LOS ANGELES AND WASHINGTON — In a major departure from the Bush administration, the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday issued new work site enforcement guidelines that shift the focus to employers rather than illegal workers and could be a harbinger of more immigration reforms.
The federal guidelines instruct agents to conduct "carefully planned criminal investigations" of employers and to look for evidence that they may be involved in smuggling or visa fraud. Agents are directed to get indictments or search warrants before arresting employees.
Homeland Security officials said the goal was to reduce unfair competition and stem the flow of illegal crossers by targeting the magnet: jobs.
"The prospect for employment . . . continues to be one of the leading causes of illegal immigration," spokesman Matt Chandler said. "This is a clear message to the millions of businesses who play by the rules, but find themselves competing against others who enter the illegal labor market, that help is on the way."
During the Bush administration, work site raids led to the arrest and deportation of thousands of illegal workers but few criminal prosecutions of their bosses. In 2008, only 135 of more than 6,000 work site arrests were of employers.
Although some companies deliberately hire and exploit workers, most businesses want a legal workforce -- and a pool of documented workers, said Tamar Jacoby, president of ImmigrationWorks USA, a national federation of businesses.
"Employers have been worried about the tightening enforcement noose for a long time," Jacoby said. "No employer looks forward to getting raided, but they really want a system that works."
Labor needs were discussed Thursday during a Senate judiciary subcommittee hearing on immigration reform.
During the hearing, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said reform was urgently needed to aid California's agricultural sector, which she said could lose as much as $3.3 billion this year because of a worker shortage. "We'd all be delighted to have Americans do the work. But the fact is they won't," she said. "We need a program that will get a stable and continuing supply of labor."
The economic recession and high unemployment rate have raised questions as to whether President Obama would follow through on campaign promises to pursue an immigration overhaul and legalization of the nation's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants.
