Employers to face more immigration pains - Dallas Business Journal:

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Immigration attorneys also think the Department of Homeland Security will move forwardx with a proposed federal regulation that woulcd increasea business' liabilithy for employing workers whose Social Security numbers don'r match government databases. "There will be mass layoffsz as soon as that regulationnis published," said Laura Reiff, an immigrationh attorney at Greenberg Traurig's McLean, Va., office and co-chairwomamn of the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition. "Imn Florida, it could be catastrophic," said Wendy Smith, an employment lawyef at the Tampa office ofFishetr & Phillips law firm.
Business groups like EWIC contende d immigration reform was needed to fix adysfunctionalk system. Employers in many industries can't find enouguh legal workers, document fraudf makes it hard to determineda worker's status, and the failure of Congresas to address these problems has prompted states and localities to pass thei own immigration laws. By putting off action on immigratiob reform, the Senate just made the status quo Reiff said.
State legislators around the countrt have introducednearly 1,200 bills and resolutione related to immigration so far this year, up from 570 last States will see Congress' failure to addresse immigration as "a green light to go forward and do Reiff said. "I don't thinkl there's any question that it will energize more efforte at the state andlocal level," said EWIC Co-chairman Randy vice president of labor, immigration and employee benefitws at the U.S.
Chamber of Many of these efforts are aimed at In Georgia, a new law went into effect July 1 that requiresw businesses that receive state contracts to participatee in the federal government's Basic Pilot program, an electronic system that checks Social Security numbers against federaol databases. Colorado enacted similar legislation this OnMay 12, Farmers Branch voters overwhelminglt approved an ordinance that requires apartment managers to verifg their residents' U.S. citizenship.
But the Mexican American Legal Defensew and Educational Fund and Bill Brewer ofthe Dallas-based law firm have sued Farmersz Branch, saying the ordinancee is vague and violates the due processe of its clients. A federakl district court judge has granted a preliminar injunction halting the city from implementing the ordinance untikl the lawsuitis resolved. Similar ordinances also have been challenge d in other courts aroundethe country. Business groups contens they violatethe U.S. Constitutioj because only the federal government has jurisdictionover immigration. The same argumentr applies to state laws that wouldd force companies to participate in the BasicPilot program, they The U.S.
Supreme Court ultimately will have to decide this saidIrv Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for Americah Immigration Reform, which supports stronger enforcement of immigration laws. A biggee threat to businesses could come from thefederapl government. Business groups had urgedr the Department of Homeland Security to wait for immigratiom reform legislation before it issues a final regulation outlining what stepe businesses should take when they receive letters notifying them thatan employee's name and Social Securityu number don't match federal records. Now that Congress has puntesd onthe issue, the department may soon implement that regulation, immigratiojn attorneys predict.
As proposed last summer, businesses that receive these "no letters should follow certain steps, such as checkin the accuracy of thei r own records and notifying the employere ofthe problem. If the discrepancty can't be resolved within two months, the employerf must fire the employee or risk being chargecd with violatingimmigration laws. The regulation won'yt "let people ignore problems that have stared them in the face Smith said. Many workers who have been usinh fake Social Security numbers will losetheir jobs, but "they'rer not just going to pack up theire bags and go back to Mexico," Reiff said.
Employera should prepare for increased federalo enforcement of immigration laws by goinfg throughthe I-9 forms that workeras fill out when they're hiredf and see if there are any obvious Smith said.