11/20/07 DHS's no-match rule

A federal judge stopped the government from enforcing a new rule that would use Social Security records for immigration enforcement. US District Court Judge Charles Breyer said 'if allowed to proceed, the mailing of no-match letters accompanied by DHS's guidance letter, would result in irreparable harm to innocent workers and employers.' So what do agricultural employers do if they get no-match letters under current rules? Julie Anna Potts is an American Farm Bureau Federation attorney. POTTS "Keep the letters and follow the recommendations by the agency, by DHS, that you check out and try to correct any mismatches. A mismatch is when Social Security number and name or birth date don't match up in Social Security Administration records." Judge Breyer's temporary restraining order bars the government from sending notices of new regulations to 140 thousand employers across the nation. Potts, speaking at a Washington Farm Bureau meeting, believes the court will make that injunction permanent. The new rule would have allowed the government to prosecute employers who hired employees who were not authorized to work in the US. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott