House GOP Poised To Introduce Bill Cracking Down On Illegal Workers

WASHINGTON -- The balance between Republican calls to reduce government regulation of business and the GOP's campaign against undocumented workers is about to be tested by a bill that would mandate use of an illegal-worker detection system, which critics say would cripple U.S. agriculture by depriving farmers of cheap labor.

House immigration subcommittee chairman Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.) said Thursday that he plans to introduce the bill to mandate the use of E-Verify within the next month. The program is already mandatory for government agencies and contractors and used voluntarily by nearly 250,000 businesses to check the legal status of potential hires. But Gallegly said he hopes making it a requirement for all U.S. enterprises will drive out illegal workers entirely.

"If there was ever a need to do something quickly, when we have 14 million Americans who aren't working today, I think they deserve to be put in the front of the line," the California Republican said at a hearing on the use of E-Verify.

For their part, however, farm owners say few U.S. citizens want the type of jobs taken by undocumented workers, including fruit-picking and similar low-paying, backbreaking work. Since a bill to create more agricultural work visas died in Congress last session, critics say mandating E-Verify would abruptly cut off the supply of agricultural workers, leading to higher food prices and creating more demand for cheaper imported foods.

"Pressing harder on the gas without fixing the vehicle will only hurt our economy," Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the immigration subcommittee, said Thursday. "Particularly in agriculture, mandating the use of E-Verify would reverse the polarity of the magnet, shipping millions of jobs overseas."

It does appear that few U.S.-born workers are willing to accept agricultural jobs, despite high unemployment. A 2010 drive by United Farm Workers called "Take Our Jobs" -- though well-promoted by Comedy Central host Stephen Colbert, who Lofgren called to testify before the subcommittee last year when she was its chair -- placed only a few U.S. citizens. David Cox, the chief executive of a California fruit-growing company, said he has hired a few naturalized Americans, but some quit almost immediately and others said they plan to leave as soon as they can find another job.

"As the economy improves, there will be much fewer to do this kind of work," Cox said on a conference call on Wednesday. "If E-Verify became mandatory, we would lose most of our workforce overnight."

Although the program is free online, farm owners also said a bill to mandate E-Verify would drive up costs, particularly for remote businesses that do not have high-speed internet access. Bloomberg News Service estimated it would cost small businesses $2.6 billion annually to implement E-Verify if it became mandatory.

Theresa Bertucci, associate director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said the agency is expanding E-Verify. But Republicans questioned the Obama administration's efforts to spread the program.

"There seem to be a whole lot of things this administration does -- carrots and sticks, some say the Chicago way -- to get people on board," Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) said during Thursday's hearing. "If the administration were really on board, there would be some carrots and sticks to drive people to participate."

Even if a bill mandating E-Verify passed, though, it might not have the effect intended by supporters, Richard Stana of the Government Accountability Office cautioned the committee. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Chief John Morton has estimated that the agency can deport about 400,000 people per year under its current funding, leaving millions of undocumented immigrants in the country. "They don't have the resources now to enforce the I-9 system, much less E-Verify," Stana said.

Other problems with the program, including the possibility for American citizens and legal workers to wrongfully come up as undocumented, were listed in a recent GAO report.

Democrats indicated they would stall on E-Verify until some of those problems were resolved. "Could it be that E-Verify just isn't ready for the spotlight?" Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) asked. "Why don't we slow down a bit and get more rigorous proof that this is working."

Comments

[ka0226]

09:18 AM on 04/02/2011

I believe there should be a guest worker program. Allow foreign born workers to get a four year worker permit after which time they need to return to their home country. If they over stay their four years or violate our laws then they should be deported.

[ugly american]

11:29 PM on 03/24/2011

If E-Verify has an American come up as an illegal, that isn't that much of a problem to fix. Most people in this country have several forms of ID they don't even know they have.
Birth certificates, baptism certificates passports and several other documents count as legal proof of citizenship and residency.
The only people really at risk of having problems with it are individuals who came here without permission. And if someone fails, isn't that one way they could find out their identity has been stolen? The Social Security Administration can strai
E-Verify is overall good. This is a case where we should definitely not allow the perfect to become the enemy of the good.

[ugly american]

11:37 PM on 03/24/2011

The SSA can probably straighten out some problems such as that. (Hate it when I get distracted making a post!)

[ajbiggs]

06:21 PM on 03/11/2011

Illegal immigrants are no longer 'hiding' doing the jobs that "Americans don't want". They are everywhere.....& your, my, our tax dollars pay to send their American born children to school. I understand that this is the land of the free, but they must atleast do it the legal way & contribute to the tax pool.

