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The Daily News 
8/28/07

Oklahoma Hispanic community leaders estimate that 25% of Oklahoma’s Hispanic population has already abandoned the state, and the state’s new immigration law has not gone into effect.  The owner of Las Americas, Tulsa’s largest Hispanic grocery store chain, has reported a 20% drop in sales.  It is clear that the exodus has had a devastating effect on businesses that cater to Hispanics.  One Hispanic radio station in Tulsa says that it is becoming increasingly difficult to find advertisers.  KOTV.com

Nationwide, if DHS’ new policy on no match letters results in 8,000,000 or more undocumented workers losing their jobs, the U.S. may be facing a crisis of epic proportions.  Some estimate that 8% of the U.S. economy is sustained by illegal workers.  Agriculture, hospitality, restaurants, and landscaping will be in serious trouble.  Many illegals do skilled labor such as carpentry, bricklaying, installing marble in homes, electrical repair, and maintenance.   We may see a nationwide shortage of these skilled workers.  With ties to the community, most of these illegals will not go home.  Having millions of people with no jobs, no ability to travel, no health insurance, and no welfare benefits will create a secondary crisis.

New Jersey Legislators in New Jersey are working on proposed immigration bills apparently in response to the Newark shootings.  The attorney general has ordered law enforcement to report any illegal alien who is arrested for an indictable offense or drunk driving.   The legislature is under intense political pressure after the shooting of three students in Newark. Here is a list of some proposals.

• Since the killings, State Sen. Shirley Turner (D., Mercer) has proposed requiring undocumented immigrants to post full cash bail.

• Assemblyman Jon Bramnick (R., Union) has proposed requiring county prosecutors to notify federal authorities whenever an undocumented alien is charged.

• State Sen. Paul Sarlo (D., Bergen) has proposed requiring law enforcement to notify federal officials whenever an undocumented alien is arrested for a felony.

• And Assemblyman Richard Merkt (R., Morris) has said he would amend legislation he introduced in June 2006 prohibiting jails from releasing some undocumented aliens. He would revise the bill so it covers all arrested undocumented aliens.

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Tennessee A Tennessee law which says that a business could lose its license for knowingly hiring an illegal alien or failing to adequately check the status of illegal aliens is scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2008.  Employers will not be considered to have violated the law if they use E-Verify to check their workers’ status within 14 days of hire.  On the first violation, a company’s license would be suspended until the company corrected the violation.  Further violations within three years of the first violation would result in the company losing its business license for one year. Ogleetree Deakings

The Daily News 
8/27/07

Pennsylvania The city of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, filed an appeal on Thursday of Judge Munley’s July 26^th decision that its immigration ordinance was unconstitutional.   Mayor Barletta has vowed to take the fight all the way to the Supreme Court.   The city does not explain what the legal basis for the appeal is.  The outcome of this case will no doubt have an impact on state and local immigration ordinances nationwide. The Times Leader

New Jersey The township committee of the City of Riverside voted Thursday to introduce an ordinance to rescind  the Immigration Relief Act.  The Act, which was never enforced, would have penalized those who hired or rented to illegal aliens.   Townships officials said that it was simply costing too much to fight lawsuits against the ordinance.  Judge Munley’s ruling against a similar ordinance in Hazelton, Pennsylvania, likely influenced the city’s decision. NewsDay.Com

The ordinance will likely be rescinded. It takes a substantial amount of money to be on the front lines of the immigration battle.   “What the township can afford is to step up its housing-code enforcement, implement a pilot parking-permit program and join in a new statewide push to notify federal authorities of illegal immigrants who have been arrested for indictable offenses.”

Conard, the mayor of Riverside, said he's not giving up, but residents need to understand that the township found itself on its own and couldn't afford to keep up a fight that the federal government hasn't been able to solve in decades.

“All the people out there that were going to help us out, we got $225 in our legal defense fund... and we haven't even got to the depositions yet,” Conard said. “We don't have (the millions of dollars) to take this to the (U.S.) Supreme Court.”  Burlington County Times 

The Daily News 
8/24/07

National The nation’s apple crop may be threatened by the Bush administration’s proposed immigration crackdown.  The nation is expected to harvest a bumper crop of apples this year.  But there is just one problem:  “Growers' associations across the country estimate that about 70 percent of farm workers are illegal immigrants, many of them using fake Social Security numbers on their applications. Under the new rules, if the Social Security Administration finds that an applicant's information does not match its database, employers could be required to fire the worker or risk being fined up to $10,000 for knowingly hiring an illegal immigrant.”  In New York State alone, there are over 3 billion apples to be picked.  No wants to picks apples for six weeks in the fall.  “Growers say that only 2 percent of farm workers nationwide come from the current guest-worker program, which, they say, is plagued by bureaucracy, low capacity and delays.”  Changes in the way worksite immigration laws are enforced could cause billions of dollars in lost vegetables and fruit and drive the price of food up nationwide. The International Herald Tribune

