While reports are written urging an end to Secure Communities and while the Obama administration and the Department of Homeland Security make announcements promising change to the “good & hardworking” undocumented immigrants, a months ago ICE audit in Ecru and Ripley (Northeast Mississippi) casts a long shadow over a community. This so-called kinder, gentler “raid lite” which took place in April at Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc. resulted in the firing of hundreds because of “irregularities with I-9 forms.”

IC from the Mississippi Immigrants’ Rights Alliance (MIRA) in Jackson, MS shared with me that many of the undocumented immigrants who lost their jobs after this event found other jobs in other factories, a few decided to leave the country, and a few decided to start small businesses, but none of them have filed suits with the EEOC or Department of Labor regarding back pay for wage theft they endured over the years because they are afraid.

What happened at Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc. is a prime example of some of the problems that mandatory E-Verify cause and how widespread the impact can be. Inside the company supervisors, employees, managers and HR personnel encouraged identity theft. From the MIRA Newsletter:

One supervisor, Ricardo* and one HR Supervisor Jeff* collaborated in selling identities for anywhere from $400-600, and in selling jobs for anywhere from $300-1200, depending on the wages of the job involved. Ricardo went to jail for six months for his crime, but when he was released, the company gave him his old job back. During that time, various female employees accused him, of sexual harassment, while male employees often complained that he forced them to pay weekly quotas.

Certainly none of the displaced workers have been able to get their jobs back and workers that remain employed at Ashley have complained of lowered starting wages.

Today, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) is pushing a bill in the House Judiciary Committee to make E-Verify mandatory nationwide. Given the current economic crisis and unemployment numbers, the focus on how E-Verify drives down wages and actually increases job instability for U.S. workers is understandable. However, the immediate impact on the lives of the undocumented workers shouldn’t be swept under the rug in the name of political expediency.