It’s no secret that, although it has been against the law to employ undocumented immigrants since 1986, the law is virtually ignored and jobs are what drive most of the immigrants to enter the United States. Although many advocates of immigration enforcement focus on the need to secure the border, eliminating the “job magnet” would likely be a more effective means of controlling illegal immigration. Employers certainly do not currently live in fear of ICE when they employ illegal aliens, but all employers must provide the IRS with the Social Security numbers of all of their employees, even those that are illegally employed. The IRS then provides these Social Security numbers to the Social Security Administration and sometimes informs employers if there are any discrepancies. Taking this process a step further could eliminate the incentive of many illegal immigrants to enter the country in a fairly simple way. If the IRS also informed ICE of these discrepancies, ICE could eliminate this problem by visiting employers and employees who fail to straighten out any problems with the local Social Security office. However, the Social Security Administration and IRS refuse to share this information with immigration authorities citing privacy provisions in the laws, though nothing in our Social Security laws prevents the sharing of Social Security numbers as evidence of a possible crime.
For the full story, visit http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jul/24/chip-turning-off-the-parent-magnet/
Posted 7/28/14 by Margaret Hull