Alien Documents

On May 2, The Times published an article entitled “Sanctions Fail to Cut Alien Jobs” (Part I). That article contains a quotation, attributed to me, which gives the reader an impression which is contrary to what I said to the author.

In the interview, the author made a statement to me that many employers assumed that most documents presented for employment eligibility by Latinos were not genuine. I responded that I could not automatically assume that documents were not genuine--unless (somewhat facetiously) they were printed on the back of an envelope or something. I continued by explaining to him that we have never discriminated against Latinos or anyone else, and we were not going to start now.

I said the Immigration Reform and Control Act requires employers to examine employment eligibility documents, and “if the document reasonably appears on its face to be genuine,” then that document can be accepted by the employer. Our company follows that rule, and adds our growing experience with document examination, in making decisions as to the authenticity of documents.

PATRICK C. SHEA

Vice President

Beacon Bay Enterprises

Newport Beach