The Bush administration is increasing its efforts to fight illegal immigration, and cautions employers about harsh fines for hiring undocumented immigrants. The new directive has already caused panic in New York City restaurants, which, as it is commonly known, employ a great number of illegal immigrants.

Not just illegal immigrants are afraid, but also the owners of New York restaurants and clubs, where undocumented immigrants provide cheap labor, helping keep the prices of served dishes at a steady and low level.

No mercy

In a letter Department of Homeland Security (DHS) warns business owners about the harsh fines for hiring illegal immigrants.

Up until recently, after discovering that an employee was using a false Social Security Number, DHS would simply inform the employer that the number and the name of the employee didn’t match and that would be the end of it. Usually there would be no further investigation. Now things are changing and business owners are given 90 days to explain the discrepancies.

The city stands to lose

Now if employers choose to ignore the DHS letter and don't take any actions, there will be serious consequences for them.

As the TV station NY1 has announced, these actions may in fact seriously hurt the city's economy, which, to a large extent, gets a big portion of its profits from the restaurant industry. It's estimated that about 40 percent of the New York restaurant employees don’t have work permits. Undocumented immigrants are most often hired to work in kitchens, cold rooms, and also as waiters and busboys.

In the opinion of Saru Jayaraman, director of Restaurant Opportunities Center, this situation will force employers to lay off many good and experienced employees and could cause many businesses to fold.

It is estimated that there are about eight million illegal immigrants who live in the United States and whose combined income exceeds $500 billion.