San Diego
About 528 employers throughout the West--including Hawaii and Guam--have been fined a total of $2.7 million in the past year for violating the employer sanctions of the new immigration law, officials said Friday.
Immigration and Naturalization Service officials said that, during the same period, going back to June, 1987, Border Patrol and INS investigators have issued 153 fines in the San Diego area totaling $508,600. In addition, about 300 local employers are being under investigated.
Under the new immigration law, employers are required to maintain a record of every employee hired since Nov. 6, 1986, verifying that the employee is entitled to work in the United States. Employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens, or who do not maintain adequate records, can be fined $100 to $1,000 for each violation.
Despite the number of alleged violations, INS District Director Jim Turnage said employer compliance is about 88%. Turnage added that 50% to 75% of the fines levied in the INS Western Region have been collected. The region includes California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii and Guam.
Turnage said the Justice Department also investigates allegations of discrimination by employers. The immigration law prohibits discrimination in employment because of nationality and offers the same protection to permanent legal residents and citizens.
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