Enforce I-9

[SHRED]

What's the hold up?

http://www.usvisanews.com/articles/memo2339.shtml
http://www.usvisanews.com/i9audit.shtml

[Rowdyboy]

1. Thats why I don't get all the controversy...The law has been in place...

for years. I was helping job applicants fill out I-9's 15 years ago. The law is on the books, sanctions are on the book-just enforce them.

[gollygee]

2. When rich people make money off laws being ignored

they seem to be ignored.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

3. I don't think it's a very effective system

For one thing, the employer has the burden of keeping the records (the I-9 is never sent to the USCIS but is kept by the employer) and audits of employer I-9 records by U.S. Immigration are few and far between. Our federal government has never provided the INS (now USCIS) with enough funding or manpower to do everything it must do. The other problem with the I-9 is that the employer must "knowingly" be hiring an illegal alien. The I-9 requires all employees to present documents regarding two issues: identification and work status, for example, a driver's license and a social security card. In some cases, both requirements can be met with the same document such as a U.S. passport (which both identifies the bearer and assures the employer of the passport holder's authorization to work). The employer doesn't have the choice of what documents he/she can ask to see, as long as the employee presents the types of documents on the I-9's list of acceptable documents. If a false driver's license and false social security card appear to be authentic (some of the phoney ones look very genuine), the employer doesn't have the right to ask for additional documents and runs the risk of being sanctioned under the I-9 employer discrimination provisions. It puts the employer in a bind. I don't see an easy solution other than a national identity card for all Americans with their photo and fingerprint that can be entered by the employer into an electronic database and immediately verified by computer by the USCIS. Even that can probably be subject to fraud, but not as easily as the "mills" today that manufacture fake driver licenses and social security cards in our major cities. In the event of a national id card, the employer wouldn't be burdened with as many fake documents or the requirement to have to determine false documents from real and to determine whether they want to risk being fined on the one hand for hiring an illegal alien, or on the other hand of being sanctioned for discrimination if they ask for more documentary proof. Civil fines for employer discrimination can be as high as $10,000 per violation.