New Law Not Deterring Aliens, Researcher Says

The much-heralded 1986 immigration law is not stopping illegal aliens from entering the United States and is not discouraging U.S. employers from hiring undocumented workers, many of whom are using false documents to circumvent the law, a leading immigration researcher said Friday.

Wayne A. Cornelius, director the the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies at UC San Diego, released the results of a yearlong study based on interviews with more than 570 immigrants and 100 non-agricultural employers in San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles counties.

Despite an initial deterrent effect in 1987, Cornelius said, increasing numbers of would-be immigrants from Mexico and Central America have again begun arriving at the U.S-Mexico border, from both traditional sending areas and from relatively new ones, such as Mexico City. U.S. Border Patrol arrests in San Diego are up more than 20% in 1988, after substantial declines in 1987.

‘Work Still Available’

“Those who delayed migration to the U.S. during 1987 are now coming, having observed that work is still available in the U.S., even for new arrivals lacking papers,” Cornelius said before a university-sponsored panel.

In a seeming paradox, Cornelius noted that the great majority of employers interviewed are complying with the letter of the revised law, which requires that employers ask new workers for proof of legal status, such as the so-called green cards. Employers are subject to sanctions, including fines and jail terms, for disregarding the new requirements, although agricultural concerns, which are major employers of undocumented labor, are exempt until Dec. 1.

However, Cornelius said, many workers are getting around the law by using fraudulent documents that are being purchased, rented or borrowed from suppliers--sometimes with encouragement from employers. Many critics have said that the law has a glaring loophole: It does not require employers to check the authenticity of workers’ documents, a fact that many say has allowed California employers to maintain their reliance on undocumented labor with relative ease.

“Quite obviously, the supply of jobs available to undocumented immigrants has not dried up,” said Cornelius, who added, however, that some migrants are having greater difficulty finding jobs and are having to settle for part-time and less-secure work. “The vast majority of newly arriving undocumented migrants are still being absorbed into U.S. labor markets.”

Nelson Disagrees

Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Alan C. Nelson, who sat on the same panel, saw Cornelius’ findings in a completely different light, arguing that the results indicate that the law is working, noting that most employers responded that they are aware of the law’s requirements. “While the law hasn’t had complete effectiveness, we think it’s had very good effectiveness,” Nelson said.

The results should be more pronounced in years to come, the INS chief said, as farmers are subject to the new laws and a manpower buildup of the Border Patrol, the enforcement arm of the INS, is completed.

Dale Cozart, chief Border Patrol agent in San Diego, who also attended the session, said he is not discouraged by the rise in arrests at the border. “We’ll be concerned if we’re not seeing a decline in arrests by this time next year,” said Cozart, whose officers patrol the most popular border crossing point in the United States.