Checking for Illegals
by Dale Tyler

On March 5, 2007, Councilman J.P. Ledesma introduced a proposal that would require the city, as well as all of its contractors, to ensure that all of their workers are legally permitted to work in the United States. In the past, this was done by examining documents presented by job applicants at the time they first reported to work. These documents were used to verify identity and either U.S. citizenship or legal U.S. residency. This ordinance is due to be voted on at the March 19 meeting.

The problem with the old system is that it required the employer to become expert in what various documents look like and assess the genuine nature (or lack thereof) for each one. I would imagine that in some cases the employer would like to be able to question documents but is concerned about embarrassing or alienating a new employee.

The new system allows an employer, whether it be the city or a vendor doing work for the city, to access a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) web site and enter the employee's name, Social Security number and date of birth. The DHS server will look up this information in a database and report whether or not the three items match and if the individual has a legal right to work, based solely on citizenship or legal residency.

Of course, there can be problems with the accuracy of any computer system. For example, if people have changed their names, perhaps being recently married, the database might indicate that the three pieces of information – name, Social Security number and date of birth – do not match. Hopefully, in these cases, there will be a way for the employee to continue to work until the matter is straightened out. Also, there should be an alternate way to prove one's right to legally work in the United States. In cases where the DHS records are clearly wrong, a passport or certified birth certificate could serve this need for verification.

I would expect that the mere existence of this new ordinance would practically eliminate any attempts to work illegally for the city or its vendors. The NewsBlog applauds the city for taking a decisive step to ending employment of illegal aliens. If only the rest of the businesses in Mission Viejo would do the same. Perhaps the city could offer a free or very low-cost service to employers in Mission Viejo.