Redstate

By Bill Dupray Posted in Immigration — Comments (2) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

From the New York Times.

President Bush has ordered federal contractors to participate in the Department of Homeland Security’s electronic system for verifying the immigration status of their workers, greatly expanding the reach of the administration’s crackdown on employers who hire illegal immigrants.

An executive order, signed by the president on Friday and announced on Monday, requires federal contractors to use the system, known as E-Verify, to check immigration status when they hire new workers or start work under government contracts.

And the scope and breadth of the Order is a good start on the employer problem.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the measure would affect at least several hundred thousand workers a year nationwide. The status checks apply to all workers. [snip]

About 69,000 employers are now enrolled, up from about 5,900 in 2005, according to federal figures released on Monday. That is still a small fraction of the estimated 7.4 million employers in the United States. Officials estimated that as many as 200,000 contractors would be covered by the new rule.

Anti-illegal immigration groups are liking this change.

“It will have a huge impact,” said Rosemary Jenks, director of government relations for NumbersUSA, a group that favors reduced immigration. “This is the first time the federal government is ensuring that it will not be responsible, directly or indirectly, for hiring illegal aliens.”

So, with 6 months to go Bush decides to become a nut-cracker on immigration. We can't win. The upside is that it will be a test for the next president, who will have to decide to leave it in place or repeal it. We know neither Obama or McCain would likely have signed such an Executive Order, but it is possible McCain, at least will not repeal it.

Also find Bill Dupray at The Patriot Room.