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Proposed Bills
Could Stop Illegal Aliens From Taking American ID's and Jobs
Jan-4-06
Today, U.S. Representative Elton Gallegly
(CA) introduced six bills designed to stop illegal aliens from
stealing the jobs and identities of hard working Americans.
Gallegly makes the connection between illegal
immigration and rampant identity theft and explains how his
comprehensive package will help solve both problems.
Speaking before the U.S. House of
Representatives the Republican Representative said:
The first
priority for this new Congress and any Congress, for that
matter, should be to reduce the high levels of illegal
immigrants entering this nation. This is a problem that goes
directly to our responsibilities as a sovereign nation to
secure our borders and enforce our laws.'
Two of my bills address the crux of the
illegal immigration problem in the United States. We know that
most illegal immigrants come here looking for work. If we stop
illegal workers from gaining employment, they would be less
likely to enter our country illegally in the first place. To
get a job, a person must provide his employer with a
Social
Security number. In many cases, an illegal immigrant simply
provides a name and a fictitious Social Security number. Too
often, an illegal immigrant has adopted the identity of a hard
working American who is unaware that his identity has been
stolen until he is refused a loan or contacted by an irate
creditor.
The federal government currently has the
capability to deter identity theft. Every year, employers have
to file W-2 forms with the Social Security Administration that
include the names, Social Security numbers and addresses of
their workers. Today, when the Social Security Administration
receives multiple W-2 forms with the same Social Security
number and different names and/or addresses, it simply ignores
it, even when it is obvious that more than one person is using
a Social Security number!
In other cases, when an employer files a
W-2 with a name and Social Security number that does not
match, the government simply mails the worker a letter
explaining the discrepancy. That's it. The Social Security
Administration does little to no follow-up. This has led to
many discrepancies that the Social Security Administration has
yet to resolve. In fact, a GAO report found that as of
November 2004, there were 246 million unresolved
discrepancies--involving $463 billion--dating back to 1937,
the beginning of the Social Security program.
My legislation would change that. The
Employment Eligibility Verification and Anti-Identity Theft
Act would require workers to resolve discrepancies if their
names and Social Security numbers do not match. Employers
would have to terminate workers who do not resolve
discrepancies. The Social Security Administration would also
be required to notify the Department of Homeland Security so
it can investigate whether a crime has been committed.
The Identity Theft Notification Act of
2007 would require the Social Security Administration to
investigate if it receives more than eight separate W -2 forms
with the same Social Security number if the number corresponds
with four different addresses in a single year. If the Social
Security Administration finds evidence of fraudulent activity,
it is required to notify not only the Department of Homeland
Security, but also the legal possessor of that Social Security
number. This will enable innocent people to take steps to
protect their credit, identity, and good name.
Although jobs are the
primary magnets that bring illegal immigrants to this country,
I have also introduced another bill that will remove a major
incentive for people to come to this country illegally. The
Citizenship Reform Act of 2007 would simply bring our laws
into line with virtually every other nation on earth by
requiring that at least one parent be a citizen or permanent
resident in order for a child to become automatically a
citizen.
Additionally, I have also introduced a
bill that will make our current immigration law fairer. Under
current law, an illegal immigrant who leaves the country faces
a bar of up to three years if he has been in the country
illegally for more than 6 months, and a ten year bar if he has
been here illegally for more than a year. However, if an
illegal immigrant never leaves the country but applies to
adjust his status, he faces no reentry prohibitions. this is
fundamentally unfair. My legislation provides that all illegal
immigrants face the same penalty--even if they are eligible
for a change in status.
Finally, I have introduced two bills that
would criminalize actions common among illegal immigrants.
Unfortunately, many illegal immigrants who are apprehended and
agree to voluntarily depart either fail to leave or leave only
to return. My bill would make it a felony, with a mandatory
one year jail sentence, for illegal immigrants agree to leave
and then either fail to leave or return illegally. I have also
found that too many illegal immigrants have figured out that
they are given a ``get out of jail free card'' when they are
given a notice to appear. Another bill I have introduced would
make it a felony, with a mandatory one-year jail sentence,
when illegal immigrants ignore the law and refuse to appear in
court when ordered.
I know that these bills, if passed, will
dramatically reduce illegal immigration and identity theft. I
ask my colleagues for their support to protect our nation's
sovereignty and our citizens' identities.
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