BAY AREA COUPLE FACE CRIMINAL INDICTMENT FOR IMMIGRATION & TAX VIOLATIONS

Here’s something I found interesting: Business owners taking advantage of a faulty immigration system.

A local Bay Area couple was recently arraigned in federal court after being charged in a 20-count criminal information with tax and immigration violations. The couple own a series of Mexican restaurants in the Bay Area and were being investigated over a period of time by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation; and the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General. They were charged
with a host of violations, including harboring illegal aliens for financial gain; employing at least 10 unauthorized workers over a 12-month period; false representation of Social Security numbers; tax evasion; and filing false tax returns. A brother of the owner already pled guilty to failure to pay taxes and harboring illegal aliens for financial gain. He was a partner and manager of two of the restaurants located in San Francisco. A review of the ICE and FBI website suggests this Bay Area couple is not alone.

As long as employers are willing to employ undocumented workers, the problem of illegal immigration will continue. Control the draw, and we stem the flow. Most people don’t realize that the loudest proponents against employment verification programs to date have been US employers largely because the system has presented with problems (like E-verify and SS No Match letter issuances). But that doesn’t mean we should abandon those programs – – just fix them. While not fail proof, they are nonetheless a good start to verifying employment eligibility. Until US employers are fully on board, impoverished workers from south of the border will continue to make the harrowing and dangerous trek north in search of work and an opportunity to make a better life for themselves and their families.