The 1980 U.S. immigration amnesty stipulated that employers who are hiring foreigners without a legal status face stiff sanctions, including imprisonment. The amnesty, which was granted to millions of people, mostly Mexicans, was an effective way for undocumented immigrants to get U.S. permanent residence status, and perhaps U.S. citizenship later on.

But as far as employers were concerned, the U.S. government’s treatment was overtly humane. To date, only a small fraction of employers were tried for violating immigration laws, (largely ignored by them), and escaped with only paltry fines.

In this light, certain provisions of the immigration reform that addressed the responsibility of employers for hiring illegal immigrants were poorly drafted. Therefore, if there were successes in holding businessmen accountable, businessmen still mostly came out unscathed.

And so it has been going on for the last 20 years. However, at his most recent press conference, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Michael Chertoff said that the U.S. government will no longer tolerate such employers. He promised to make new requirements for employers to stop their cat-and-mouse game with his department.

“We will provide employers with the ability to verify the immigration status of their workers quickly and simply, but we will also begin to hold those employers who do not want to run their businesses honestly accountable.”

Although Chertoff did not elaborate any further on his plans, The New York Times was able to talk with DHS personnel who briefly outlined Chertoff’s initiatives.

First, employers will receive clear and unambiguous instructions about what they should do when they receive a notification from the Social Security Administration, particularly concerning about their workers whose personal Social Security numbers (and other confidential information) do not match with those in the Administration’s database.

Second, employers will be required to use the Basic Pilot Project (BPP) Internet-based system, which will allow them to verify quickly the immigration status of certain employees.

According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Center (USCIS), only 5,000 of 7 million employers currently use this program. The DHS and the White House want to force businessmen to use the Internet-based system.

A recent report by the Government Accountability Office showed that there were 417 employers who were fined for extensive use of illegal labor during President Clinton’s administration. Last year, however, only five were fined.

The White House has always explained the situation by saying that no one has time to penalize businessmen who are breaking immigration laws due to the necessity of fighting terrorists. I think something else is going on. President Bush deliberately did not want to spoil his relationship with the country's influential business community. Now, actively lobbying for his guest-worker program, he is trying to win the favor with his critics in Congress who refuse to make any concessions to illegal immigrants.

This is quite a risky step. Many employers, particularly small business-owners who rely heavily on cheap labor, could take serious offense at the Republicans and support Democrats in the 2006 congressional elections.

Whatever the case may be, Chertoff stressed that he intends to expand the investigation and deportation sections of his Department.

“We have closed our eyes to this for 20 years. Now it is time to climb out of this hole that we have dug for ourselves,” he stated.

Do you get the hint, Mr. Employer?