Employers of illegal workers will be fined and scrutinized by government agencies if they cannot verify if their employees are eligible to work in the U.S., as part of the Obama administration’s crackdown on illegal immigrant workers.
The new chief of U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE), a branch of the Department of Homeland Security, said during a press conference this week that the agency will audit companies more frequently and will impose fines and even criminal charges on violators.
“You are going to see more audits regularly and on a larger scale,” said John Morton, the newly appointed chief U.S. immigration official, during his visit to southern California.
Federal prosecutors will file charges on businesses if ICE agents conclude that a company knowingly hired illegal workers.
Among the key findings of a recent analysis by the Pew Hispanic Center was that 12 million unauthorized immigrants lived in the United States in 2008.
During the Bush administration, U.S. immigration enforcement included sweeps of homes and apartments conducted by armed agents in which thousands of illegal immigrants were arrested. Immigrant rights groups protested, stating that ICE divided families, created fear in communities and placed people in custody without criminal convictions.
The Obama administration, according to Immigration officials, will focus on enforcement of cases of employers who knowingly hired undocumented workers, particularly those who assist in counterfeiting documents.
The new policy spearheaded by Obama’s administration is aimed at gaining support for an overhaul of immigration legislation that would grant millions of illegal citizens a process to set them on the path to obtaining U.S. citizenship.
The Obama administration has been sharply criticized by many anti-illegal immigration groups for policies to naturalize illegal immigrants during a time when millions of U.S. citizens are jobless. The focus on penalizing or charging employers who hire illegal immigrants may offset some of the criticism.
The new chief of U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE), a branch of the Department of Homeland Security, said during a press conference this week that the agency will audit companies more frequently and will impose fines and even criminal charges on violators.
“You are going to see more audits regularly and on a larger scale,” said John Morton, the newly appointed chief U.S. immigration official, during his visit to southern California.
Federal prosecutors will file charges on businesses if ICE agents conclude that a company knowingly hired illegal workers.
Among the key findings of a recent analysis by the Pew Hispanic Center was that 12 million unauthorized immigrants lived in the United States in 2008.
During the Bush administration, U.S. immigration enforcement included sweeps of homes and apartments conducted by armed agents in which thousands of illegal immigrants were arrested. Immigrant rights groups protested, stating that ICE divided families, created fear in communities and placed people in custody without criminal convictions.
The Obama administration, according to Immigration officials, will focus on enforcement of cases of employers who knowingly hired undocumented workers, particularly those who assist in counterfeiting documents.
The new policy spearheaded by Obama’s administration is aimed at gaining support for an overhaul of immigration legislation that would grant millions of illegal citizens a process to set them on the path to obtaining U.S. citizenship.
The Obama administration has been sharply criticized by many anti-illegal immigration groups for policies to naturalize illegal immigrants during a time when millions of U.S. citizens are jobless. The focus on penalizing or charging employers who hire illegal immigrants may offset some of the criticism.
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