False Social Security Numbers Used by Undocumented Workers
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Used by Undocumented Workers |
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 Most illegal immigrants who succeed in
crossing the borders into the United States quickly begin looking for a job
upon their arrival. For many, the journey to the U.S. was most likely
difficult and expensive. Immigrants may have resorted to borrowing money from
family or friends to pay for their expenses. Many times immigrants who arrive to
the United States are looking for a means to support themselves or even send
money home to their family. As such, many are desperate for an income and are not picky
about their occupation or even working conditions. Undocumented immigrants often
do not expect or care about job benefits and will take on very low paying jobs.
Since their number one concern is gaining an income, they may often take on two
jobs. The skills of undocumented immigrants may vary and some may even
hold college degrees. A significant percentage of illegal immigrants are not
fluent in English. Because of their illegal status and
non-fluency, many immigrants know they do not have the luxury of being able to pick
and choose their occupation. Undocumented immigrants often find work in the service industry or work in the fields. Others
find work in the construction industry or in factories. Some employers will refuse to hire
immigrants
if they cannot provide valid documentation while other employers willingly hire
illegal immigrants. Unfortunately, some
employers take advantage of their illegal status and offer inhumane working
conditions and salaries well below minimum wage. Many remark that it is not
difficult for an illegal immigrant to attain a counterfeit
Social Security card or permanent
residency card. This is especially true for communities with high immigrant
populations, where chances are that someone knows someone who can get a hold of these types
of documents. Generally, the higher the price for the counterfeit documentation the higher
the quality will be. While most of the counterfeits can easily be identified as
they are poor quality, many employers will intentionally overlook this.
Employers are required by law to hire only individuals who are
legally in the United States.
Even though this law exists, however, employers
continue to hire illegal immigrants due to weak enforcement. In many places
there is a shortage of Americans willing to do certain minimum wage jobs.
Therefore,
when illegal immigrants are more than willing to take these jobs, employers may
be tempted to look the other way if an individual is not able to furnish the
required “legal” documents to
work. Since Congress has not been able to pass immigration reform bills the
Department of Homeland Security (or DHS) is looking at other ways to punish
employers. The idea is that by imposing severe penalties on employers they will
be forced to stop hiring illegal immigrants. Many employers accept false
social security cards and
permanent residency cards as “proof” that the
individual can legally work in the United States. The Social Security
Administration or SSA is responsible for the processing of annual employee wage
reports and they do so for more than 250 million employees. The reports help the SSA
determine future employee benefits like disability, survivor payments, and social
security. The agency comes across many employees who have mismatched
social
security numbers. This means that the social security number provided by the
company does not match up with the name and social security number that the
administration has in their records. The mismatches often occur due to clerical
errors and name changes. Last year the
Social Security Administration found there were nearly 8 million mismatches.
This figure represents about 4% of the total reports processed.
The DHS secretary recently proposed a new rule that would
lead to increased security efforts. For mismatches in social security numbers,
the company would receive a no-match letter and would be given 30 days
to investigate. If the company
found no clerical error, than the employee would be given the opportunity to
prove the information provided was accurate. The employee, if needed, would
have to contact the SSA to make any corrections. The secretary proposed that
after the no-match letter was received there would be a 90 day period to make
corrections. If the employee failed to prove they were lawfully authorized to
work in the United States within the 90 days, the employer would be mandated to terminate the
employee. Advocates of this proposed rule believe that about 90% of the million
mismatches are illegal immigrants. If passed, this legislation would punish employers
who knowingly hire illegal immigrants and enforcement
efforts would be increased. This would result in less illegal immigrants
being hired which may discourage immigration to the United States. For those presently in the
U.S. it may encourage them to return to their homeland since finding a job would
become more difficult. In addition, the rule would be beneficial to employers
who have some kind of inconsistency when it comes to their social security
number. They would be able to clear up problems now rather than in the future
when trying to obtain benefits. Opponents of the proposed rule cite disbelief
that 90% of the social security number mismatches are illegal immigrants, and
feel that the figure is definitely over inflated. Critics also feel that the
legislation would result in a high
number of legal residents and even citizens being
fired by employers. Recently a federal judge blocked this rule from being
implemented stating it would bring numerous problems and hurt many who are legally
working in the United States. However, it is speculated that under the new Obama
administration, legislation on immigration will undoubtedly be brought before
Congress.
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