Department of Homeland Idiocy at it Again
Immigrant Crackdown Halted Judge Delays DHS Plan to Check Social Security Numbers
By Spencer S. Hsu Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, September 1, 2007; A03
A federal judge yesterday barred the Bush administration from launching a crackdown Tuesday on U.S. employers who hire illegal immigrants while she considers a lawsuit by the AFL-CIO that charges that the plan will harm citizens and other legal workers.
The ruling, issued by U.S. District Judge Maxine M. Chesney in San Francisco, prohibits the Department of Homeland Security from starting to mail notices to 140,000 employers about suspect Social Security numbers. The "no- match" letters warn of penalties employers face by having discrepancies in their paperwork.
The order was a victory for the labor federation and the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed suit alleging that DHS is overstepping its authority to enforce immigration laws and is misusing a Social Security Administration database. They allege that the letters are an effort to pressure businesses to fire workers whose documents are flagged and could expose countless immigrant workers -- including law-abiding citizens and legal residents -- to job discrimination.
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Not 140,000 employees--140,000 employers. That certainly ought to keep us safe.
The ACLU is no surprise in this case, it's their bread-and-butter issue to fight discrimination. But with all the talk of 'taking jobs from Americans'--no doubt like the $1.90 New York pizza delivery jobs--it's interesting to see the AFL-CIO get into the act.
Possibly, no one likes to see immigrants abused except those who pander to the more radical American hate-groups. This administration is closing in on a renewal of McCarthyism and the country is traditionally unwilling to stand by and watch those kinds of civil abuses on a long-term basis.
Joe McCarthy was born of the same fear-mongering Bush and Cheney have pursued. They will suffer the same ultimate reputation.
* For more in-depth articles by Jim on Civil Rights, check out Opinion-Columns.com