Crack Down On Hiring Illegal Immigrants

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez announced a new regulation on Friday. Called the "No-Match" regulation (pdf, 56 pgs), employers are given 90 days to verify if an employee's social security matches the identification found in the database of the Social Security administration. It's free E-Verify program allows employers to check the validity of social security registration and will be revamped next month to include photo screening features and other resources.

Legal status verification may be problematic for small business owners who lack the human resources of large companies. Franchisors may also feel increased pressure to terminate franchisees for hiring illegal aliens.

"They aren't in the document-review business, and some fraudulent documents look pretty legitimate," says Karen Harned, executive director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses Legal Foundation, a Washington, D.C. based lobbying group. Sometimes, an employee's records might not match the government's because of a perfectly legal name change or a clerical error, and a company that acts too hastily might end up on the fast track to a discrimination lawsuit, she adds. (See CNN Money)