposedly modeling it on the current Employment Authorization Document, also meant to be counterfeit proof, but also the subject of much counterfeiting.
4. WH - DHS records will unequivocally show that these individuals are not eligible to work.
Response:
If this is the case (that it is going to work so well), why not allow the employer to condition granting employment on confirmation? Page 98 of the bill, section 302(d)(5)(B)(i)("An employer may not, however, make the starting date of an individual's employment contingent on the receipt of a confirmation of the identity and employment eligibility.") See also: "(F) Impermissible Use of the EEVS –
"(i) An employer may not use the EEVS to verify an individual prior to extending to the individual an offer of employment.
"(ii) An employer may not require an individual to verify the individual's own employment eligibility through the EEVS as a condition of extending to that individual an offer of employment.
This in effect means that employers have to hire in the blind and then try to verify on the back end, including the litigation hassles they face if they decide they want to fire the alien or not. Even if the employer did not want to hassle with someone who was not clearly legal, the following section says he can do nothing about that (so much for DHS showing things promptly and unequivocally):
From Page 100: "In no case shall an employer terminate employment of an individual solely because of a failure of the individual to have identity and work eligibility confirmed under this section until a nonconfirmation becomes final and the period to timely file an administrative appeal has passed, and in the case where an administrative appeal has been denied, the period to timely file a petition for judicial review has passed. When final confirmation or nonconfirmation is provided, the confirmation system shall provide an appropriate code indicating such confirmation or nonconfirmation. An individual's failure to contest a further action notice shall not be considered an admission of guilt with respect to any violation of this section or any provision of law.
And if they violate this they are fined 10,000 dollars for each violation (page 104).
Further, since you cannot condition employment on advanced verification, and the alien can appeal administratively and to the courts, he can drag it out, leave when a decision is near and do the same thing at another job. Gaming the system is not far fetched.
4. Finally, for now, they talk tough about the potential fines, but they include language on page 115 that allows the government to remit the fines if the Secretary finds mitigating circumstances justifying remission or mitigation of the fine. So, business as usual, the system is set up to allow litigation by the employer to reduce the fines back to simply a cost of doing business. (page 115).
06/04 05:17 PM
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