On January 6, 2009, Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) introduced the “Illegal Immigration Enforcement and Social Security Protection Act of 2009,’’ which would increase penalties for employers that hire undocumented workers. Employers that knowingly hire undocumented workers or fail to verify their employment eligibility would face fines up to $50,000 and jail sentences up to five years per occurrence. The bill would also require Social Security cards to have a digitized photo and an electronic signature strip to be used by employers to instantaneously verify a prospective employee’s eligibility to work in the United States.
