Grand America Caught in DHS Audit

The Grand America Hotel is an excellent example of the need for Everify and the protection it can afford both businesses AND employees. 

Utah Law requires all businesses, with over 15 Employees, to use Everify and both federal and state law prohibit the hiring of “unauthorized aliens.” Regrettably, no penalties were attached for noncompliance in Utah, but its use might have provided some escape from punishment if it had been used.  

According to the SL Tribune article, the five-star Salt Lake hotel in a DHS audit showed that the hotel could NOT “provide legal documentation to work in the United States.“ 

The Deseret News report stated “DHS determined that some hotel employees did not have valid documentation to work in the United States even though they had presented facially valid documents when they were hired.” 

No further explanation was given, but it is well known the the State of Utah issued Driver's License to illegal aliens for several years before changing “Driver Privilege Cards."   Both documents might be considered "facially valid documents" as they are official Utah Photo "identification" cards, which are not supposed to be used for identification. 

Apparently, the Hotel may have been using the I-9 form which requires NO verification by the employer when hiring.  The Tribune article reports that "The documentation of all new hires is checked against federal databases under the E-Verify system."  The Grand America Hotel was not found on UFIRE's  DHS provided Utah E-Verify users databases

through June 2011.  The use of E-Verify in Utah was mandated beginning July 2010

A later database showed they finally signed up for E-Verify in July around the time of a controversial protest over "the Grand America Hotel’s attack on immigrants."

According to this article "The Grand America Hotel bosses set a July 6 deadline for all of the employees. The bosses require that all workers reapply and either show the necessary documentation or face immediate termination. However, the bosses extended this deadline one month, to Aug. 6 in order to ensure staffing at the Governors’ Conference."



Utah Valley University Revolutionary Students Union said, “Defending workers, especially those who are immigrants is a top priority. Grand America is attacking the right to receive a living wage and enforcing racist systems of verification. An attack on one worker is an attack on all of us.”

After the DHS audit, a total of over 100 undocumented employees lost their jobs because of lack of  proof of legal status.  Nothing has been reporting concerning replacements, but as of the end of July there were 41,290 unemployed people in Salt Lake County. 

Although the Hotel association reported a $12 wage for the hotel jobs, Workforces Services has several listed a $8.25/hr.

 

Grand America Hotel is a GOLD member of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce which was the primary proponent of the Utah Guest Worker Permit (HB 116) which attempts to “legalize the illegal” or in their words

Driver Privilege Card Audit

Utah study verifies that Driver Privilege Cards are issued to illegal aliens. This seems to be a criminal violation of 8 USC 1324(a)(1)(A)(iv) "Any person who— encourages or induces an alien to come to, enter, or reside in the United States, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such coming to, entry, or residence is or will be in violation of law shall be punished as provided in subparagraph (B). "

Earlier this year the Utah Legislature received a "Follow-Up of Sample Matching Driving Privilege (DP) Cards to Vehicle Insurance" reporting on the 'success' of the Driving Privilege Card for illegal aliens.
The report indicates that 76% of DP holders have auto insurance as compared to 82% of regular license holders. (The 2005 Original Audit did not discuss insurance compliance, it DID discuss VOTING by holders of ITIN issued licenses)

According to the IRS : "ITINs are not valid identification outside the tax system. Since ITINs are strictly for tax processing, IRS does not apply the same standards as agencies that provide genuine identity certification.ITIN applicants are not required to apply in person, and IRS does not further validate the authenticity of identity documents. ITINs do not prove identity outside the Federal tax system, and should not be offered or accepted as identification for non-tax purposes." (Whether taxes are actually PAID is another question) - "ITINs are for federal income tax purposes only. Getting an ITIN does not change your immigration status or your right to work in the United States."

The report says "It is interesting to note that the driving privilege cardholders have
increased by 39 percent in a two-year period from about 25,000 in 2005 to 34,799 at year-end 2007." This compares to 58,000 driver's licenses issued previously to ITIN users (illegals) before DP's. However, "98.3 percent are coded in the Driver License Division’s database as being obtained by ITIN (34,193 DP cards). The remaining 606 DP cards are coded as “legal presence” (1.7 percent of total DP cards), meaning the DP cards were obtained through documents supporting legal presence." Which can be concluded to mean that the remaining are, in all likelihood, ILLEGALLY present and are being "encourage(d) . . . to come to, enter, or reside in the United States, knowing , , , that such coming to, entry, or residence is . . . in violation of law."

