Dreier Bill Targets Hiring of Illegals
Making a local push for his proposal to crack down on undocumented immigrants by
targeting employers who hire undocumented workers, Rep. David Dreier said
Thursday he will be "dogged" in his efforts to make it law.
The Glendora Republican, who wants to boost penalties for illegal hiring and add fraud-proof safeguards to Social Security cards - which are required to get a job - said the proposal comes at an opportune time, with Social Security reform about to take center-stage in the Congress.
"I would like to think that in light of (the upcoming debate on Social Security), this would be a natural issue that would go hand in hand with that," Dreier said.
Dreier, who introduced the Illegal Immigration Enforcement and Social Security Protection Act of 2005 this past week, already has tried to win support for the plan in discussions with White House and Mexican officials. The bill has bipartisan support in the House of Representatives, he said, and next week Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Arizona, will introduce a version of the bill in the Senate.
Under the plan, any person seeking a new job would be required to obtain an updated "counterfeit-proof" Social Security card, equipped with a digitized photo and an electronic identification strip containing the person's legal status. To offset fears of government intrusion, the card would be clearly marked, "This is not a national ID card," Dreier said.
Employers would have to check a prospective employee's legal status against a new employment eligibility database either by swiping the card or calling a hot line. Those who fail to do so, or knowingly hire an undocumented worker, would face fines of up to $50,000 and five years in prison for each occurrence.
Known as the Bonner Plan - after T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council - the bill would also add 10,000 new Homeland Security agents whose only job would be to make sure employers are following the law.
"When the word gets out in Mexico that you can't get a job unless you have one of these ... cards, unless you're here legally in the United States, again, that's why (Bonner) argues that we would see a 98 percent reduction" in illegal border crossings, Dreier said.
Bonner, who first suggested some of the reforms in a recent Time magazine article, joined Dreier at Sergio's Mexican Restaurant in Glendora for the event.
Because all but about 2 percent of people who cross the border illegally are motivated by jobs, ending that allure would allow the Border Patrol to focus on hard-core criminals or terrorists, he said.
"If there's no jobs to be had, people will go home," he said.
At the same time, the legislation would work hand in hand with some type of a guest-worker program, he said.
"You're constructing a figurative fence around illegal employment. You have to put a gate in there to allow" for employers to hire foreign workers legitimately under certain conditions, Bonner said, noting he had reservations about parts of the guest-worker program proposed by President Bush.
Latino activists have been mostly quiet on the Dreier bill. Francisco Estrada, director of public policy for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, said his group is waiting to see which of the many immigration reforms gain congressional support.
However, Estrada said his group is wary of any law that sanctions employers and worries that Social Security clerks will have a tough time dealing with the vagaries of immigration law
