The Social Security Administration was all set to mail out letters to employers today advising them of mis-matches between social security numbers and names of their employees. The SSA has been doing this for more than two decades, but this time there was something extra in the letters. The something extra was a warning from Homeland Security to correct the problem within 90 days or face fines or possible criminal prosecution. Previously, employers would just discard the letters and pay a small fine (if they were even fined), charging the fine off as a cost of doing business. This time, the employers wouldn't be as cavalier about it.
But wait just a second ... the AFL-CIO filed a lawsuit against the government claiming that the new letters violate the rights of workers (even if they are not working legally) and put an undo burden on employers (who are required to make sure their employees are eligible to work in the United States).
US District Judge Maxine Chesney granted a temporary restraining order on the "no-match" letters till Oct 1st to allow herself a bit of breathing room to make a decision. People have villainized this judge for the restraining order, she actually did what any "just" justice would have, facing the imminent release of the letters and not having had the time to fully look into the situation. Before you laud or demonize her, wait for her decision.
Now for the crux of the matter, the AFL-CIO could have chosen any district in which to file this suit, they chose San Francisco because it falls into the jurisdiction of the very liberal 9th Circuit Court Of Appeals (the most reversed court in the country). So whatever the judge rules, it will be appealed to the 9th circuit and the union wins (till the supreme court overturns them ... again). Meanwhile, the union gets to keep sucking dues out of the illegals for months, if not years. It's terrible to actually see the law being used to thwart the carrying out of our immigration policies ... just another reason the American People are so sick and tired of Washington.
15 comments:
Uh... I don't understand it...
I will never understand why we (our government) can't protect American's from having their social security numbers stolen.
What I understand, all they are doing is letting employers know that there is a problem w/ a match ...
I appreciate that as much as I appreciate a store clerk asking for my ID when accepting my credit card. I don't get offended... I'm happy to prove that I am me!
American People are so sick and tired of Washington.
Boy, that's an understatment!!
I wish we could throw them all out on their assets and start over!
Crooked deep pocketed politicians.
terri ... amen sister
We might also have to review the decisions of all of these "appointed for life" judges we have in the system.
hi there..the 9th circus is at it again..what a shame!..great post!
You summed it up perfectly. The American people are tired of Washington not listening. I was shocked when they actually DID listen and failed to pass the past bit of immigration legislation. It would have been a disaster for the US.
I'm with Terri, I don't mind if folks want to check my ID. I have nothing to hide.
Oh ... yes yes yes on what you said about the judges ...
count me in on that one.
I personally despise unions. Blood sucking, America hating, destroy all that is right about capitalism... Ha! And as a principal I will have to put up with them for the foreseeable future :(
Oh, well. I'd better stop in case some union loving commie future employer decides to check your blog as part of a background check on me! Not likely!
Oops, did I post that!
:)
David smiles sweetly and bats his eyes!
The local government in CA has no idea how this move could harm everyone. With all the SSN stuff and identity theft going on, correcting mismatching SSN are a key way to fight the problem.
CA made it am immigration issue.
You are so right, again, Paul! We are sick of Washington!!
Mike makes a great point too. We all want our social security numbers protected. The matching of names and socials being confirmed by the SS Administration just makes good sense. Shouldn't this be about protecting identity and the laws we already have on the books? Why is it suddenly about picking on poor (dishonest) Mexicans?
(oh, I don't mean to imply that all Mexicans are dishonest in all their dealings. I just believe that using another person's social is not honest).
womanhonorthyself ... hi, welcome to my blog. Hadn't heard it called the 9th circus before (though it totally fits) thanks for the info.
debbie ... Washington only seems to listen during election cycles, and they listen to whoever has the loudest voices. All we want is for our legislators to make decisions based on what is best for our country and not what is best for getting them re-elected. Can you imagine if the House passed an unpopular law unanimously, then went out to the public and simply stated that they knew the law was not going to be popular, but after having fully debated the measure, they decided it was in the best interests of the United States and passed the law unanimously? I think the public would accept that as an answer.
david ... teachers unions are probably the worst. Both my parents were union members (United Federation of Teachers -- UFT) and both could not stand it. My father who had been a Teamster prior to teaching, could not believe that the UFT tried so hard to get into every facet of the member's lives. Lots of luck.
mike ... my daughter had to get a replacement social security card for my 6-yr old grandson. While they were waiting, an employee came out and spoke with her. Seems that the 6-yr old had been working in Florida and Colorado the past couple of years (or at least some people using his social security number had). What happens when he reaches 18 and tries to get a credit card? Will they deny him because these illegals ran up bad credit on his SSN?
terry ... I know what you meant. The thing is, the honest immigrants are already here legally or are awaiting their turns in their own countries. The fact that an immigrant violated our laws and entered the country illegally ... kind of makes them dishonest to begin with.
That is a strange move for the AIF-CLO as it's to the ultimate benefit of the workers.
Although I agree that many unions wield too much power and abuse the employers I don't think they are all bad but that may just be because I'm a firefighters wife. I've seen what happens when employers have the power over the people and crush them under their bootheel. It's not fair to say "then just go work some where else" some times, often times these are the very employers who are the primary if not sole employer for an area (hello steal and coal mining????)
Unions have their place, but much like HOA's their power needs to be wielded responsibly.
FYI if anyone is interested here is a link to the actual complaint:
http://www.aclu.org/pdfs/immigrants/aflcio_v_chertoff_complaint.pdf
oops it seems to have cut part of it off...
chertoff_complaint.pdf
mama ... thanks for stopping by. There was a place for unions a while back ... now they are just money generating apparatus that really care more for power than about their members.
Hmmmm ... sounds a bit like Congress.
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