You also would think the Department of Homeland Security, which enforces the immigration law, might also suspect they were doing something wrong and want to investigate exactly what it is.
"Employers engaging in a pattern or practice of knowingly hiring or continuing to employ unauthorized workers can be subject to fines and imprisonment," says GAO.
Citing competing demands for Homeland Security resources in a post-9/11 world, GAO says, "At present, it is unlikely that DHS will take enforcement action against employers and workers who submit inaccurate information to SSA to conceal unauthorized work activity."
But, says GAO, "it is important that some level of coordination be re-established to best leverage SSA's data on potential unauthorized work activity and DHS staff resources to target the most egregious employers."
Daniel Bertoni, a GAO analyst who worked on the report, told me GAO has the names of the 8,900 companies that filed at least 1,000 inaccurate W-2s between 1985 and 2000. It also has the name of the company that filed 33,448 in one year.
Would GAO give the names to Homeland Security? "I would have to consult with attorneys in terms of access to tax information," he said. "If it were legal to do so, we would share the information to the fullest extent possible, certainly."
I asked House Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner if GAO should give Homeland Security the names. "Yes, I do believe the GAO should provide the compilation of employers sending deficient W-2s to the DHS," said Sensenbrenner. "And I believe that the DHS should establish a procedure for investigating those companies that continue to send bad W-2s year after year."
Should Homeland Security immediately begin to investigate companies that routinely file large numbers of inaccurate W-2s to see if they are hiring large numbers of illegal aliens? "Absolutely," said Sensenbrenner. "And the administration should fund the 800 per year additional immigration internal enforcement officers authorized by last year's 9/11 Commission bill, and signed by the president."
Do Americans have the right to know the name of the company that filed the 33,448 inaccurate W-2s in one year? "Yes," said Sensenbrenner. "I think the American people should know the name of every company that files more than 100 inaccurate W-2s every year.
"Every community in America," he said, "has begun to recognize the hidden cost of employing illegal aliens, from over-crowded emergency rooms in bankrupt hospitals to schools overcrowded with indigent children who require special language teachers most school districts can't afford.
"Sadly," he said, "many of these employers are in communities which already have high levels of unemployed U.S. citizens."