This means a state agency habitually sent the federal government large numbers of bad W-2s. In fact, the No. 1 employer on the list submitted 131,991 bad W-2s over five years. The No. 100 employer filed 12,951. The state agency, in other words, had to file at least 12,951.
To which state does this agency belong? The top 100 included employers in 27 states. California led with 25. President Bush's Texas placed second with 15. Illinois placed third with 14. Florida and Ohio tied for fourth with 4.
But when I asked the inspector general's office to name the state government whose agency made the list, it refused. The Internal Revenue Code, I was told, prohibits SSA from publicly releasing the names of employers who file bad W-2s, even if it is a state government. SSA cannot reveal the names even to DHS, the inspector general's office said, except in the context of an ongoing criminal investigation.
"The state location and name of the state agency is protected under Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code," the office said in written responses to my inquiries. "With the exception of an ongoing criminal investigation, the same disclosure restrictions under Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code apply to sharing this information with outside parties, such as DHS."
As far back as 2001, the inspector general recommended SSA take action to deal with this problem. "(W)e recommended that SSA re-evaluate the application of existing disclosure laws or seek legislative authority to remove barriers that would allow SSA to share information regarding chronic problem employers with other federal agencies, such as DHS," said the inspector general's office. But it has not been done.
Taxpayers have a right to know if their state government is filing large numbers of bad W-2s. Stockholders have a right to know if companies they invest in are filing large numbers of bad W-2s. All Americans deserve a secure border.
If President Bush is serious about worksite enforcement of the immigration laws -- and about corporate responsibility and about safeguarding the Social Security system -- he will ask Congress to change the law so SSA can reveal to the public and to Homeland Security which U.S. employers habitually file large numbers of bad W-2s.