ELECTION-YEAR WATCH : Good Try, but . . .

Surprised by all the sudden bills in Sacramento dealing with the hot-button issue of illegal immigration? Hey, it’s an election year.

Assemblyman Tom Umberg (D-Garden Grove) has authored one that would fine businesses with five or more workers as much as $2,000 for each illegal immigrant employed. A second offense could lead to forfeiture of a firm’s assets, and later violations could carry prison sentences.

The political appeal is clear; the bill sailed through the Assembly’s Public Safety Committee. However well-intentioned this legislation, there’s a hitch: Immigration is such a huge issue that only the federal government can really handle it. Indeed, the problem isn’t the law, it’s enforcement. The 1986 federal Immigration Reform and Control Act already imposes sanctions on employers that hire illegal immigrants. But weak federal enforcement has undermined the sanctions threat.

As for a state approach, previous “crackdowns” have not helped. That’s why stepped-up federal enforcement would be better than new, duplicative state laws. There is also the question of how to pay for inspectors to enforce new laws. Umberg contends that assets seized from offending business owners would cover the cost. Not likely: After all, the Supreme Court has just curbed government’s power to seize property in drug cases.

Umberg’s bill rightly puts an onus on business to ensure that workers are properly documented. But the most effective way to deal with illegal immigration is through federal action.