Home
TITLE:
A Proposal to Impose Harsher Penalties on Companies and Individuals Who Hire Illegal Aliens
MAJOR AREAS TO BE AFFECTED:
US Immigration Services, Department of Labor, insurance companies, employers and illegal immigrants.
JUSTIFICATION:
There are an estimated 7-20 million illegal immigrants living in the United States. These immigrants generally work in jobs that most American citizens do not wish to partake in, such as landscaping, construction, and as domestic servants. There are penalties in place for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants, but these penalties are not strictly enforced because there are so many loopholes. Therefore, many employers take advantage of the immigrants’ “undocumented” statuses by paying them well below the federal minimum wage. These employers also violate international human rights laws by making the immigrants work in unsafe conditions, knowing that they will not go to the Department of Labor (DOL) about being treated so poorly for fear of deportation. The illegal immigration problem cannot be fixed by harsher punishments and stricter laws on the immigrants alone. The root cause of the problem is that Americans provide them with employment and do a poor job enforcing the laws that restrict companies and individuals from hiring illegal aliens.
PROPOSAL FOR ACTION :
This is a proposal to provide additional enforceable, harsher penalties on companies and individuals who hire illegal immigrants. The DOL and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services already require companies to document all workers and prove whether or not each worker is legally allowed to work in the United States. These laws also impose civil and criminal penalties. The civil penalties are ineffectual because of loopholes, subject to abuse because they are not clear, and the resulting monetary fines are inconsequential. The criminal penalties do not go to the source of the problem: the corporate officers and their board of directors.
This proposal enhances the requirement to complete the I-9 Work Authorization form and removes the loopholes so identified. How?
1. Form I-9s will only be required from entities that hire 5 or more employees;
2. The failure to submit an I-9 will impose an automatic fine of 0.5% of the entity’s revenue from the most recent audited financial statements per infringement subject to a minimum fine of $5,000 per infringement;
3. There shall be no tax deduction allowed for wages and salaries that are not supported by a completed I-9 form for entities that do not provide documented I-9s with their annual tax return; basically, if there is any discrepancy between the entity’s annual payroll and the supporting I-9, the discrepancy will not be allowed as a tax deduction. This removes the ability of an employer to have off-the-record hire;
4. No company may claim any Workers’ Compensation benefit for an undocumented employee. However, this will not relieve the company of the cost of any Workers’ Compensation claim lodged by such employee;
5. Civil and criminal penalties will be imposed on the entity and its directors and officers. The entity and its directors and officers will not be able to seek indemnification from their insurance company for such action.
RESULTS TO BE EXPECTED :
A decrease in the amount of illegal aliens entering the United States because jobs will not be as readily available.
A Proposal to Impose Harsher Penalties on Companies and Individuals Who Hire Illegal Aliens
MAJOR AREAS TO BE AFFECTED:
US Immigration Services, Department of Labor, insurance companies, employers and illegal immigrants.
JUSTIFICATION:
There are an estimated 7-20 million illegal immigrants living in the United States. These immigrants generally work in jobs that most American citizens do not wish to partake in, such as landscaping, construction, and as domestic servants. There are penalties in place for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants, but these penalties are not strictly enforced because there are so many loopholes. Therefore, many employers take advantage of the immigrants’ “undocumented” statuses by paying them well below the federal minimum wage. These employers also violate international human rights laws by making the immigrants work in unsafe conditions, knowing that they will not go to the Department of Labor (DOL) about being treated so poorly for fear of deportation. The illegal immigration problem cannot be fixed by harsher punishments and stricter laws on the immigrants alone. The root cause of the problem is that Americans provide them with employment and do a poor job enforcing the laws that restrict companies and individuals from hiring illegal aliens.
PROPOSAL FOR ACTION :
This is a proposal to provide additional enforceable, harsher penalties on companies and individuals who hire illegal immigrants. The DOL and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services already require companies to document all workers and prove whether or not each worker is legally allowed to work in the United States. These laws also impose civil and criminal penalties. The civil penalties are ineffectual because of loopholes, subject to abuse because they are not clear, and the resulting monetary fines are inconsequential. The criminal penalties do not go to the source of the problem: the corporate officers and their board of directors.
This proposal enhances the requirement to complete the I-9 Work Authorization form and removes the loopholes so identified. How?
1. Form I-9s will only be required from entities that hire 5 or more employees;
2. The failure to submit an I-9 will impose an automatic fine of 0.5% of the entity’s revenue from the most recent audited financial statements per infringement subject to a minimum fine of $5,000 per infringement;
3. There shall be no tax deduction allowed for wages and salaries that are not supported by a completed I-9 form for entities that do not provide documented I-9s with their annual tax return; basically, if there is any discrepancy between the entity’s annual payroll and the supporting I-9, the discrepancy will not be allowed as a tax deduction. This removes the ability of an employer to have off-the-record hire;
4. No company may claim any Workers’ Compensation benefit for an undocumented employee. However, this will not relieve the company of the cost of any Workers’ Compensation claim lodged by such employee;
5. Civil and criminal penalties will be imposed on the entity and its directors and officers. The entity and its directors and officers will not be able to seek indemnification from their insurance company for such action.
RESULTS TO BE EXPECTED :
A decrease in the amount of illegal aliens entering the United States because jobs will not be as readily available.
