DHS Crackdown on Illegal Immigration Delayed

A temporary restraining order has been granted against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ruling to issue "no-match" letters to employers, part of a DHS plan tocrack down on illegal immigration. The ruling comes as part of a lawsuit filed against Michael Chertoff, DHS secretary, on August 29 by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).

In August, DHS announced a plan to provide "no-match" letters from the Social Security Administration (SSA) informing employers when there is an employee whose name and Social Security number do not match government records, and is therefore not authorized to work in the United States.CLICK HERE for previous coverage of the no-match law from glassBYTEs.com.

Among AFL-CIO's concerns are that some employees will be erroneously fired immediately upon receipt of the new DSA/SSA no-match packet; that false accusations against "workers with a 'foreign' appearance and non-citizens" could lead to "an unfair stigma on Latino and Asian" employees; that workers seeking to respond to the no-match letter could lose time and pay from work during the process; and that "employees who are authorized to work may not be able to correct SSA data discrepancies in time."

The next hearing for the case, 3:07-cv-04472-CRB American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations et al v. Chertoff et al, is scheduled for October 1, 2007.

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