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New federal regulation creates immigration ICE age

Long Island Business News, Nov 9, 2007 by Claude Solnik

In what could be the biggest change in immigration law in years, the federal government has approved regulations forcing employers to verify employee Social Security numbers - or face fines and criminal prosecution.

Employers have long received "no match" letters from the Social Security Administration when workers' Social Security numbers didn't correspond to names listed on W-2 forms. Companies had no obligation to resolve the problem.

But new regulations approved by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) make employers liable if they continue to employ people without resolving discrepancies.

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Bohemia immigration attorney Mitchell C. Zwaik said the government is shifting the burden to companies. "The Immigration Service is trying to get tough with employers who turn a blind eye to illegal immigrants working in their businesses," Zwaik said. "What Immigration is trying to do is make those letters formal notice to the employer of their duty to investigate."

In the past, employers could say they didn't know whether problems were clerical errors and insist they had no duty to investigate.

Under new rules, companies that receive "no match letters" must contact employees, get explanations and inform the federal government of what they learn. If they don't resolve issues and still retain such workers, they risk fines and criminal prosecution for knowingly employing illegal immigrants.

Although this law was slated to take effect in September, Maxine Chesney, a federal judge in San Francisco, issued a temporary injunction, barring the government from implementing regulations following challenges by the American Civil Liberties Union and the AFL-CIO. A permanent injunction has been issued pending a decision on the case.

The Social Security Administration has about 140,000 mismatch letters ready to mail, although they aren't being issued while the regulation is stalled.

The ACLU and AFL-CIO argue the regulations could damage or shut down businesses and entire industries that can't get legal workers.

"If they have to lay off every illegal alien, everyone working with an illegal Social Security number, their crops will die on the field," Zwaik said of farms relying on migrant workers. "It affects an enormous number of employers, primarily in manufacturing, service industries, landscaping companies, hotels."

Patrice B. Morrison, a partner and chairwoman of the immigration practice at Nixon Peabody, said some companies would have to decide whether to fire much of their workforce.

"Where that leaves you is, do you want to take a business risk?" Morrison said. "If there's a large percent of your workforce in this situation, you don't want to terminate them at once."

Zwaik said the problem is that the economy relies on immigrants while providing no path to legal working status. "Enforcing the law is beside the point," Zwaik said. "You have a system in this country. For better or worse, many manufacturing jobs are being done by illegal workers."

As things stand, employers who receive these letters often contact employees, letting them know about the problem. "For many employers that'll be the end of it," Morrison said. "They never hear back from the employee."

New federal regulation creates immigration ICE age

Long Island Business News, Nov 9, 2007 by Claude Solnik

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