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New immigration rule targets employer records

BY TOM BRUNE | Newsday Washington Bureau

June 10, 2006

WASHINGTON - As a massive immigration overhaul remains hung up in Congress, the Bush administration continues to highlight a new, tougher approach to border security and immigration law enforcement.

Following last month's announced crackdown on employers who hire illegal workers, the administration on Friday said it was proposing a new rule that would hold employers more accountable for investigating workers whose Social Security numbers do not match government records.

As many as a tenth of the 250 million wage records yearly include names and Social Security numbers that do not match the names and numbers in Social Security Administration records, the department said.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the rule would "help us to identify and prosecute employers who are blatantly abusing our immigration system."

The proposed rule appears to be aimed at showing the hardliners among House Republicans that the administration is serious about enforcement as the House and Senate prepare to negotiate the stark differences between their bills.

The House version increases border security and interior enforcement efforts only. The Senate version also includes a guest worker program and a citizenship process for illegal immigrants already here, a provision the House GOP rejects.

The proposed rule shows the administration seeks to change the lax enforcement of employers, but it also adds another burden to an increasingly wary business community.

"It does give us pause," said Laura Reiff of the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition, an umbrella business group.

"The timing is a little bit unfortunate," Reiff said. "We would prefer to have this done all in one fell swoop," in a comprehensive immigration bill.

The proposed rule could be published in the Federal Register Monday. It requires a 60-day comment period before going into effect.

Meanwhile, the flow of National Guard troops to the border also continues. By the end of the month, 2,500 National Guard troops - about half the 6,000 President George W. Bush promised last month - will be deployed to the four states along the Mexico border, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano told The Associated Press Friday.