According to an Associated Press article, federal administration officials will step up their enforcement of immigration workers in the United States by cracking down on workers with invalid Social Security numbers and the employers who hire them. Some experts are concerned that the beefed-up enforcement will result in employers having to let workers go as the economy is facing an increasingly tight labor market.

In fact, employers will now be required to fire employees who are unable to clear up problems with their Social Security numbers within 90 days after being notified. Employers who fail to comply could face criminal penalties, according to the article.

Homeland Security is also trying to use the department's regulatory authority to raise fines on employers by about 25 percent. Current fines are so modest that some companies consider them a cost of doing business, the agency said.

Conservative groups support the crackdown, but unions representing immigrant-heavy work forces reacted with anger, including the Service Employees International Union, with 1.9 million members in janitorial and security jobs, and nursing homes and home care.

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