[frixx]

11:56 PM on 02/14/2011

Just another example last night of why we in California are sick and tired of the crime that results from this illegal invasion:

SANTA ANA – A 35-year-old man was in extremely critical condition Monday after he was shot in the head following an argument at a Santa Ana restaurant, police said.

The shooting happened about 10 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot of Mariscos La Ola Santa Ana police Cmdr. Stephen Colon said.

An argument between two groups of patrons at the Mariscos la Ola restaurant led to a shooting in the restaurant parking lot that left one man with a bullet in his head, According to Santa Ana police commander Larry Coleman. Monday morning a bullet hole was marked as evidence in a plate glass window at the Wienerschintzel restaurant across the parking lot.

Witnesses told officers an argument broke out between two groups of men inside the restaurant, but the victim was not involved in the argument, Colon said.

"Apparently they were arguing over which state in Mexico was better," Colon said.

Following the argument, some of the men walked out to the parking lot and got into a fistfight, Colon said, adding that the victim stayed in the restaurant with his wife and was not involved in the fight.

Colon said the victim and his friends decided to leave before things escalated, but as the victim got into his car, two men approached him on foot, brandished a handgun and fired several shots.

The victim was <struck in the head, Colon said. His wife was not injured.

The attackers ran to a waiting vehicle, described as an SUV, and drove away.

The victim was taken to a hospital and underwent surgery. He was in extremely critical condition, Colon said, adding that it was unknown if he would survive.

Due to the gravity of the incident, homicide detectives were called to investigate.
A description of the attackers was not immediately available.

- Imagine, shooting a guy over which state in Mexico is better? We're lucky that only one victim got shot in the head. It could have been worse. The perps have probably fled into Mexico til things cool down, but they'll be back. And some fool may hire one of them for cheap labor. But be careful, you might end up a victim like the guy last year, who was beaten to death with a shovel when he violently disagreed with the guy who hired him. Cheap labor ain't cheap, especially if it costs you your life.

[frixx]

11:43 PM on 02/14/2011

Just today:

Eighteen people have been taken into custody after U.S. Border Patrol agents spotted a boat landing near San Onofre State Park, again.

Two people believed to have coordinated the smuggling attempt were also taken into custody.
Several people were seen climbing out of the boat and heading toward the cliffs. Agents took 14 men, one woman, and three minors into custody suspected of entering he U.S. illegally.

The suspected Mexican nationals have been taken to a Border Patrol station to be processed and to continue the investigation.

Please note this State Park is next to the San Onofre Nuclear Power station.

One day they may not be just Mexican Nationals.

[carolina919]

02:19 PM on 02/12/2011

What is wrong with sending illegal entrants into this country back to their own countries of origin?

[Soule23]

02:57 PM on 02/12/2011

Absolutely nothing, if you think that it's a good idea to break up families, add legal force to racial prejudice, and waste taxpayer money on clean.sing 5% of the US population.

[iuriggs6]

11:59 AM on 02/14/2011

Whose fault is it if a family is broken up? How is it a waste of taxpayer money to enforce a FEDERAL law? I'm not holding my breath on a reply. You just like to stir the racial pot with nothing but rhetoric to back it up.

[spytheweb]

01:30 AM on 02/17/2011

Is it a good idea to break up families of bank robbers? Or murders? Wait until one of these illegals kills someone in your family.

[ajbiggs]

06:13 PM on 03/11/2011

Listen, they knew they were illegal when they began starting a family here.....

[IndependentLady]

01:11 PM on 02/11/2011

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Einstein
Raids are too destructive on many levels, not the way to go, but e-verify can destroy the root of the problem.
24+ million unemployed Americans and yet our Congress cannot disentangle itself from special interests to do what needs to be done about the lack of jobs and illegal labor.
How many times does it need to be done to prove that amnesty does not work, at least for the majority of Americans?
It only serves to attract more illegal workers for unscrupulous business and votes for pandering politicians.
So of course the problem here is not insanity but greed and corruption.
Our elected officials and business interests are working against the interests of the majority of Americans. And winning big time, have been for a long time.
And they have no intention of surrendering what is viewed to be a highly successful strategy.
I won't venture to say what they might do at this point if Americans try to force them to run the nation in the interest of the citizens.
So perhaps they are crazy as well.
It's a mad mad scramble. Now even the Trumps feel emboldened to grab at the reigns.

[frixx]

01:08 AM on 02/11/2011

I think we can see from the comments so far, that the far left, pro-illegal supporters were never serious about enforcing the laws we have and fine the employers who do the hiring.

It was just dishonest rhetoric in support of granting a new amnesty.

No amnesty. Not now, not ever again.

