WASHINGTON DC: Recent General Accounting Office (GAO) report mention, widespread discrimination by employers against potential who sound or look like foreigners.
GAO estimates that nearly 19 percent of employers in a survey admitted refusing to hire people because they looked like foreigners based upon their color, race, and language or because they didn’t have U.S. citizenship. Most affected are Hispanic and Asian American groups.
Such discrimination is widely prevalent in California and other states with large Asian and Hispanic population.
The 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act though provided general amnesty to more than 3 million undocumented aliens to apply for naturalization, but also included a clause of “‘employer sanction provision” which made it very difficult for the employer to knowingly hire an undocumented foreigner.
The Act imposed heavy penalties on the employers who purposely hired undocumented aliens.
As a result employers are reluctant to hire any individual looking foreigners which in turn form the basis of reported discrimination.
The GAO report has led some in the congress to glamour for repeal of the employer sanctions provision of 1986 Act.
While disputing the GAO findings, Sen Alan Simpson the original author of the Reform Act 1986 claimed that discrimination was not as widespread as claimed by GAO report.
In another report GAO was also critical of U.S. Information Agency (USIA) for its failure to implement the proper administration of “J” visa. The Report pointed out some lapses which are inconsistent with the legislature intent of providing J visa to foreigners.
Nonimmigrant aliens can use “J” visa to enter United States to participate in educational and cultural activities.
However GAO report pointed out that individual with such visas worked as waiters, cooks, workers and summer camp counselors.
These activities did not confirm to the educational and cultural purposes as defined by the law, pointed GAO report. Rather such illegal activities under minded the integrity of the “J”” visa.
Report mentioned that USTA lacked adequate information of the program participants did not provide education and sponsoring organisations and had no systematic process for monitoring sponsor’s and participants activities. It also signed singled USIA for not coordinating the program internally or with other agencies having “J’” visa responsibilities.
The Washington based GAO is a congressional agency which monitor implementation of USS. Laws. The organisations a nonprofit organisation.
Article extracted from this publication >> April 27, 1990
