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NEW INS ENFORCEMENT STRATEGY CRITICIZED BY IMMIGRATION EXPERTS
A new five-year plan of the INS will target smuggling and document fraud in an attempt to improve interior enforcement of immigration laws. The plan is being criticized by anti-immigration advocates for its failure to address one of the primary motivating factors in illegal immigration - employment. Immigration advocates may be wondering why so much of an emphasis is being placed on enforcement when US unemployment is at historic lows and many consider the country to be in a "golden age" economy.
In the mid-1980s, Congress granted amnesty to all undocumented workers currently in the county, in an effort to be able to better concentrate on preventing future illegal immigration. As part of the reform, new employment verification laws were passed that required employers to document that the workers they hired were legally authorized to work in the U.S. In practice, the system has not worked.
Immigration opponents complain that while smuggling and document fraud have become a major part of illegal immigration, they exist only because of the lure of available jobs. They also point out that current tactics like work place raids frequently fail because they are halted after politicians, including Congressmen, complain. 
Proponents of immigration argue that immigration enforcement policies are not having a significant impact on improving conditions for US workers. They further argue that current policy ignores the fact that there may be a legitimate need for temporary foreign workers, but delays in the system force many who want to hire authorized workers into hiring them before a visa is authorized. The real question is whether US workers are benefiting from the policy. Immigration proponents point to a recent case in Dallas, Texas. Of 150 jobs left vacant following the apprehension of undocumented workers in the area, the employer worked with government officials to replace the immigrant with Welfare recipients. After six months, only 10 of the positions were filled six months later.