This is, of course, merely a continuation of the previous policy of issuing actual Drivers License to illegal aliens - as reported in the study: "In 2005, there were 37,000 ID cards issued to persons who appeared to be undocumented aliens." The report further states "there were 40,992 driving privilege (DP) cards issued as of December 31, 2007."

Driver Privilege Card - AKA Illegal Alien ID card

• HB239 "repeals the use of a temporary identification number (ITIN) issued by the Internal Revenue Service for purposes of obtaining a driving privilege card issued by the Driver License Division;
  
• expires all driving privilege cards on December 31, 2008; increases from six to ten years the time period for which an applicant for a driver license must report a license suspension, cancellation, revocation, disqualification, or denial;
  
• prohibits the Driver License Division from issuing a driving privilege card; and makes technical changes.

History: The Driver Privilege Card was passed in 2005 by a straight party vote as a compromise to NOT give illegal aliens Licenses. Check out the floor debates for further information - (rather extensive)

The Utah Driver License says it requires proof of legal presence: but allows a "Matricular Consular/ID (issued in Utah only)" or a "Foreign Birth Certificate with Notarized Translation"

as Primary Identification and an "Out-of-Country Driver License" as secondary identification.

The Matricula card is issued to illegal aliens by the Mexican Consulate.

The Driver Privilege Card 'requires' an ITIN or SSN :

"Positive Identification - When you first apply for a Utah driving privilege card, you must provide proof of name, date and place of birth, resident address, legal presence, (If applicable), and proof of your social security number or ITIN number (individual tax identification number)."

The Internal Revenue Services issues ITIN's "An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) is a tax processing number issued by the Internal Revenue Service. It is a nine-digit number that always begins with the number 9 and has a 7 or 8 in the fourth digit, example 9XX-7X-XXXX."

Note that the IRS states:

"Are ITINs valid for identification?
No. ITINs are not valid identification outside the tax system. Since ITINs are strictly for tax processing, IRS does not apply the same standards as agencies that provide genuine identity certification."

"Are ITINs valid for work purposes?
No. ITINs are for federal income tax purposes only. Getting an ITIN does not change your immigration status or your rightto work in the United States."

UT Legislative Audit on Illegal Aliens & Drivers Licenses

From the 2005 Legislative Audit on illegals and Licenses:

"The Legislative Auditor General was asked to identify the extent to which undocumented aliens are obtaining Utah’s driver licenses. We found that a large number of undocumented aliens has taken advantage of Utah’s relatively lenient requirements for obtaining a driver license. One concern is that Utah is being used as a portal for undocumented aliens living out of the state to obtain driver licenses. Furthermore, some undocumented aliens may be using the driver license application process to register to vote. Our findings are preliminary and a more extensive audit could be requested."

"Because U.S. citizens and legal foreign workers qualify for a Social Security Number, we have been told that those who file for an ITIN and who reside in the United States are, for the most part, undocumented aliens."

"Utah is Used as a Portal By Undocumented Aliens To Obtain a Driver License

We are concerned that dozens of licenses have been issued to individuals from the same addresses. For example, during the past 12 months, state records show that driver licenses have been issued to 62 different individuals who resided at the same apartment at the same street address in Salt Lake City."

"The agent (from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) indicated that these addresses are used by “contractors” who charge a fee for helping undocumented aliens obtain a Utah driver license. He said that most of the contractors work with undocumented aliens from outside of Utah. Because a Utah driver license is easier to obtain than those from many other states, Utah has Drivers License Issued to Undocumented Aliens become a portal through which undocumented aliens can obtain a widely accepted form of identification."

"Voter Registration List Includes 383 Individuals with ITINs, Most Appear To Be Undocumented Aliens"

Have we really stopped illegals from getting Driver's Licenses?

Have we really stopped illegals from getting Driver's Licenses? Have we solved the problem of 95,000 illegal aliens with fraudulently issued Utah documents? Have we made our voting integrity more secure?

The regulations remain unchanged for Driver's Licenses. Apparently a Maticula Consular card is sufficient to get a Utah Driver's License.

***comments and BOLD added***

http://driverlicense.utah.gov/id.html
"When you first apply for a Utah driver license, you must provide proof of name, date and place of birth and your social security number. Items on the following lists are generally acceptable as proof. At least one form must be from the list of Primary Forms of Identification."