E-Verify Using E-Verify, operated by the federal government, to verify that new employees are legally eligible to work in the U.S. may reduce an employer’s liability for hiring illegal aliens.  Employers submit information from part 1 and part 2 of a newly hired employee’s form I-9, including name, social security number, I-94, and the number of the document used to establish a worker’s eligibility to work in the United States  and its expiration date.  E-Verify should give a response in seconds.  The service is voluntary and free for any employer to use.   Immigration Update

Kansas The state of Kansas is gearing up for a debate on immigration legislation to be proposed in 2008.  Proposals include fining businesses that knowingly hire illegal aliens and revoking their business licenses.  The state may also go after landlords who rent to illegal aliens.  “House Speaker Melvin Neufeld, R-Ingalls, has stated his support for tackling the issue. And Gov. Kathleen Sebelius recently said she welcomes ‘having the Legislature join the effort to secure our state.’"

South Carolina Citizens of Aiken, South Carolina, demanded that the county council pass its proposed immigration ordinance in a meeting held Tuesday.   The revised ordinance says that no agency which receives county funding can give aid to unauthorized workers except for protecting an alien’s civil rights or providing emergency services.  At least one member of the council said that the county was only going to put itself in the position of Hazleton. Aiken Today

North Carolina ICE arrested 28 workers at a giant Smithfield pork processing plant in Bladen County. Eight were arrested at the plant; the others were arrested at their homes. The twenty-eight workers were arrested on suspicion of being in the country illegally and identity theft.  An ICE spokesperson clarified that these arrests were a result of an ongoing investigation, not a random raid.  Smithfield said that they have done everything possible not to employ illegal aliens.  However, in the case of identity theft, there is no way for the company to know if a worker is illegal.  Most of those arrested are or were former Smithfield employees. The News Observer

Virginia The Manassas Park City Council has decided to consider passing an immigration measure similar to that of the one in Prince William County which denies benefits to illegal aliens.  The city wants to study the efficacy of the Prince William immigration measure before making any decisions. The Examiner.Com

The Daily News 
8/23/07

New Jersey The Mayor of Riverside, New Jersey, George Conard, said that the city has no plans to rescind its yet to be enforced immigration ordinance.  Riverside’s ordinance was based on the Hazleton ordinance.  Riverside’s ordinance imposes fines on landlords who rent to illegal aliens and denies business permits to those who hire them. 

"We have no plans to rescind the ordinance,” Conard said yesterday in response to questions about a letter sent by Saponaro on Aug. 3 to Superior Court Assignment Judge John A. Sweeney. “I'd like to see it play out in court. When the big daddy (the judge) says it's over, that's when you're done.”

The Burlington County   Times

Anne Arundel County officials have said that the county will no longer do business with contractors that employ illegal aliens.   Contractors will have to sign an affidavit stating that they do not hire illegal workers.

County Executive John R. Leopold issued an executive order this week that will require businesses to sign an affidavit swearing they do not employ people living in the country illegally. Evidence that a company has hired illegal immigrants would constitute a "material breach of contract," allowing the county to drop the contractor from the job.

It is not clear how the county might enforce the executive order. 

The Baltimore Sun 

The Daily News 
8/22/07

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich signed a bill that forbids employers from using Basic Pilot-now called E-Verify, to check the residency status of newly hired employees.   The ban will remain in effect until E-Verify produces results that are 99% accurate.  State Rep. Ruth Munson, R-Elgin, who ran a software development company before holding office, voted for the bill when it passed the Illinois House in June. She described Basic Pilot as so inaccurate that using it created major problems for employers and their new hires. "I thought Basic Pilot would be a good idea, but then I started hearing all these nightmare stories," she said. "There were a lot of people who legally could work and the program would find them 'not conforming.' It was taking weeks to clear up and there were lawsuits for the employers." The state will continue to require employers to check social security numbers by phone or by mail with the Social Security Administration. New state law bans use of residency checking tool :: Beacon News :: News

South Carolina The City of Myrtle Beach voted to end an ordinance that gave business license inspectors the right to check businesses in the city to make sure that their employees were legal.  The ordinance required employers to furnish documentation of their workers’ legal status when asked.  Inspectors never enforced the ordinance.   The city has decided that the courts on not on the side of localities that pass immigration ordinances. WHQR Public Radio

