Washington sources reported that Hundreds of immigrant laborers in the USA who can’t prove their legal status are being forced to quit after their employers received ‘no-match letters’ from the Social Security Administration (SSA). ‘No-match letters’ are sent out when the SSA detects discrepancies between its records and the information provided by employees on their W-2 tax forms. In some cases, however, the discrepancies could be due to administrative or date entry errors.
Reportedly the SSA announced earlier this year that it would resume the practice of sending ‘no-match letters’ to employers after a seven-year hiatus. Out of fear of being hit with federal sanctions, employers receiving the letters have chosen to do a “cleanup” of their labor forces.
Immigration activist and analyst Carmen Cornejo said “These measures put employers in an alarming situation, since they depend on workforce of thousands of immigrants to keep their businesses operative at a time of high employment”. When speaking on condition of anonymity, the owner of a furniture store in Phoenix said he sought legal advice after receiving ‘no-match letters’.
