Obama Administration Cracks Down on Paper Work, Not Illegals

http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/2009-07-01-immigration-crackdown_N.htm

The Obama administration has launched a sham crackdown on illegal immigration, obviously designed to create the illusion of securing the border ahead of a push in Congress for “comprehensive immigration reform” – a euphemism for granting legal status to twelve million aliens in the country illegally. 

The Obama administration launched investigations of hundreds of businesses around the country Wednesday as part of its strategy to focus immigration enforcement on the employers who hire illegal workers. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has begun notifying businesses of plans to audit their I-9 forms — employment eligibility documents that employers fill out for every worker — the agency told members of Congress in an e-mail Wednesday.

How will this work?  Evidence is provided by a separate story of one of these “I-9 paper work audits” conducted at American Apparel’s manufacturing operations in Los Angeles: 

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/manufacturing/2009-07-01-american-apparel_N.htm

American Apparel(APP), no stranger to controversial headlines, said Wednesday that the government has found that 1,800 of its employees are either illegally working in the U.S. or potentially illegal to work. Those employees comprise about one-third of the clothier’s Los Angeles manufacturing operation.

The disclosure came as a result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Of the 1,800 workers identified, 1,600 were deemed to be unauthorized to work while Immigration had been unable to verify the status of the remaining 200. The company said it was not found to have willingly hired illegal workers.

If the workers are unable to provide proof of eligibility, they will be forced to leave the company, American Apparel said in a statement. The company said the departures aren’t expected to hurt its financial results and noted it has a surplus of inventory and production capacity.

KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Edward Yruma said the immigration notice “thankfully led to no mass arrest or deportation of employees.”

No arrests.  No deportations.  No fines for the employers.  The illegals even get a second chance to provide proof of eligibility.  If they can’t, no doubt they’ll be rehired under some other identity, perhaps yours or mine.  Why not?  There’s absolutely zero risk of any meaningful enforcement action.

For all of Bush’s faults, one policy he was getting right was border security and immigration enforcement – conducting many high profile raids of employers, prosecuting company officials and deporting illegals.  Obama has put a stop to all of it, opting for a sham program to create an illusion of being tough.  I have news for him:  no one is going to fall for it.  In fact, the program may very well back-fire on him, with the I-9 audit results supporting opponents of amnesty and immigration ”reform,”  providing proof of just how ubiquitous the problem of illegal immigration (and all of the problems associated with it) has become. 

There are two issues absolutely critical  to the long-term future of this country:  restoring a balance of trade and stabilizing (even reducing) our population, and there is nothing more fundamental to addressing the latter than halting illegal immigration and deporting illegals.  On both of these issues, the Obama administration is failing miserably.