Primary Forms of Identification

• Certification of Naturalization
• Certificate of Citizenship
• Delayed Birth Certificate*
• Driver License issued in the U.S.
• Foreign Birth Certificate with Notarized Translation*
• Foreign Passport with VISA stamped on attached
• I-94 Card of INS I-551 Card
• Indian Blood Certificate
• Matricular Consular/ID (issued in Utah only)
• Resident Alien Card
• U.S. Birth Certificate*
• U.S. Certificate of Birth Abroad*
• U.S. Passport
• U.S. Military ID Card or DD-214

Secondary Forms of Identification

• Marriage License/Certificate
• BIA/Tribal Treaty/ID Card
• Medical Insurance ID Card
• Motor Vehicle Clearance Letter
• Out-of-Country Driver License
• Employee ID Badge (with Photo)
• International Driver License/Permit
• Veterans Administration Card
• IRS Generated Documents
• Concealed weapons Permit
• Employee Authorization Card (with passport)
• Court of Record Documents: Adoption, Bankruptcy Decree,Divorce, Emancipation, Name
  Change
• Bank Card ***can be obtained with Matricula***
• Church Records
• Credit Card (with photo)
• School ID (with photo)
• Professional License
• Voter Registration Card
• Selective Service Card
• Selective Service Reg.
• Social Security Card ***Remember recent ID theft news in Utah***

Below are the new requirements for a Driver Privilege Card (DPC).

Does this meet the intent of the law? A DPC apparently requires two things - an ITIN (supposedly to indicate "worker" or taxpaying status - and not to be used for ID purposes, per IRS) and two forms of address ID - one filling the requirement could be a "Court order of probation, order of parole or order of mandatory release" which certainly sounds like someone having been involved in, shall we say, "unfriendly" activities. Recently we had identity theft arrests involving illegal aliens; if Social Security numbers are for sale for $20, it seems certain that ITIN's might go for $10. What have we accomplished with this legislation? Have we made Utah safer? Have we caused people to become more law abiding?

http://driverlicense.utah.gov/Driving%20Privilege%20Card.htm
Driving Privilege Card
Senate Bill 227 became law, effective March 8, 2005 with the signature of Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. The law provides for a “Driving Privilege Card” for applicants who meet all requirements for a regular driver license, with the exception of qualifying for a Social Security number. The card allows for driving only and is not valid for identification purposes with any government entity.

• Applicant must provide an individual tax identification number (ITIN) from the IRS. ***fake ones for sale for $20??? Are they verified on application?***
• Applicant must provide proof of Utah residence address using two different types of verifiable documents from the list below.

In order to verify a residence address as the individual’s place of domicile or an address where the individual resides as a resident, an application for a Utah driver license, Utah driving privilege card, or Utah identification card shall be accompanied by a minimum of two different types of original (current and valid) documents from the following list identifying the individual’s name and residence address:
(a) Property tax notice, statement or receipt, within 1 year
(b) Utility bill, billing date within 60 days, no cell phone bill
(c) Utah Vehicle registration or title, current not expired
(d) Bank statement, within 60 days ***can be obtained with Matricula***
(e) Recent mortgage papers
(f) Current residential rental contract
(g) Major credit card bill, within 60 days
(h) Court order of probation, order of parole or order of mandatory release, must display residential address on the order ***illegal alien ex-convicts on parole are eligible for DPC????***
(i) Transcript(s) from an accredited college, university, or high school

Phyllis Schlafly on Drivers Licenses for Illegals

Driver licenses for illegals is pseudo amnesty
Read the Entire article

. . . A driver license is not merely a license to drive a car. It gives the illegal alien a passport to board a plane, get a job, rent an apartment or car, open a bank account, enter a federal building, apply for social services, travel back and forth across our borders with Mexico and Canada, buy a gun and even register to vote.

. . .U.S. Rep. Chris Cox, R-Calif., calls the new law an "invitation to forgery" for terrorists and criminals. That's because the new system, which lacks any credible identity check, will allow criminals of any nationality to apply for a new license under a phony taxpayer ID number and use it for illegal purposes.

. . . When the 2 million illegal aliens now in California line up for their first-time driver licenses, DMV says it will need "1,000 new positions to be located in 16 new temporary field offices for 12 to 18 months of operation."

. . . Davis ignored the big lesson of Sept. 11, 2001. All 9/11 hijackers had one or more state driver licenses, which enabled them not only to board the fatal planes but also to live and travel in the United States undetected while they plotted their crimes.

. . . A driver license is pseudo amnesty and just about as much sheer lunacy as real amnesty; a driver license confers identity, it is almost a national ID card. The driver license works to erase the distinction between legals and illegals.Congress should pass H.R. 3052, authored by Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Col., to withhold federal highway funds from those states that give licenses to illegal aliens, just as Congress has done to force the states to enact acceptable laws about seat belts, speed limits and the drinking age.
. . .