On Sept. 21, I testified at a hearing of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security that focused on the "national security need for worksite enforcement" and on "whether the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has utilized enough resources toward this effort." Richard Stana, director of Homeland Security issues for the Government Accountability Office, also testified.
Stana told the committee in a written statement that worksite enforcement was "a low priority" for ICE. "(B)etween fiscal years 1999 and 2003, the most recent fiscal year for which comparable data are available, the percentage of agent work years spent on worksite enforcement efforts generally decreased from about 9 percent, or 240 full-time equivalents, to about 4 percent or 90 full-time equivalents," said Stana.
The law says ICE can fine an employer up to $11,000 for knowingly hiring an illegal alien. But in fiscal year 2004, Stana said, ICE notified only three U.S. employers it intended to fine them for hiring illegal aliens.
Because the administration has not dedicated the resources needed -- or shown the political will -- to stop illegal aliens at the border, or to stop employers from hiring them inside the United States, America's de facto border now runs through Oak Ridge, Tenn.
We have found a place where the immigration laws will actually be enforced: It is inside the gates of a nuclear weapons plant.