Illegal Immigration

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Chris Matus likes to be ahead of the curve.

So for Matus, president of Elgin-based Rieke Office Interiors, the decision to enroll his company in the federal government’s E-Verify program was not a difficult one.

“Immigration issues are very much up in the air right now,” Matus said. “We wanted to make sure we were prepared for whatever the future might bring in that regard.”

Matus’ company, however, certainly is not alone in logging on.

In Illinois, more than 1,350 employers are registered on the system that uses the Internet to verify whether job applicants legally can work in the U.S., according to a report from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Nationwide, about 64,000 employers use the system, CIS said. In Fiscal Year 2007, more than 3.27 million employment verification queries were made.

Since October, the beginning of the federal fiscal year, however, about 3.17 million inquiries had been made, putting E-Verify on pace to field 5.43 million inquiries this year, an increase of about 60 percent.

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Across the country, states continue to enact their own employment-related immigration legislation, including legislation requiring certain employers to use E-Verify to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees. Currently, seven states have implemented laws requiring certain employers, and state contractors to use E-Verify. The seven states mandating the use of E-Verify are Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Rhode Island.

The following is a description of the requirements for the states that have mandated the use of the E-Verify program.

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Trustees Approve E-Verify Program

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — The Kern High School District has approved a plan about an electronic program that would show if district workers are legal or not. Trustees said it’s part of doing good business. Monday night Kern High School District said yes to the e-verify program. The program would show that workers for vendors and contractors who do business with the district have the legal right to work in the U.S.

E-verify is a free program offered to all business owners by the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration.

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On May 5, 2008, the E-Verify system will include naturalization data, which will help instantly confirm the citizenship status of naturalized U.S. citizens hired by E-Verify employers.  Naturalized citizens who have not yet updated their records with the Social Security Administration (SSA) are the largest category of work-authorized persons who initially face an SSA mismatch in E-Verify.

Additionally, a naturalized citizen who receives a citizenship mismatch with SSA can call USCIS directly to resolve the issue (in addition to the option of resolving the mismatch in person at any SSA field office.)

For more information about this improvement of E-Verify, please see the link on enhancements at the bottom of this page.

Photo Tool

E-Verify’s new Photo Screening Tool is the beginning of biometric verification within the E-Verify system. This additional feature will be the first step in giving employers the tools they need to detect identity theft in the employment eligibility process.

The Photo Screening Tool feature allows an employer to check the photo on his or her new hire’s Employment Authorization Document (EAD) or Permanent Resident Card (”Green Card”) against the 14.8 million images stored in DHS immigration databases.

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by KTAR Newsroom

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio still isn’t saying when he will take his crime suppression patrols to Mesa.

He says there’s a reason for the delay — he’s giving illegal immigrants a chance to get out of town.

“I’m giving them a chance to pack up and leave, so when I do go in there, there may not be a big problem,” he said.

If an illegal immigrant needs a ride, Arpaio says, “Call 602-876-1000 and we’ll make arrangements. Maybe we’ll even pick them up.”

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06:17 PM CDT on Friday, April 25, 2008

By JEFF MOSIER / The Dallas Morning News
jmosier@dallasnews.com

Carrollton and Farmers Branch are among the first Texas law enforcement agencies accepted into a program to give local officers federal immigration enforcement training, according to a press release Friday from U.S. Rep. Kenny Marchant.

Harris County, where Houston is located, has also been accepted into the 287(g) program this week, according to the Coppell Republican’s office. Officers and deputies from the three agencies will receive training allowing them to investigate whether a person is in the country illegally and give them to access to federal immigration databases.

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We the undersigned call on the General Assembly to do the following immediately:

Whereas, North Carolina has become a mecca for illegal aliens.

And whereas, illegal aliens in North Carolina account for 25 percent of the growth in local school enrollment, crowding our schools, forcing local property taxpayers to build new ones.

And whereas, illegal aliens crowd our jails, get free care in our hospitals, are eligible for food stamps and other social services.

And whereas, the cost of providing education, health care and other social services to illegal aliens amounts to 250 million dollars a year in North Carolina.

And whereas, North Carolina even registers voters in Spanish.

And whereas, there are documented cases of illegal aliens registered to vote in North Carolina.

And whereas, while North Carolina is a welcoming state to immigrants, we are also a nation of laws.

Therefore, be it resolved, we the undersigned, call on the North Carolina Legislature to enact the following steps:

1. No driver’s licenses for illegal aliens

2. Require Voter Identification Cards

3. No access to public benefit programs for illegal aliens

4. Employer Sanctions

5. Make English the true official language of the State of North Carolina

6. End bilingual education in public schools in favor of English transition and immersion

7. Enhance the ability of local law enforcement to apprehend illegal aliens and enforce immigration laws

8. Outlaw Sanctuary City Status: Charlotte, Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh, and Winston-Salem

Be it hereby further resolved, that we call on Congress to enact any conforming changes in law that are necessary to stop providing social welfare benefits to illegal aliens and make English the official language.

Petition Link…

By Stephen Gurr
sgurr@gainesvilletimes.com

The message, authorities say, is apparently getting out.

In the nearly three weeks since Hall County sheriff’s officials began a new partnership with federal authorities to identify accused lawbreakers who are in the country illegally, there has been a marked decrease in the number of foreign-born arrestees, officials said.

Meanwhile, 139 people booked into the jail have been interviewed in connection with the 287(g) program, 111 had immigration holds placed on them, and 45 have been picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents for possible deportation.

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by Janice Francis-Smith
The Journal Record April 22, 2008

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Associated Press

MOUNT PLEASANT, Texas — Federal agents say their case for a series of workplace raids in five U.S. states was strengthened by identity theft victims who recounted stories of plummeting credit scores and medical benefits denied.

Federal authorities carried out the sweeps Wednesday, arresting hundreds of workers at Pilgrim’s Pride chicken plants on charges of identity theft, document fraud and immigration violations.

Authorities also arrested dozens of workers at a doughnut factory in Houston, and the operators of a chain of Mexican restaurants in upstate New York.

Authorities said agents investigating a scheme to provide documents for illegal immigrant workers had tracked down several of the identity theft victims.

“Identity theft is a horrible problem that can ruin a person’s good name,” said Julie Myers, homeland security assistant secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

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