Fake documents use by illegal workers is increasing, even in Kansas

November 20, 2006

Technology is allowing people to make fake identification more easily, and  personnel managers, even in Kansas, say they are seeing an increase in illegal immigrants trying to land a job with the fake documents.

Carl Rusnok, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said that years ago, making good fake IDs required a lot of skill. Now, he noted, all it takes is a little computer experience and desktop publishing skills.

And fake documents are becoming more brazen.

A personnel manager at a Kansas manufacturer, said she once was handed a Social Security card that was so obviously fake she gave it back to the man who presented it with some sarcastic advice. But she acknowledges that some undocumented immigrants with higher-quality fakes probably have been given jobs at her firm more recently.

‘Now, if I tell them their paperwork isn't any good, they say, 'I can get some more,'' she said. 'It's not a big deal for them.'

A federal prosecutor who handles criminal immigration cases in Kansas, said illegal immigrants with false paperwork are likely to be found anywhere with labor-intensive jobs such as southwest Kansas' thriving meatpacking industry.

'When there are jobs, you're going to have illegals with false documents to work them,' said the attorney, who has prosecuted numerous fraudulent document cases.

In one such case last month, a federal grand jury indicted five Mexican nationals living in Dodge City, Kansas on charges related to a phony document mill in the city. Federal officials say they were peddling phony Social Security cards and Texas birth certificates, and had been doing it for years.

Employers face their own challenges when weeding out illegal workers. A new employee must produce proof of U.S. employment eligibility when applying for a job, typically a Social Security card and some other document.

But the law requires employers not to be too critical when scrutinizing the paperwork, in case they are accused of selective inspections and discriminatory employment practices.