Q&A – How Many Illegal Immigrants Are Here for Work? - Driven By Braman Motorcars
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
Social: @brianmuddradio
iHeartRadio: Use the Talkback feature – the microphone button on our station’s page in the iHeart app.
Today’s Entry: Today’s note was submitted via talkback suggesting that the Trump administration crack down on employers hiring illegal immigrants. The suggestion is that if they can’t work they won’t stay.
Bottom Line: Today’s note is especially instructive as it brings up an aspect of federal immigration law that’s little known, while also providing an opportunity for me to illustrate just how much times have changed pertaining to the motivations for illegal immigrants to enter our country. Let’s start by addressing the question...Why can't Donald Trump set up a program that fines corporations that hire illegal aliens or have illegal aliens on their staff? The answer is that he can, he has, and he does. So, about that...
The President can direct agencies like ICE to increase audits and enforcement, effectively ramping up fines via the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. The Act prohibits employers from knowingly hiring unauthorized workers and requires verifying employee eligibility. Penalties include fines ranging from $573 to $20,130 per violation for hiring violations, with higher fines for repeat offenders. Like many laws, the overall effectiveness is a matter of enforcement. During the Biden presidency enforcement of this law was effectively dropped. That wasn’t the case during the first Trump administration.
In 2019, the final full fiscal year of President Trump’s first term, ICE conducted 6,789 worksite investigations, or an average of 19 per day, resulting in $14.3 million in fines imposed against employers who violated the law. Upon his return to office President Trump is once again enforcing the Immigration Reform and Control Act. So that’s not really the issue. The challenge is two-fold.
There are over 6.1 million employers in the United States. Imagine the size and scale of ICE that would be required to credibly enforce the law ongoing nationwide. The Trump administration is doing what it can reasonably do on this front but expecting the federal government via ICE being in just about every community across the country ongoing for the purpose of investigating employers who may hire illegal immigrants isn’t realistic without growing employment in the federal government (and ICE specifically) by record proportions. The second, and even bigger challenge, is that employment isn’t why most illegal immigrants are here in the first place.
Trivia Time... What percentage of illegal immigrants currently in the United States are here for work? According to the latest from the Department of Homeland Security – only 45.3%. That’s right, most aren’t here to work. This goes hand in glove with previous findings I’ve shared with you pertaining to the percentage of illegal immigrants on government assistance programs.
Based on data from the Center for Immigration Studies:
- 63 percent of households headed by a non-citizen use at least one welfare program
The programs being exploited run the gambit of welfare programs. Among them...
- Financial welfare
- Housing
- Medicaid
- SNAP
- WIC
- School lunch
What became crystal clear was that the Biden administration's efforts to make it comfortable for illegal immigrants to come here and live on government assistance programs was seized on and became a leading reason for illegal immigration into this country. This is why President Trump’s executive orders aimed at removing illegal immigrants from federal government assistance programs is critical to this conversation.
Removing illegal immigrants from government assistance programs would address the reason most illegal immigrants are really here. That, along with the just announced incentive program for self-deportations, is the most effective way for the Trump administration to address the crux of the issue.