California A federal judge issued an order prohibiting the City of Baldwin Park from enforcing an ordinance that would have prohibited people from soliciting work on public sidewalks without leaving at least three feet of space for pedestrians.  The judge agreed with the plaintiff that if enforced the ordinance would restrict people’s first amendment rights to free speech.  This preliminary injunction will remain in effect into a full trial is held to determine the legality of Baldwin Park’s anti-solicitation ordinance.  Immigration Prof Blog

Three critical industries are dependent on immigrant labor:  tourism, agriculture, and construction.  South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

California Winegrowers are predicting a crisis as a result of the new no-match letter policy. “A lot of grape growers will go out of business. It’s very scary,” says one of the state’s leading wine grape growers, who did not want to be identified for fear of reprisals by the Department of Homeland Security. Wine Enthusiast

The Daily News 
8/15/07

National The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO have agreed that they don’t like the federal government’s new rule concerning no-match letters and are considering suing DHS to prevent its implementation.  Both groups are waiting to see the final language of the new policy.  The AFL-CIO believes that the new no-match regulation could result in discrimination against legal immigrant workers.  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce thinks that businesses that fire workers for failure to resolve no match conflicts could result in the company being sued for discrimination. KXMC CBS

Michael Chertoff acknowledged the possibility of economic consequences as a result of the government’s plan for stepped up immigration enforcement especially in dependent industries such as healthcare, hospitality, and agriculture.   Farmers across the nation are already losing crops as a result of a labor shortage.  “It's going to be awful; the harvest is going to be awful," said Laura Foote Reiff, co-chairwoman of the Business Immigration Group, predicting the effect on agriculture, where more than half of the 2.5 million workers are believed to be illegal. "People will feel it when they go grocery shopping, when they read in the newspaper that we're importing our meat from China."     Americans will probably end up paying more for food in supermarkets, more for hotels, more for restaurants, and more for janitorial services.  The Los Angeles Times

In a press conference on Friday, Michael Chertoff, the director of DHS, and the Secretary of Labor, Carlos Gutierrez outlined changes in the way that the government will enforce immigration law.

Secretary Chertoff said that interior enforcement, including worksite enforcement, is necessary to secure the nation’s borders.  The administration has a package of initiatives to do this more effectively. 

• DHS is going to expand and improve Basic Pilot.  The program henceforth will be called E-verify.  Voluntary participation in the program can help protect employers from inadvertently hiring illegal aliens.  The program takes information from I-9’s and compares that information with information from DHS’s immigration database and the Social Security Administration’s database.   The program will remain voluntary, but eventually all federal contractors will be required to use it.  In addition, employers will have access to many original photographs used for documents.

• Then the Secretary spoke of accountability.  A new policy on no match letters will take effect in 30 days, from Friday; the new policy clarifies what a business should do when it receives a  no match letter.  Ignoring a no match letter will no longer be an option.  The Secretary said that about 4% of 250,000,000 wage reports were no matches.  Chertoff recommends that businesses take the following steps when they receive a no match letter.   1.  The business should check for clerical errors within in 30 days of receiving a no match letter.  2.  The business should then attempt to resolve the issue with the Social Security Administration.  3.  If the employer cannot confirm the employee’s eligibility within 90 days, it must terminate the employee.  The Secretary made it clear that in future proceedings failure to act on a no match letter could be used as evidence against an employer; evidence that demonstrates that the employer knowingly hired an illegal alien.

Secretary Gutierrez spoke about streaming programs for seasonal workers and making the programs easier to use.  However, he offered few specifics about how this might be done.

Colorado According to the Pueblo Chieftain, the state of Colorado is about to begin randomly auditing employers to make sure that employers are complying with HB 1017.   Employers must examine the work status of each new employee within 20 days of hire and retain proof that an employee’s status is legal. Hiring of unauthorized workers may result in fines up to $5,000 for the first offense.  The state maintains the right to audit and verify employer records. The state also requires a signed affirmation.   The Pueblo Chieftain 

The Daily News 
8/14/07

National On Friday, the federal government announced sweeping new changes to the way that it enforces immigration law.  First, the government introduced a new no match regulation.  The name and social security number that an employee submits must match information in the Social Security Administration’s database. In cases where there are discrepancies, a no match letter will be sent to the employer, who has 90 days to resolve the conflict or terminate the employee.  This change has businesses across the country worried.  It could result in the firing of tens of thousands of illegal workers.  The federal government is also going to increase fines for knowingly hiring illegal workers by approximately 25%.   Below is a factsheet from the White House that summarizes the announced changes.   The federal government is also going to work to streamline the temporary worker programs to make them easier and more efficient for businesses to use.

