United States: Tougher Action on Illegal Workers

The US administration has announced tougher action against businesses which employ illegal immigrants.

The tighter workplace enforcement measures come after Congress failed to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

Under the new plan, employers will have 90 days to prove the workers are legal US residents or fire them.

If workers’ documents cannot be verified, employers would be required to fire them or could face fines of up to $12,500 (£6,250) per violation, a 25% fine increase, as well as possible criminal charges.

Officials said the rules would be backed by stepped-up raids on workplaces across the country that employ illegal immigrants.

The new plan will also strengthen patrols on the Mexican border.

The US government has already stepped up raids on companies employing illegal workers, and the number of criminal investigations of employers has also risen.

However, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said such initiatives alone would not stamp out illegal immigration.

The new measures could have major implications for the country’s agriculture, construction and hospitality industries which employ most of the illegal immigrants in the US. More than 70 percent of farm workers in the fields of the United States are illegal immigrants, according to estimates by growers’ associations.