Bush signed the order Friday and the White House announced the order Monday.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez planned an afternoon news conference to discuss the order and other ways the administration has stepped up its crackdown on illegal immigration.
The order says federal departments and agencies must require contractors to use an electronic system to verify that the workers are eligible to work in the U.S.
The order is aimed at cracking down on hiring of illegal immigrants. But people who overstayed visas or came to the country legally but do not have permission to work, such as some students or those awaiting work permits, also could be snagged with the system.
"It is the policy of the executive branch to enforce fully the immigration laws of the United States, including the detection and removal of illegal aliens and the imposition of legal sanctions against employers that hire illegal aliens," in the executive order says.
The order comes as a worker verification bill has essentially stalled in Congress. A Democratic immigration enforcement bill would require employers to check the citizenship and legal status of all their employees.
President Bush has been getting a LOT of flack lately, some of it very well deserved, but this is the first thing I've seen from him in a long while that I can completely get behind.
We can't have illegal immigrants working for the Federal government. They may have access to classified information, or worse. Plus, they are taking away jobs from hard working American citizens.
No one is saying that they are "anti-immigrant", we're just anti ILLEGAL immigrant.
This country was founded by immigrants looking for a better life for themselves and their families. I welcome them, but I want them to go through proper channels.
For example, I used to work with an Indian woman names Anurada (God, I hope I spelled her name right...) She was the web designer for the company that I worked for previously. Her and her husband came here to make a better life for themselves then what they would have experienced in India. She was/is a nice, sweet girl, and her husband was/is a very nice man. However, they went through all the LEGAL loops that was necessary to become citizens.
It took them 8 years to do so.
All the while, she had to take time off of work to go to appointments with the INS, pay all sorts of fees, and renew her visa multiple times. It was a pain in the ass, but she did it for the love of this country and the people in it.
Now only if we can get ALL employers to require employees to be legal citizens, then we'll REALLY see some progress towards this problem.
Travis
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