The following information regarding worksite enforcement is from the White House’s official website.  For the complete factsheet, click this link:  The White House.

WORKSITE ENFORCEMENT

• 10.   Today, The Department Of Homeland Security Issued A "No-Match" Regulation That Will Help Employers Ensure Their Workers Are Legal And Help The Government Identify And Crack Down On Employers Who Knowingly Hire Illegal Workers.  In cases in which an employer has a significant number of employees with inaccurate personal identity information, the Social Security Administration will send the employer a "No-Match" letter.  The regulation clarifies that employers may be held liable if they ignore the "No Match" problems by failing to take specified steps within 90 days of receiving the letter.

• 11.   In The Coming Months, The Administration Will Publish A Regulation That Will Reduce The Number Of Documents That Employers Must Accept To Confirm The Identity And Work Eligibility Of Their Employees.  Presently, no fewer than 29 categories of documents can be used to establish identity and work eligibility.  Employers have little capacity to verify the authenticity of these documents, and the sheer quantity of accepted documents is an invitation to fraud.  This regulation will reduce unlawful employment by weeding out insecure documents now used often for identity fraud.     

• 12.   As A Civil Counterpart To The Administration's Strategy Of Using Criminal Investigations To Deter Illegal Employment, The Department Of Homeland Security Will Raise The Civil Fines Imposed On Employers Who Knowingly Hire Illegal Immigrants By Approximately 25 Percent.  Efforts to secure the border will fail unless the "magnet" that attracts illegals is turned off.  Unfortunately, the fines for relying on illegal workers are so modest that some companies treat them as little more than a cost of doing business.  DHS will use existing authority to update civil fines for inflation in order to boost fines by about 25 percent, as much as is allowed under current law.

• 13.   The Administration Will Continue To Expand Criminal Investigations Against Employers Who Knowingly Hire Large Numbers Of Illegal Aliens.  Arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for criminal violations have increased from 24 in FY 1999 to a record 716 in FY 2006.  There have been 742 criminal arrests since the beginning of FY 2007 (through July 31), and there is anecdotal evidence that companies are taking notice and adjusting their business practices to follow the law.

• 14.   The Administration Will Commence a Rulemaking Process To Require All Federal Contractors And Vendors To Use E-Verify, The Federal Electronic Employment Verification System, To Ensure That Their Employees Are Authorized To Work In The United States.  The Federal government ought to lead by example.  As there are more than 200,000 companies doing Federal business, this will significantly expand use of E-Verify, and make it more difficult for illegal immigrants to obtain jobs through fraud.

• 15.   The Administration Will Help States Make Greater Use Of E-Verify.  Some States already mandate the use of E-Verify by some or all of their hiring agencies, and other States are considering similar requirements.  The Administration will assist such efforts through outreach and offers of technical assistance.

• 16.   The Administration Will Bolster E-Verify By Expanding The Data Sources It Can Check.  This will make it easier to catch individuals who commit identity theft.  New sources of data will include cross-checks of visa and passport information.

The message for employers across the country is clear. If the White House follows through with this policy, the government is going to really enforce immigration law.  In addition, the White House is also going to increase enforcement efforts along the border.   

California More  than half of the vegetable and fruit pickers in the United States are illegal aliens.  The new regulations coming from the Bush Administration may force farmers to lay off half of their workers.  KFSN TV

The Daily News 
8/9/07

National The Inter-American Development Bank issued a report yesterday that revealed that a smaller percentage of Mexican Immigrants sent money back to Mexico in 2006.  The bank indicated that at least 2 million people in Mexico are without at least some of the financial assistance from family members in the United States that they would have received.  A survey included in the bank’s report suggests that Mexican immigrants feel insecure in the United States believing that they may have to return home; consequently, they are saving more money and sending less back to Mexico.  The sharpest drop came in remittances came in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia. Eighty-three percent of immigrants in the survey believe that discrimination against Latinos in the United States is growing.  Significantly, Mexico’s second source of foreign funding, after oil, is these remittances. The New York Times

Strict enforcement of immigration law could precipitate a collapse of the Mexican economy and ultimately result in a Chavez style dictatorship.

