US in trouble with employment of illegal immigrants

But on average, only about 15 employers per year face criminal charges for employment of undocumented workers. Both supporters and opponents of stronger immigration restrictions stress that high profile raids do very little to prevent illegal immigration as long as employers are not held accountable.

US immigration and Customs Agency agents recently raided seven agricultural product processing plants in the Mississippi state, arresting about 680 undocumented immigrants.

However, few of these companies are likely to be charged with violating federal statutes for illegal employment of foreigners, for it is usually difficult to prove that they had a preliminary knowledge that their workers were illegally located in the country.

The penalties for hiring workers without documents range between $100 and $10,000 for violations and up to six months in prison for multiple offences.

Anti-immigration groups say the lack of a strong law enforcement to business owners has prevented the main push for illegal immigration, jobs, from being eliminated.

We're attacking limbs. We are not attacking the root of the problem”, Says Kevin Lynn from the Progressive Organisation for Migration Reform.

Many companies use the E-Verification system, a voluntary government programme that controls the legal status of workers. But business advocates also admit that it is a flawed system because counterfeit documents often go smoothly through this system, giving employers excuses to support their employees.

The E-Verifification program doesn't work and therefore it's popular, because it makes politicians look aggressive when they support it, but they know it won't harm the local economy”, Says Alex Nowrasteh of the Insitute Cato.

Migrant rights groups reject calls that undocumented immigrants working to be treated as criminals. Business supporters call for expanding legal immigration to address labour shortage in the United States.

“The number one policy we need is to make it possible for low- and middle-qualification workers to be able to come to this country legally, work for a certain timeline and then be able to return to their native countries”, Says Alex Nowrasteh of the Insitute Cato.

But supporters of tough measures against immigration say there is no shortage of labour in the country, but simply a lack of willingness to pay workers a living salary. They want business owners to face stronger sentences than random fines for employment of undocumented immigrants.

“They estimate it as the cost of doing business and that should change. I think the only thing that's going to change this are severe sentences that can result in a prison sentence of”, Says Kevin Lynn from the Progressive Organisation for Migration Reform.

Both critics and immigration supporters agree that the law enforcement measures have been inefficient, but continue to have no consensus on how to reform the system. / VoA