2006年VOA标准英语-US Senate Debates Tougher Penalties on Employer

By Stephanie Ho
Washington
20 June 2006

Illegal immigrants detained by US Border Patrol  
  
As debate over immigration continues to heat up, much of the focus so far has been on the existence of millions of illegal immigrants in the United States. The Senate recently examined a different angle on the issue, toughening sanctions against the employers who hire illegal workers.

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Twenty years ago, sweeping¹ immigration legislation, known as the Immigration and Reform Control Act, was passed into law. There were three million illegal immigrants in the country then, and the predominant concern was how to control immigration.

The Department of Homeland Security's Stewart Baker² told the Senate Judiciary subcommittee the situation today is much the same - only now, his agency estimates the number of illegal immigrants in the United States has quadrupled, to about 12 million people.

He says the 1986 act made it illegal for employers to hire people who had entered the country unlawfully, but he adds that that measure has not been effective. "We thought just making it illegal to hire illegal immigrants and requiring ID would solve the problem. Instead, employees who wanted jobs or who were here illegally, just got fake IDs. They made up fake Social Security numbers, and that was the end of the enforcement mechanisms," he said.

Baker said he supports the institution of an electronic verification system, through which his department can cross-check names and Social Security numbers with the Social Security Administration. But he also called for tougher penalties on employers who break the law. "As the President [Bush] said, some of the penalties that are in the law now are less than a speeding ticket in many jurisdictions⁴. We've got to substantially increase those, and we've got to particularly increase them very aggressively for repeat offenders," he said.

The Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement department, or ICE, has been stepping up its efforts against employers who hire illegal workers. ICE's Julie Myers told the senators about a March raid that resulted in criminal charges and heavy fines against the owners of a restaurant chain that employed undocumented workers and kept them in living conditions she described as deplorable.

"At the same time that the aliens were suffering, the owners of these restaurants had created a lavish⁵ lifestyle for themselves, purchased themselves several houses, fancy cars. Fortunately, the ICE agents were able to criminally arrest them on money laundering⁶ charges and harboring illegal aliens for commercial advantage. We seized their assets. We seized eight luxury vehicles and ten bank accounts. The owners have since pleaded guilty to these felony charges, and agreed to forfeit⁷ approximately $1.1 million in assets," she said.

Myers said ICE also conducted raids in April and May, with similar results. She added that this differs sharply from the past when employers would have been issued only a small fine. "The owners would have likely escaped even a misdemeanor charge and the maximum fine would have been $20,000 or $30,000. And, in many cases, that would have been negotiated down to something even further. With such a paltry⁸ end result, it is not surprising that the old employer sanction regime had simply become a cost of doing business," she said.

As U.S. lawmakers discuss immigration reform, immigrants rights groups say they are concerned that lawful³ immigrants could become victims of stepped-up enforcement efforts.

Cecilia Munoz, of the National Council of La Raza, the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, points to errors in the system that still need to be fixed⁹. "In 2002, the Department of Justice conducted a study of the basic pilot and found that a sizable number of workers, who were found by the program not to be work-authorized actually were work-authorized, about four percent of the verifications. If you multiply that by 54 million or so new hires every year, a four percent error rate means about two million American workers every year could face denials and delays in employment because of government error," she said.

She called that an "unacceptable level" and said for groups like hers, building in mechanisms to address errors that affect large numbers of people is an important consideration

1 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

2 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

3 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

4 jurisdictions   

司法权( jurisdiction的名词复数 )； 裁判权； 管辖区域； 管辖范围

参考例句：

• Butler entreated him to remember the act abolishing the heritable jurisdictions. 巴特勒提醒他注意废除世袭审判权的国会法令。
• James I personally adjudicated between the two jurisdictions. 詹姆士一世亲自裁定双方纠纷。

5 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

6 laundering   

n.洗涤（衣等），洗烫（衣等）；洗（钱）v.洗（衣服等），洗烫（衣服等）( launder的现在分词 )；洗（黑钱）（把非法收入改头换面，变为貌似合法的收入）

参考例句：

• Separate the white clothes from the dark clothes before laundering. 洗衣前应当把浅色衣服和深色衣服分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was charged with laundering money. 他被指控洗钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 forfeit   

vt.丧失；n.罚金，罚款，没收物

参考例句：

• If you continue to tell lies,you will forfeit the good opinion of everyone.你如果继续撒谎，就会失掉大家对你的好感。
• Please pay for the forfeit before you borrow book.在你借书之前请先付清罚款。

8 paltry   

adj.无价值的，微不足道的

参考例句：

• The parents had little interest in paltry domestic concerns.那些家长对家里鸡毛蒜皮的小事没什么兴趣。
• I'm getting angry;and if you don't command that paltry spirit of yours.我要生气了，如果你不能振作你那点元气。

9 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。