U.S. Border Control

Federal and state officials are seeking tighter limits on illegal immigrants

June 23, 2005

The federal government, as well as a number of states, will soon be enforcing new laws cracking down on illegal aliens. Legislators in some states have proposed and in some cases passed bills barring illegal immigrants and their families from receiving health, welfare and other public benefits.

Maryland will cut off thousands of children of legal as well as illegal immigrants from health care benefits. The state may also cut immigrant pregnant women off the state's health rolls.

Virginia recently passed a measure denying illegal aliens public benefits, including access to Medicaid, welfare and local health care services.

Arizona voters last year approved a measure requiring state employees to report illegal immigrants to federal authorities if they apply for benefits.

On the federal level, the Real ID Act, signed by President Bush last month will require anyone seeking to get or renew a driver's license to provide proof of citizenship or legal immigration status.

In addition, several lawmakers are looking at ways to enforce an existing 1986 law prohibiting employers from giving undocumented workers jobs.

'It’s the only way to eliminate the job market for undocumented workers, the only way to reduce the magnet for illegal immigration,' said Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn.

Cornyn, who wants to create a guest worker program for foreigners, is also co-sponsoring a bill that would create a nationwide electronic system to verify the immigration status of prospective employees. The system would also increase the penalties for hiring or continuing to employ illegal aliens and require the Department of Homeland Security to hire 2,000 new personnel annually for each of the next five years to enforce the law.

In recent years, the government has done almost nothing to enforce the law banning the employment of illegal immigrants.

Richard Stana, director of homeland security and justice at the Government Accountability Office, told a House of Representatives subcommittee this week the number of notices of intent to fine employers for knowingly hiring unauthorized workers fell from 417 in 1999 to three last year.

A computerized pilot program is available for employers to verify their employees' Social Security numbers but in 2004 only 2,300 of the nation's 5.6 million employers used it