Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Wednesday announced a broad new plan to crack down on illegal immigrants who steal the identities of American citizens to get jobs. The strategy, he warned, would likely have economic consequences for the industries that rely heavily on illegal workers. The announcement came one day after homeland security agents swept into Swift & Company meatpacking plants in six states and arrested nearly 1,300 workers, almost 10 percent of the company?s work force, in what Mr. Chertoff hailed as the largest workplace crackdown on illegal immigration.
See "Illegal Immigrants at Center of New Identity Theft Crackdown", Rachel L. Swarns, The New York Times, December 13, 2006