Court delays implementation of DHS no-match rule

Employers in agriculture and in the construction and hospitality industries are breathing a little bit easier. A federal judge in San Francisco has delayed the implementation of a controversial DHS rule which would require employers to fire employees within ninety days if no match for their Social Security number was found in a federal database. Illegal immigrants often use fake Social Security numbers to get employment. Charles Breyer of the Northern District of California issued the preliminary injunction Wednesday after several unions filed a lawsuit against DHS. The lawsuit claims the DHS rule would put undue strain on small businesses and could lead to the firing of thousands of legal workers. Under DHS rule, which was scheduled to take effect last month, employers would receive a letter from the Social Security Administration if an employee had a number which did not match the national Social Security database. Employers would then have ninety days to correct the error or fire the employee before facing the risk of being prosecuted for knowingly hiring an illegal immigrant. An estimated 140,000 letters relating to eight million employees were scheduled to be sent during the first few months of the rule.

Gerry Chapman, a Greensboro immigration attorney, says the injunction issued Wednesday means the judge felt more harm could come to the unions and their members who filed the lawsuit if the rule was implemented now than would come to DHS if the implementation was delayed. A decision on the legality of the actual DHS rule must still be made, although that could likely be several months off.