Update: State governments are getting the message. The federal government is a too-powerful, pork-laden bureaucracy with little accountability. It certainly doesn’t help matters that the White House is sending mixed signals with a strong “war on terror” mantra and weak border and interior enforcement efforts. Talk, as they say, is cheap.
———————————————————————————
Big government is expensive, wasteful, and inefficient, and most social programs are vulnerable to fraud and abuse. That’s my off-the-cuff opinion, and I’m sure many intelligent people would agree.
I stumbled upon a story in the Washington Times about a recent audit report issued by the Office of the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration, Employers With The Most Wage Items In The NonWork Alien File (PDF).
Since 2003, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has issued “nonwork” Social Security numbers (SSN) to foreigners who aren’t allowed to work in the United States but need to collect welfare(?). According to the audit report, a nonwork SSN card indicates on its face that the holder may not use the card for employment purposes.
Each year the SSA is required to send the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) a NonWork Alien File (NWALIEN), which contains names, address, amounts earned, etc., of people working under nonwork SSNs. For the audit, the Inspector General randomly selected 275 noncitizens who worked for 100 employers that reported the most wage items in the NWALIEN. Sixty-one percent were not authorized to work in the U.S. The rest were incorrectly classified as noncitizens working under nonwork SSNs. Their records had not been updated to reflect a change in status.
The employers with the highest percentage of illegal aliens — I mean noncitizens — working without authorization were staffing (employment agencies), hotel and services, and health care services.
Employers either ignore the nonwork designation on the SSNs, see it and don’t care, or illegal aliens don’t present the cards when hired for a job. Incidentally, the Privacy Act prohibits the SSA from telling employers which of its employees are working under nonwork SSNs! Government agencies are not coordinating their efforts to combat fraud.
According to the audit report, noncitizens working under nonwork SSNs is “widespread.” Mind the bureaucratese:
Unauthorized work by noncitizens weakens SSN integrity and may require that the agency pay benefits to these individuals. In addition, noncitizens who work without DHS authorization could affect homeland security because they may obtain employment in sensitive areas. To help ensure the integrity of SSA’s records and the accuracy of the NWALIEN file, we believe the Agency should consider informing numberholders it has recorded their wages under a nonwork SSN. In addition, to reduce the number of noncitizens who work without authorization, we believe SSA should consider examining its interpretation of existing disclosure laws and, if necessary, seek legislative authority that would allow the Agency to disclose nonwork status to employers. We also believe the Agency should encourage employers who file large numbers or percentages of wage statements with nonwork SSNs to use the Basic Pilot when hiring new employees. For example, we believe the Agency should consider coordinating with employer associations and participating in conferences to discuss steps employers can take to reduce unauthorized work by noncitizens.
Emphases added. Employer verification systems are already in place, but employers apparently don’t have much use for them. This is one reason why I said big government is inefficient. (Also see Internet-Based Pilot Program).
As you know, Congress is attempting to “reform” our immigration laws. The Federation for American Immigration Reform has done a great job summarizing the differences bewteen the House of Representative’s and Senate’s versions of the immigration bills (PDF), and I encourage you to check out the chart.
Here’s a common sense solution to SSN fraud: Why not bar foreigners from collecting welfare? That way, they won’t need a “nonwork SSN.” Also, if foreigners are not allowed to work in the U.S. and have no means of support, send them back to their home countries. Just a few ideas…
The current “immigration†problem has been in the making for at least 20 years, with the complicity of federal and local governments, business owners, hiring managers, and private citizens too cheap to hire legal aliens and citizens. It won’t be solved overnight, but a little common sense, as the cliché goes…
I will keep you updated about our homeland security mess with frequent reports. I must warn you about my bias, though. Pro-America sentiment will be sprinkled throughout. 
Addendum: I predict that if George Bush’s amnesty-for-illegal-aliens plan succeeds, the “privatize Social Security” movement will re-emerge from its slumber.
