INS Reports ‘Dramatic’ Rise in Fake Work Papers

Immigration authorities have found that as they step up enforcement of the ban against hiring illegal aliens, the immigrants are increasingly resorting to the use of fraudulent documents to evade the law in their search for work.

The increase, according to officials of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, has been “dramatic.” Earlier this week, INS agents found that the entire work force at a Burbank jewelry manufacturer--about 370 illegal workers--had used false documents to get hired.

INS Western Region Commissioner Harold Ezell said at a press conference Wednesday that the case is not unusual.

“We have all kinds of companies that have the same problem,” he said.

Acknowledging that fraudulent documents provide the biggest loophole in the immigration reform law that sets penalties against employers who knowingly hire illegal workers, Ezell suggested that the government establish a “fool-proof” document to plug the hole.

Officials said the sale of bogus Social Security cards, birth certificates and immigration permits is “booming.” More than a dozen people suspected of making or selling false documents ha1986338914investigators expect to continue such arrests at the rate of two or three a week, said John Brechtel, who heads investigations in the INS Los Angeles district.

“In my 32 years in the (immigration) service, I’ve never seen false documents in such numbers on the street,” added Ernest Gustafson, Los Angeles district director.

Already, INS agents have begun encountering replicas of the most recently printed INS documents--temporary and permanent residence cards issued to immigrants who qualified for legalization under the immigration reform law’s amnesty provisions.

Depending on their quality, the bogus documents sell for $50 to $500, officials said. But investigators have found that immigrants have paid as much as $2,000 for supposedly valid Social Security cards that were bogus and mailed to them in fake government envelopes.

Noting the easy availability of such documents, Ezell said that the “challenge” to the Bush Administration will be to address the problem through the establishment of a single work-authorization document, perhaps a more counterfeit-resistant Social Security card along the lines of bank-issued credit cards.

Ezell, however, steered clear of calling for a national identity card, a concept that ran into stiff opposition from civil libertarians when first proposed during the congressional debate that preceded passage of the 1986 reform law.

Brechtel added that an INS pilot project offering employers a way to check employee documentation against the INS’ central index may be available across the country by mid-December. The ser1986618213will be offered at a fee, allows employers to use a phone or a computer to run the checks.

While employers will be under no obligation to use the new system, Brechtel said employers who do not use it and are charged with violating the law will have a harder time proving that they made a good-faith effort to comply.

A General Accounting Office report released this week concluded that “although unauthorized aliens’ use of counterfeit documents could undermine the law’s success, INS does not systematically analyze data on their use.”

Based on an analysis of INS records in five cities early this year, the GAO found that 39% of immigrant workers were using or were suspected of using counterfeit documents to get jobs. The report goes on to say that INS officials agreed to take corrective steps, including a closer monitoring of fraudulent document use.

No fines were issued against the Burbank jewelry firm, 1928 Co., which cooperated with INS investigators, officials said. Under the law, employers must keep records of the legal status of their employees but are not held liable for the authenticity of the documents.

Investigators made a routine visit to the company about a month ago to check the firm’s I-9 forms, the immigration status records that employers are required to maintain for each employee.

After cross-checking the documentation against the INS central index and determining that it was fraudulent, about 60 agents returned without warning Tuesday and arrested 190 workers, the entire day shift.