05-04-2011, 08:02 PM
Grace62 wrote:
However, I don't think that I9 enforcement has been in place long enough to react with such sweeping conclusions, this is new policy.
. . .
Deportation under the Obama administration has focused on people convicted of serious crimes, and the number of those deportation is up sharply, which is something I think we should applaud.
. . .
While the total number of fines and penalties is a constantly moving target, here are the latest statistics from ICE:
ICE criminally charged a record-breaking 180 owners, employers, managers and/or supervisors — up from 135 in FY 2008 and 114 in FY 2009.
ICE conducted more than 2,200 I-9 audits — up from more than 1,400 in FY 2009.
Since January 2009, ICE has imposed approximately $50 million in financial sanctions.
ICE debarred 97 business and 49 individuals in FY 2010, up from 30 and 53, respectively, in FY 2009.
The work to deport criminal aliens is fine, but the over-emphasis of this aspect of "immigration enforcement" unfortunately associates immigrants with criminality, and exaggerates the perception that immigrants are prone to lawbreaking. I'm not blaming the administration for this, but it's a problematic - if unintended - consequence.
I am willing to consider evidence of miraculous results from meager I9 auditing and enforcement as the policy plays out. However, i am unconvinced that deterrence in the form of fines (rather than, say, prison time) is likely to be effective. Auditing is anemic enforcement, chiefly effective in keeping those who are likely to comply in line. Those who stand to profit significantly by flouting the rules are weakly incentivized by the threat of minor financial sanctions. It would be interesting to know how many of the fined businesses were bankrupted by ICE action.
Conservative estimates place the number of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. at over 10 million, and a Pew report this spring puts the number at 11.2 million. Since 2009, that puts ICE sanctions at about $4.46 per capita - about 37 minutes of work at the federal minimum wage. American business is not shy about making a fuss when federal action is significantly affecting its bottom line. So far on I9 enforcement, hardly a peep.