A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the government could not use mismatched Social Security data to ferret out illegal immigrants from the workplace.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer's preliminary injunction blocked the Department of Homeland Security from starting a program to punish companies based on discrepancies between workers' names and Social Security numbers.
'Altering the status quo would subject employers to greater compliance costs and employees to an increased risk of termination,' he wrote.
The injunction will remain in place until Breyer holds further hearings and decides whether to strike down the proposed rule permanently.
The Social Security Administration planned to send 'no-match' letters in September. The Department of Homeland Security had warned companies they could face criminal or civil sanctions if they did not clear up discrepancies within 90 days. The administration planned to send about 140,000 letters, affecting more than 8 million workers.
Labor and immigrant-rights groups that sued the government to stop the crackdown called the ruling a major victory. They said the policy was unlawful and U.S. citizens and documented workers would be fired. 'This is a particularly important day for the labor movement because the Social Security no-match letters have long been used to defeat worker organizing,' said Ana Avendano of the AFL-CIO.
Business groups also opposed the crackdown. 'It's a signal to the government that they can't do anything they want simply by calling it enforcement,' said Randel Johnson, vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
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