Is the gov't doing enough to businesses who hire illegal immigrants? What should be done?
355455
I am in favor of mandatory minimum sentences. It is basically tax evasion.
727892
Yes I do,they should be tried under our existing laws .They need to also be made to pay for the cost of deporting the illegal aliens that they employed..The federal law against the employment of illegals must be enforced with zero tolerance.Make them pay dearly for the cost of their hiring practices of "cheap labor"To help stop the illegal alien you must take away the bait,the lure of a job,then you can stop the illegal from coming to this country.\nThe Social Security Administration offers a free employee verification service for employers wishing to verify the legal status of potential employees. The service verifies the social security numbers (SSN) for up to 5 employees. Call toll-free 1-800-772-6270, weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. EST.  You will be asked for your company name and EIN. You must also provide the following information for each name/SSN you want to verify:\n\nSSN \nlast name \nfirst name \nmiddle initial (if applicable) \ndate of birth \ngender \n\nhttp://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=118860,00.html - See Verifying Employee Names and Social Security Numbers (SSNs)\n\nhttp://www.cis.org/articles/2006/jmvtestimony022106.html  - Verification of Employment Authorization: Federal Basic Pilot Program is an Effective and Employer-friendly Tool for Immigration Law Compliance
185067
Most are paid cash. The people who hire them do that, so they won't have to responsible to check for proper documentation. The rest use paperwork that does not belong to them, and they do have taxes taken out.  The business that are lax in checking for proper paperwork are the ones to blame for the lack of tax collection. If they didn't hire the illegals in the first place they probably wouldn't come.  The same said business owners probably do not report all their earnings either.  By the way not all 11 million are on welfare. You can't get welfare unless you have papers.  If we do send them back, if you can catch them, do you know what will happen to them. You probably don't care, but here goes. They will STARVE.  We need to start caring about what goes on in the South American countries. How their leaders take care of, or lack there of, their people. The U.S. needs to make these countries stand up and take care of their own. If they had jobs in their own countries they wouldn't have to come here. THINK ABOUT THAT!
658063
I totally agree with you.  By law, employers aren't supposed to hire anyone who cannot legally work in the United States.  When one is hired, one fills out paperwork and gives the documentation proving that they were either born or naturalized US citizens or that they are legally able to work in this country.\n\nThe employers who hire the illegal immigrants are doing so by not filling out any of the paperwork, which is a criminal offense, and paying all of their labor in cash.  \n\nKeep in mind that no paperwork means no payroll taxes of any kind (FICA, Social Security, Medicare, etc.) are being paid by or on behalf of these illegal workers.   This means that no contributions are being made into the system from which these people will be expecting to draw benefits.
866458
I think fines for the first offense are permissible. If it happens a second time, then it's jail time. I think shutting down businesses are good becaue if they hired illegals, then they've broken the law. I think if we get tougher on illegal immigration and enforce these rules then we would deter illegals from coming here.
1001828
This is an easy answer, Arrest those that do the hiring of illegals. Put them in jail, fine the company's enough so it is not worth it to hire illegals at substandard wage. That fixes everything. \n\nNO JOB = NO WORK = NO MONEY = NO REASON TO COME HERE AND  NO REASON TO STAY.  Really simple.
547921
I think it is wrong for any employer to hire any illegal immigrants to work, and if a major case of a serious disease goes epidemic because of meat handled by a sick illegal, that meat processing company is going to find out just how expensive it is to hire illegals.
17054
It's simple -- big business interests have considerable influence on politicians. Big business wants cheap labor, and gets it, while the government still gets to appear tough on immigration by harrassing the individual immigrants.\n\nEven if the gov't begins prosecuting employers, I be the ones hit will be mostly small businesses (e.g. restaurants), and not large agricultural/construction companies.
