Obama's Immigration Law Enforcement Farce

In an effort to help set the groundwork for some form of legislative amnesty for nearly all illegal immigrants, the Obama administration is stepping up the appearance of enforcing our nation’s existing immigration laws. The appearance is contained in the crackdown on larger employers of illegal immigrants (“More Employers Face Immigration Audits,” Wall Street Journal (November 20, 2010). A small percentage of these employers will be prosecuted as the larger employers of illegal immigrants generally rely on false documents supplied by the hirees. Even more farcical is the fact that any immigrants caught working illegally will not be prosecuted since the Obama administration has in effect decriminalized the act of illegal immigration and all related identity theft and falsifying of declarations and papers. The only resident illegal immigrants that are now deported are those convicted of “significant” crimes while living and working here.

Nearly all illegal immigrants who lose a job as a consequence of any employer crackdown will not return to their home countries where jobs are scarce and low-paying, corruption and crime are rampant, and public healthcare and education are unavailable or of poor quality. They will remain here and obtain other employment. They may start working for small employers who do not come under government scrutiny or they could join their brethren in our vast underground economy by working off the books or as independent contractors who do not report their income. Other options include obtaining their own Social Security number by fraudulent means or buying the name and Social Security number of a citizen from a stolen ID vender which can be used to avoid detection by employers using E-Verify.

For more on this topic see blog of July 9, 2009 entitled "Kinder, Gentler Obama Immigration Policy."