WASHINGTON (AP) - Employers would have to check Social Security numbers and the immigration status of all new hires under a tentative Senate agreement on toughening sanctions against people who provide jobs to illegal immigrants.

Those who don't and who hire an illegal immigrant would be subject to fines of $200 to $6,000 per violation.

Employers found to have actually hired illegal immigrants once an electronic system for the checks is in place could be fined up to $20,000 per unauthorized worker and even sentenced to jail for repeat offenses.

What to do with people who hire illegal immigrants has been one of the stumbling points in putting together a broad immigration bill that tightens borders, but also addresses the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants now in the United States.

Congress left it to employers to ensure they were hiring legal workers when they passed an immigration law in 1986 and provided penalties for those who didn't. But the law was not strictly enforced and the market grew for fraudulent documents.

Senate Republicans and Democrats are hoping this week to reach a compromise on more contentious parts of the immigration bill so they can vote on it before Memorial Day.

http://news.aol.com/politics/story/_a/plan-devised-for-illegal-immigrant/n20060510040009990001?cid=771

This is only a contentious issue because the Republicans are completely owned by corporations that would be affected by these provisions.

Employers found to have actually hired illegal immigrants once an electronic system for the checks is in place could be fined up to $20,000 per unauthorized worker and even sentenced to jail for repeat offenses.


And, of course the loophole here will be that the 'electronic system' will be yet another of the plethora of unfunded mandates so popular with Congress, and nothing serious will actually done to implement a system that should have already been in place over 40 years ago ...