Book Description

Media reports during the second term of U.S. President George W. Bush gave the distinct impression that government agencies were cracking down on illegal immigration by raiding businesses suspected of employing illegal workers. At the same time, the U.S. Congress, along with many smaller political subdivisions, passed new or amended existing immigration laws; and federal and local police agencies entered into agreements to share enforcement powers in detaining or arresting suspected illegal immigrants. Despite the publicity of these workplace raids and the subsequent Congressional reaction, federal worksite enforcement of U.S. immigration laws has largely been superficial. From the start of 2007 through the end of 2008, armed officers of ICE raided only eighty-six workplaces. Less than a quarter of the raided employers were involved in the nation's critical infrastructure; and employees, not employers, were the overwhelming majority of those arrested in raids. In addition, the raids were criticized for exhibiting institutional racial bias, reflected in the fact that a disproportionate number of those employers that were arrested had minority surnames. ICE had few resources to devote to these cases, and most of the raids were at restaurants or construction sites, rather than employers whose businesses affect homeland security. Overwhelmingly, the arrestees were undocumented. There is no known nexus between the scope of unauthorized working or hiring and workplace raids. It is far from clear that the tenfold increase in worksite raids since the DHS was created has mitigated either illegal immigration or bolstered employer compliance with immigration laws.