The Federal government plans to introduce new rules this week that will require businesses to fire employees whose names and social security numbers do not match if the employee is not able to resolve the issue in sixty days.  It seems likely that the federal government is going to dramatically increase the number of worksite raids in the near future. The Denver Post

Virginia James City County has decided not to pass an immigration ordinance like the one in Loudon County.  The county attorney believes that the costs of such an ordinance would outweigh the benefits. PeninsulaVirginia Law

Arizona On Wednesday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce joined businesses in Arizona who are suing the governor Arizona’s new law that says that a business that knowing hires illegal workers could permanently lose its business license.  The Chamber believes that immigration law is federal law and violations should be subjected to federal-not state, penalities.  “Our members do not want to be subject to a patchwork of state and local requirements, particularly when they are in compliance with federal law,” said Robin Conrad, the excutive vice president of the National Chamber Litigation Center. The Arizona Republic 

The Daily News 
8/8/07

Montana Six construction workers who were employed by Acosta Roofing were arrested Sunday evening in Glasgow for being in the country illegally.  A tip from a member of the community led to their arrest. The undocumented workers were discovered working to repair hail damaged roofs.  They have agreed to be deported to Mexico. The Great Falls Tribune

Pennsylvania Mayor Louis Barletta of Hazelton Pennsylvania  has vowed to continue fighting for Hazelton’s immigration ordinance to the end.  “I'm going to continue this fight all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary," the 51-year-old mayor said Tuesday.”  Barletta argues that since the city would only take action after someone’s immigration status has been determined by the federal government, it (Hazleton’s immigration ordinance) isn’t encroaching on federal jurisdiction. Lancaster Online

National Republican Senator Arlen Specter has proposed a compromise on immigration reform that would essentially legalize the nation’s estimated 12 million illegal aliens.   Writing in the Washington Post, the senator proposed that illegal aliens be given the equivalent of green card status without an automatic path to citizenship.  The Washington Post

Texas The Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation acknowledged that it has recently fired an unspecified number of employees in locations in Mount Pleasant, Lufkin, and Nacogdoches because their names and social security numbers did not match those in the Social Security Administration’s database.  This action was likely in response to the federal government’s expected announcement that businesses that receive no match letters from Social Security will henceforth have 60 days to resolve conflicts between the Social Security Administration’s database and employees’ tax records.   If an employee’s name and social security number don’t match the government’s database, the business will receive a no match letter. The business will have to either resolve any discrepancies or terminate the employee within 60 days.  If the federal government adopts this requirement, it will signal a fundamental change in policy.   Employers who fail to take action within the indicated time may faces serious charges of knowingly hiring an illegal alien.  Employers across the nation will likely follow Pilgrim’s Pride’s example.  The message from the White House is unambiguous: The federal government will no longer look the other way when business hires undocumented workers. The Daily Tribune, Mount Pleasant, Texas

Mississippi The owner of Tarrasco Steel, Jose S. Gonzales, was arrested Thursday on charges of hiring illegal workers who worked on major bridge projects, such as the Biloxi Bay Bridge, in three states.  Many of the workers, who were working on critical infrastructure sites, did not have valid welding certificates.  The government alleges that Mr. Gonzales also falsified information on employees’ I-9 forms.   Back in March, 77 employees of the company were arrested for being illegally in the United States. The Sun Herald

California Farmers are blaming tougher immigration measures for a severe shortage of labor from California to New England. One orchard in California reports almost a 50% drop in the number of workers picking plums. Much of the harvest will likely rot on the  trees.    Michigan farmers reported that they lost 20% of their asparagus crop due to a labor shortage.  Workers are reporting that it is more difficult to cross the border.    The Chicago Tribune

Illinois The town of Carpentersville is ready to reconsider passing an immigration ordinance similar to the one in Hazelton that was struck down by a federal judge last month.  The ordinance would prohibit landlords from renting to illegal aliens and employers from hiring them.  In light of the Hazelton verdict, the city may have to tread carefully to pass an ordinance that could withstand legal challenges. The Courier News

Rhode Island “Five months after a sweeping immigration raid at the Michael Bianco Inc. plant in New Bedford, company president Francesco Insolia and two of his top managers have been indicted on charges of conspiring to harbor and hire illegal immigrants, to fulfill almost $230 million in government contracts.” The Providence Journal

The Daily News 
8/1/07

National The Republican National Committee is poised to break with the President and the leadership of the party by approving a resolution that unequivocally opposes amnesty for illegal aliens.   This apparently expresses the views of rank and file members.   The resolution, expected to pass on Thursday, also calls for making border security a number one priority.  It is clear that immigration reform will continue to be a contentious issue in national and local politics this year and in the elections of 2008. The Washington Times 

Virginia The James City Council is drafting an ordinance that would prohibit illegal aliens from receiving many public benefits and give local police the authority to enforce immigration law.  The measure, though not yet drafted, is expected to be similar to the one recently passed in Prince William County. The DailyPress.com