[carolina919]

02:19 PM on 02/11/2011

Amen and Amen. Not under any guise or any term. "Pathway to citizenship" indeed. I am a liberal and proud to be. But this is not a liberal issue. Illegal immigrants are here as yet another part of a corporate agenda to undercut workers and worker's rights. Thirty million undocumented people in a country is an "invasion" and should be seen as just that. The 14th Amendment shouldn't cover "anchor babies" and provide the basis for "family reunification" as soon as the children are 18. EMPLOYERS are at the heart of this. And self serving special interests, including the Catholic Church, and oh so many delusional "humanitarian" groups bent on seeing "sanctuary cities" as an equivalent to the Underground Railroad. Looking for a group to champion, friends? How about the American middle class....taxpayers who are the genius of American democracy and the base of its strength. They deserve protection from corporate agendas, including illegal immigration.

[frixx]

02:52 PM on 02/11/2011

Thanks for the post. I agree with every single post you made.

True, this is not a liberal issue.

I consider myself socially liberal and fiscally conservative. For some on this forum, that is difficult to understand.

The influx of tens of millions of people illegally is a fundamental problem fiscally and socially. Until we solve it, we will never get a handle on major issues and problems, like unemployment, security, health care and education.

Moreover, you cannot allow that many people into the country who have no experience with our social and philosophical history. The far left will rue the day that allowed this invasion to happen, as they get the right to vote, and vote the way the church tells them to. Goodbye womens' rights, gay rights, and abortion rights. And when they don't get their way, they will take to the streets.

[spytheweb]

12:03 AM on 02/11/2011

Crack down on "illegal workers". All they talk about is farming here, what about illegals working in our schools, hospitals, even in government. NV has 170,000 illegals working here and unemployment is 14.5%. They need to e-verify and have computers share information with IRS, DMV, Social security, medicare, medicaid and ICE. There are many fake SS numbers and people using other people's numbers.

Another document mill found in Virginia February 7th, 2011

"Three have been charged with manufacturing fraudulent documents. All were in the country illegally, and two had been previously deported.
In December, federal investigators uncovered numerous “document production cells” which churned out countless counterfeited green cards, Social Security cards and other documents for illegal aliens across the country.
The indictment alleges that the ring was based in Richmond, Va., and sold the fake documents in Manassas and the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area. The criminal enterprise also operated in Arkansas, North Carolina, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Indiana, Kentucky and Rhode Island.
The multi-state operation was allegedly headed by Israel Cruz Millan, 25, an illegal alien who goes by the name “El Muerto,” Spanish for “the dead one.”
In all, arrest warrants for 30 individuals were issued, many of whom are in the country illegally.

Continue reading on Examiner.com: Another document mill found in Virginia - National Immigration reform | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/immigration-reform-in-national/another-document-mill-found-virginia#ixzz1Dcij47yb

[carolina919]

02:12 PM on 02/12/2011

And be sure to check out all of the local, state and national government jobs that now require "or prefer" Spanish speaking individuals. It's infuriating to see the invasion happening right before your eyes and have everyone pretend its simply "another wave" of immigration. No, it isn't. And that is precisely the point. "Naturalize" the 30 million who are here and now many more come in under cover of family reunification or get "hidden" in the morass that our society has become with fake "papers" and underground economies working off the record. Shame on the apathy and political "correctness" that aids and abets a corporate dismantling of this republic. We've allowed nameless bureaucrats to create regulations and tax loopholes that harm our environment and cheat this country of its fair share of taxes and depresses the values of assets held by private citizens. The Catholic church LOVES this "new wave". Rural school principles welcome the children of illegal workers rather than face closing schools that are no longer needed and Community College presidents around the country love unemployment since their own salaries are based on enrollments...enrollments that give a false hope to a generation that will never again have meaningful employment, despite all the hype. "humanitarians" tout the worth of young hispanics....how about the worth of young Americans...young Americans who will never know the benefits of a stable country thanks in part to planned dismantling of a legal citizenry.

[RumiSouth]

10:36 PM on 02/10/2011

[ Theresa Bertucci, associate director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said the agency is expanding E-Verify. But Republicans questioned the Obama administration's efforts to spread the program.

"There seem to be a whole lot of things this administration does -- carrots and sticks, some say the Chicago way -- to get people on board," Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) said during Thursday's hearing. "If the administration were really on board, there would be some carrots and sticks to drive people to participate." ]

So when Republicans want to expand the program over the objections of business, it's okay -- but when a Democratic president tries to expand the program, they object. But it's the *Democrats* who don't want to solver the immigration "problem." See how that works?

