Adminstration Targets Employers of Illegal Aliens

Washington, DC, July 2, 2009--The Obama administration is pursuing hundreds of companies suspected of employing illegal immigrants.

The strategy signals a shift in policy: going after employers instead of workers.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a unit of the Department of Homeland Security, said that it had begun an audit of 652 U.S. companies to verify whether their employees were eligible to work. Violations could lead to fines, as well as civil and criminal charges.

Under the new policy, ICE began notifying businesses that it planned to inspect their hiring records to see whether employees have proper employee documentation. Many of the companies were located in New York and California, according to an ICE official.

It wasn't clear what steps the government would pursue if it verified that an employer had hired illegal workers, or how severe penalties might be.

The new policy comes as President Barack Obama is attempting to ramp up support for an overhaul of immigration legislation that would set millions of illegal immigrants on the path to U.S. citizenship.