Illegal Worker Given Jail Term; Fake Papers to Skirt Law Found

A 21-year-old illegal Mexican immigrant who allegedly attempted to use false documents in an effort to bypass provisions of the new immigration law has been sentenced to 60 days in jail, U.S. officials said Thursday.

Federal authorities said the case marks the first instance in San Diego in which a suspect was alleged to have resorted to fraudulent documents in an attempt to circumvent a section of the new law requiring that employers hire legal U.S. residents. As part of that requirement, the law mandates that all employers review the documents of anyone hired since last Nov. 6, the date the immigration statute was signed into law.

Some observers have predicted that the law would result in an explosion in the already-booming market for fraudulent immigration documents.

Eliseo Gonzalez, 21, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in San Diego on Tuesday to entering the country illegally, authorities said. U.S. Magistrate Roger C. McKee sentenced him to 60 days in jail and a $50 fine, according to the court records.

When arrested in San Diego last Friday, according to the U.S. Border Patrol, Gonzalez was found in possession of a false immigration document and a fraudulent Social Security card. Despite the false document allegation, however, Gonzalez eventually pleaded to the single offense of entering the United States illegally, said Michael Nicley, a spokesman with the Border Patrol in San Diego.

Gonzalez will be returned to Mexico after his jail term, authorities said.

The case illustrates how U.S. immigration officials are attempting to vigorously enforce the new law, Nicley said.

The Border Patrol spokesman said that authorities have issued warnings to six businesses in San Diego County about hiring illegal workers and that 16 more are under investigation. Nicley declined to identify any of the firms.

After being warned, the employers are subject to fines--and, for repeat violators, jail terms--if they continue to hire illegal workers.