Obama Administration Targets Employers with Immigration Enforcement

Filed in archive Americas on May 22, 2009

I haven't heard much about the immigration debate in the US this year. But BusinessWeek just published an article that start with this:

The Obama Administration plans to intensify efforts begun under the Bush Administration to crack down on companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants, according to Janet Napolitano, the new head of the of Homeland Security Dept.

Napolitano is quoted in the article as pointing out (correctly) that illegal immigration is a labor force issue. Undocumented workers come to the US because companies are hiring them once they get here.

Of course, the issue is not quite that simple. And it's not like Jose Garcia and his family ever decide to move north because a Red Roof Inn or a Big Lots contacted them at their home in Guadalajara and offered them $4.25 and hour if they'd come. But they know how well Uncle Antonio and Aunt Dora are doing in Laredo...

It will be interesting to see if this is the start of a broader policy move.