746828
If I'm not mistaken, at least one state (I think it is Arizona) has already taken action to "compensate" its citizens by legally refusing to forward income tax deduction monies to the Federal government, instead, putting those monies back into the state coffers to compensate for all the additional expenses incurred by illegal aliens. While this is not literally a monetary compensation to any given individual, it IS at least a small step in the right direction, towards letting the Federal government get the message that states under seige are no longer willing to tolerate unstopped abuses of social systems by illegals. \n\nWhile I think your idea of Americans receiving actual monetary compensation from the Federal government in the form of a check may get a few folks to whoop and holler, in reality, it will never happen, and you know that. What really needs to happen is, we as a country have to put pressure on our LOCAL governments (county commisioners, etc.) to adopt and implement laws such as those in Hazelton, PA., whereby it becomes illegal for employers and landlords to do business with anyone, from anywhere, who is here illegally. Once these two entities realize that it is not worth the fines and possible jail time, and stop making it so easy for illegals to be here without impunity (because we all know that the Feds aren't doing anything to stop them), then, and only then, will we see a nationwide reduction in these problems. In towns where these laws have been inacted, even in a short period of time they are reporting dramatic decreases in things like violent crimes and abuses of their social programs. Illegals are forced to move around as more towns stand up and say, "NOT IN MY BACKYARD!". Eventually, if enough towns show some backbone, and enact similar restrictions, there won't be very many places left to hide.\n\nWe as a people also need to lean on our recently elected officials in Congress, via phone, emails, and letters, to push for more funding for agencies like Border Patrol and ICE. I have personally reported several businesses in my area that blatantly hire illegals, and have been told by ICE, in effect, not to hold my breath for action on my complaint report, because they do not have enough field agents to handle their already overwhelming case loads. Even when large groups of illegals are evident - as in my county's main courthouse, for example, on any given day - ICE does not have the resources needed to show up with a van and agents to do the job....and the local law enforcement (cops, court bailiffs) have to basically look the other way (which they HATE), as there are no laws in place that would give them the authority to ask a single one of these non-English speaking, undocumented defendents for any proof of legal status. I recently saw an ad in my county's newspaper, advertising for Court Translators (English-Spanish), for $65 an hour. $65 AN HOUR!!!! And who is paying those salaries? Take a wild guess. Yup - it's you and me, me maties (pirate talk seems appropriate, as we are being raped and pillaged).\n\nThere are sound, sane, do-able things we as concerned citizens can do. Expecting the Federal government to send us all checks is not one of them.
956941
It's an extremely complicated issue, and I don't think you're going to find a good solution asking here.\n\nHere's an idea, though that sounds good but still probably won't work.\n\nRaise the minimum wage more and enact harsher penalties on anyone hiring illegal immigrants. Simple, but effective. After all, extending the fence all the way could cost billions of dollars.
418387
It is a matter of magnitude.  There has always been some illegal aliens entering the country, but now it has grow to huge proportions with many demanding rights of full citizens and some saying that the Southwest United States is actually pat of Mexico.  Obviously this can’t continue.\n\nBegin with enforcing actions against companies hiring illegal aliens with large fines and jail terms on the business management and business owners.  Control the border at least as good as does Mexico protecting its Southern border.  That  is, close it.  \n\nThese actions will both cut to a trickle those illegally coming in our country and those here illegally will (to a large degree return to their country of origin.\n\nAfter that is done we could look at the cause of the problem.  People who want to better their lives coming to the United States for a better future.  In their shoes we would do the same.  Begin to work with Mexico to establish a better business climate in Mexico.  Then begin making incentives for those companies who have built businesses over seas, to move those businesses to Mexico.\n\nNone of this will make all of the problem go away but it should diminish it to a more reasonable size.
986428
If everything works according to policy, it solves the problem for those employers who do not wish to willingly hire an illegal alien.  The program has been in place for 2 years, so I would guess that any company that wishes to be in compliance has already signed up.  \nThis does not address the issue of employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens and pay them under the table.  Strict enforcement of current hiring laws is the only way to deter compliance from these employers.
889251
I support a guest worker program. I think it's impossible to throw all of them out. How are we going to find 12 million illegals? I'm a realist and know that we have to build a fence and send troops to guard it. But I know that is impossible to find all of the illegals here. We need to fine employers who hire illegals and reduce legal immigration with quotas. Illegal immigration is a serious problem and needs to be stopped.
1028310
How about going after the thousands instead of the million. The thousands of business' that hire illegals. How about we go after the thousands of people that can work, but would rather collect a welfare check, food stamps. You or I are not going to change nobodies mind. These idiots are not the majority. The govt. is going after the millions when all it has to do is go after the thousandths.
690418
Very simple, I fired 6 employees who took off to boycott, they were not "illegal" but they were hispanic and in favor of breaking the law. Maybe the Government wont do anything, But each business owner sure can. I already replaced the hispanics who went to boycott with Americans who were interested in working, took abt 30 minutes. I wonder how they will feel tomorrow morning when they find they have no job here.
796449
Punish employers who hire illegal immigrants with jail time and/or huge fines. The same for people who rent housing to them. No jobs and nowhere to live will stop them from coming.
685196
They have failed.  PUT UP The WALL !!!!!  Lets start there.  THEN FINE EMPLOYERS THAT ARE GIVING ILLEGALS JOBS!!!!!!