DHS Still Pressing for 'No-Match' Letter Rule Implementation

December 7, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.COM) - Federal officials are moving on two fronts simultaneously in an attempt to implement the proposed "no-match" letter program as part of the government's illegal immigration fight.

A news report from SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) Online said Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff announced he was appealing a federal judge’s injunction against the program, which requires employers to fire workers whose Social Security number doesn’t match government records.

The appeal to the 9 th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes soon after the DHS revealed in a court document (see Feds Ask Court for Time to Rewrite ‘No Match’ Letter Rule ) that it was reworking the implementing rules for the program to meet the objections raised by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer on October 10 (see Judge Blocks No-Match Letter Program, Cites ‘Serious Questions’ ).

The DHS said in the court document that it expected the new version of the rules to be ready by March 2008.

In the meantime, according to the SHRM Online report, Chertoff has made it clear that the DHS would not abandon its effort to put the rules into effect.

“We are pressing ahead by taking the district court’s order to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. At the same time, we will soon issue a supplement to the rule that specifically addresses the three grounds on which the district court based its injunction,” said Chertoff in a written statement. “By pursuing these two paths simultaneously, my aim is to get a resolution as quickly as possible so we can move the no-match rule forward and provide honest employers with the guidance they need.”

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