A federal judge signaled Monday that he is likely to prevent the Bush administration from threatening employers with prosecution if they fail to fire illegal immigrants, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The administration’s proposed crackdown on employers does not appear to be authorized by law, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said during a two-hour hearing in San Francisco.
That is the position of labor unions that have sued to block proposed new federal regulations, which they say could lead to firings of thousands of legally employed workers.
Over government objections, Breyer extended for up to 10 days a temporary restraining order issued Aug. 31 by another federal judge that stopped officials from mailing letters to employers notifying them of the new requirements. He said he would rule within 10 days on a preliminary injunction, sought by business groups as well as unions, that would bar the change for an indefinite period, until the case went to trial or a higher court overruled him.
Breyer’s comments during the hearing indicated he is inclined to grant the injunction.
“There would be irreparable harm, serious irreparable injury,” to legal employees if the government went ahead with its plan to send 140,000 letters to employers of 8 million workers in the next few months, Breyer said.
He also said the central message of the government’s letter – that employers must investigate and clear up discrepancies in their employees’ Social Security numbers within 93 days or be viewed as a criminal – “is not an accurate statement of the law.”
