Political Pressure to Enforce Immigration Laws Likely to Continue to the US

Filed in archive Americas on December 26, 2007

Immigration enforcement actions against employers are likely to continue up to the elections in November as each party tries to show it is tough on illegal immigration and the US employers of undocumented aliens.

Although over the last two years the government expanded its enforcement of penalties against those who employment foreign nationals unlawfully, Democratic political consultants point to the Republican administration's weak enforcement history as an opportunity in the upcoming election. The government is likely to combat this image problem with even more aggressive enforcement actions up to the election. "It's now felonies, jail time, fines and forfeitures," Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said at a recent news conference.

See Immigrant Crackdown Falls Short, Washington Post, December 25, 2007, for more information.