WASHINGTON — Underscoring the Administration's new emphasis on employer sanctions to curb illegal immigration, President Clinton on Tuesday directed federal agencies to collaborate in cracking down on companies and industries that willfully hire undocumented workers.
Clinton, during a briefing at the White House, also hinted that he will seek authority to confiscate business assets of firms that employ illegal immigrants.
"If we turn off the employment stream for illegal workers, far, far fewer of them will risk the difficult journey here," said Clinton in announcing his instructions to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Department of Labor and other federal agencies.
Clinton also ordered the INS and Social Security Administration to implement pilot projects to test various techniques for improving workplace verification and to report back early next year on their progress.
The pilot projects would explore quick-response checks of Social Security cards and use of Social Security and INS databanks to verify workers' status.
The work site verification experiments were the key--and most controversial--recommendation last year of a federal immigration task force, chaired by former Texas Rep. Barbara Jordan.
The White House released a letter from Jordan backing the Administration's immigration game plan.
The Clinton directive builds on a White House budget that calls for a $1-billion increase in immigration-related funding next year. The spending plan includes new funds to stiffen enforcement at the country's borders, streamline deportation procedures and expand financial assistance to affected states.
Over the past two days, the Administration has taken pains to spotlight its heightened attention on the employer side of the illegal immigrant equation. The 1986 immigration reform law included employer sanctions, but the initiative failed in the face of scant enforcement, a sea of fraudulent work documents and the absence of reliable verification systems.
Clinton on Tuesday directed the Department of Labor to focus its investigations on industries with patterns of labor law violations. Seven states--including California--that are severely affected by illegal immigration would be singled out for special attention.
Meeting with reporters after briefing Clinton were Atty. Gen. Janet Reno, INS Commissioner Doris Meissner, Border Patrol officials and Labor Secretary Robert B. Reich, who inveighed against unscrupulous employers fueling the demand for illegal workers.