[pita143]

09:15 PM on 02/10/2011

The Republicans had their chance under Bush to do this and did NOTHING. Bush had the best chance to build a fence after 9/11 and instead wanted a Guest Worker program that even the Republicans said no to.
The ONLY reason that we have illegals is because BOTH parties refuse to go after the companies that hire them. If they did not have work we would not have the illegals.
My real problem is not the illegals but the companies that hire them and force the illegals to accept far less money than American workers would accept. And they can not say no or they won't work. This hurts Americans.

[dtairtime]

02:38 PM on 02/11/2011

I think you will find few who disagree that both sides are complicit in the illegal immigration problems we face today.

The repubs want to keep wages low and profits up for their wealthy, chambers of commerce buddies.

The dems want to keep business campaign contibutions up wand hopefully get the votes from amnestied illegals or their supporters.

The middle class looses big by having to pay the added taxes yet getting virtually none of the benefit.

The low wage citizens are the biggest loosers though. Every job catagory that illegals flock to has seen wage stagnation or downward spirals.

Any liberal who supports amnesty or illegal immigration also supports the wealthy, the chamber, big business and massive overpopulation (which has it's own set of horrible consequences to our fragile environment and dwindling natural resources).

[Paul Andrews]

08:40 PM on 02/10/2011

I do not believe this BS that illegals "Just do jobs that AMERICANS wont do". If a person is physically able to do the job and their unemployment has expired or they are collecting some form of welfare, then I dont believe that they have the right to refuse any work. I think the employers must be required to pay at least minmum wage. No ILLEGALS. sned them all back. no jobs for them. I would even allow non violent criminals to work on a work release program. Working on a farm must be preferable to spending your days in prison. Illegals cost the taxpayer too much money.

[Soule23]

08:54 PM on 02/10/2011

If you owned a business, would you pay for convict slave labor? Also, where is the evidence that farm workers make less than minimum wage? Your final solution_for undocumented workers is not informed by logic or fact, but rather by your personal, subjective, and rather hateful beliefs

[Paul Andrews]

09:17 PM on 02/10/2011

@Soule23 Can You READ? i said that everyone should be paid at least minimum wage. I have a friend that owns a small farm and I was surprised when she told me that she pays her workers $40k a year. If I were out of work, I would gladly work on her farm for $40k a year. As far as convicted felons, there is a prison farm in southern new jersey that has no fences. A friend said that he played softball there and the inmates are very happy to be there. They raise for that is distrubuted to other prisons in nj. These inmates no that if they leave they go back to a maximum security prison. On this prison farm they have nice living accomodations and can watch tv when they are not supposed to be working. Some people that have made mistakes and realize that can be trusted. They are all AMERICANS. Illegals are costing the US too much money. Where is it written that the US is supposed provide employment for the WORLD ? This is impossible and will lead to the destruction of the US

[carolina919]

02:25 PM on 02/11/2011

You my friend, are the classic example of a hammer looking for a nail to strike. Please re-read the comment you are pretending to respond to. And go take your fake (and unjustified) outrage somewhere else.

[Emma2011]

08:31 PM on 02/10/2011

Here is the deal: Mandatory E-verify in exchange for swift legalization of the otherwise law-abiding illegal immigrants in 2011.

[dtairtime]

09:42 PM on 02/10/2011

No deal.

Once the amnesty went through the mandatory e-verify would be de-funded or somehow reduced by our greedy politicians (on both sides - who only want a continuous flow of cheap labor) until we are no different then we are today.

Besides, removing the jobs magnet is only a part of the equation. It is the main one but it has been proven time and time again that quite a few illegals come here for other reasons (to breed anchors, to get welfare, to commit crimes besides the usual immigration/fraud/tax evasion that most do and other reasons too.

No more amnesties - ever. After 7 of them we have learned our lesson.

[frixx]

01:05 AM on 02/11/2011

1. How do we even know if they are law abiding if we don't have the slightest clue of their real identity?

2. Will part of that deal mandate that they can be drafted?

[Emma2011]

06:58 AM on 02/11/2011

@frixx, 1. Fingerprints my dear. 2. No, but the deal should include an improved guest worker program.

[TeeSC]

07:47 PM on 02/10/2011

What part of this isn't the big government that so many republicans supposedly hate? 

[Soule23]

08:50 PM on 02/10/2011

The part where it has zero effect on wealthy and/or white males.

[TeeSC]

12:09 PM on 02/11/2011

Oh yeah... I forgot.  :-(

[alongst]

06:51 PM on 02/10/2011

Somewhere in Mexico, there are liberals upset that Mexico is outsourcing so many millions of workers to the US............

[Soule23]

07:04 PM on 02/10/2011

Somewhere in the US there are a few fiscal conservatives upset that rac.ists and angry, low IQ's have taken over their party.

[alongst]

11:33 PM on 02/10/2011

Congratulations- you've won the award for the lamest response EVER!