Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Enforcement of workplace immigration law, a central principle of immigration reform legislation under debate in Congress, has significantly declined since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to testimony at a Senate hearing Monday.
The number of unauthorized workers arrested fell from 2,849 in fiscal year 1999 to 445 in 2003, the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, said at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
The report also found the number of intent-to-fine notices issued to employers for improperly filling out forms related to foreign workers or knowingly hiring unauthorized workers dropped from 417 to three in the same four-year period.
The GAO noted the number of full-time immigration officials devoted to worksite enforcement fell from 240 in 1999 to 90 in 2003.
Posted by Richard at June 21, 2006