Opinion: DHS immigration gambit hits a hitch
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So what’s happened in the weeks since the Department of Homeland Security set up an aggressive plan to go after employers of illegal immigrants? The one that would send out ‘no match’ letters for every discrepancy between an employee and a Social Security number, and set high civil and criminal penalties for employers? A lot of legal wrangling, and not a lot else.
The no-match plan was put on hold in late August, and on Monday U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer extended the stay, to the relief of businesses and civil liberties groups. A related, far less harsh effort -- setting up a voluntary online verification system for employers -- has also met resistance. Illinois prohibited its employers from using E-Verify unless they can sort out mistaken claims within three days (the federal law allows for 10). This ‘impossible to meet’ standard (according to DHS chief Michael Chertoff, pictured above) is intended to protect Illinois employees -- probably a good idea since those who receive ‘no match’ letters could well be citizens. To them, the federal government says, tough luck: It’s suing Illinois.
With that suit, DHS is showing serious commitment to its policy of pursuing intentially painful enforcement measures. As the editorial board noted in August:
It’s not often that an administration will introduce new measures by advertising upfront their ‘negative economic consequences.’ But illegal immigration has a way of turning politics and policymaking upside down, so now the White House has taken the unusual step of punishing the country for failing to back immigration reform. It’s an interesting intellectual exercise, but it may prove disastrous for workers, employers and swaths of the economy.
Unfortunately for DHS (but fortunately for the economy), businesses and civil rights groups and even states don’t want to play along. But if DHS really wants to keep up the nose-cutting and face-spiting, it can keep sending cowboy-hatted federal agents to conduct botched raids.
(Photo courtesy AFP/Getty Images.)