The recent decision of a federal judge to put a temporary stop on the mailing of the new Social Security No Match letters till October 1st of this year is not a final solution to the problem.
The legal complaint submitted on behalf of the AFL-CIO, ACLU, NILC, and the Alameda Labor Council, affirms that the new rule affecting Social Security No Match letters would lead to thousands of legal workers losing their jobs because of inaccuracies in the SSA database.
Under the new rule, a employer would have the obligation to re-verify the legal status of workers identified on the SS No Match letter and fire workers who could not correct the problem within 90 days. If an employer does not follow through with these steps, they could face fines and criminal charges in the event of an immigration audit in the future.
The letters will affect 8 million workers nationally.
On October 1st there will be a court hearing to decide the merits of the complaint – there is no guarantee that the letters won’t be sent. But the recent decision by the federal judge is an accomplishment and will help us organize better and stronger opposition to the new rule.
Practically, it has bought more time for workers and their families to organize, educate others about the consequences of the new rule, and support strongly the September 12 mobilization in Milwaukee.
The main demand on September 12 is that the Bush Administration remove the new rule and put an end to the repression of immigrant families.
It is also the date that Elvira Arellano is calling for as a nationwide work stoppage. Numerous cities are organizing a work stoppage against the new rule that day.
It is critical that in Milwaukee we turn out in large numbers to set an example to other cities of the unity and commitment to reject this new rule and the politics of repression. Last year, we defeated Sensenbrenner’s proposed HR 4437 through mass mobilizations; we must do likewise to reject this new rule.
A large mobilization and boycott is being planned in Mitchell Park at 11AM, instead of a march, to give us the time to talk about how we will be preparing and organizing ourselves at the local level to respond to this crisis.