The Washington Times
The agency charged with interior immigration enforcement all but ignores going after illegal aliens in the workplace, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released yesterday.
The GAO found that an antiquated system for businesses to verify employees' right to work has hindered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in its mission of tracking and deporting illegal aliens in the nation's interior. In addition, the widespread use of fraudulent documents has made it difficult for both employers and ICE to detect illegal workers.
GAO investigators also said ICE, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, is devoting more attention to preventing terrorism, but that has meant less attention to illegal immigration in general.
"Work site enforcement has been a relatively low priority," the GAO said, adding that some problems from the former Immigration and Naturalization Service carried over when that agency was abolished and split into ICE and other agencies in the Department of Homeland Security.
Posted by Richard at September 22, 2005