Information on the Enforcement of Laws Regarding Employment of Aliens in Selected Countries
GGD-82-86: Published: Aug 31, 1982. Publicly Released: Sep 30, 1982.
Additional Materials:
- Full Report:
Contact:
In response to a congressional request, GAO identified those countries that have laws prohibiting employers from hiring illegal aliens, how such laws are enforced, and any problems which these countries encounter in enforcing their laws.
GAO found that the governments of most of the surveyed countries have been increasingly concerned with legal and illegal alien workers. Growing unemployment and increasing numbers of aliens have induced government actions to control alien workers. Although each country has laws penalizing employers of illegal aliens, such laws are not an effective deterrent in stemming the employment of illegal aliens because: (1) employers either are able to evade responsibility for hiring illegal aliens or, once apprehended, are penalized too little to deter such acts; and (2) the laws are not being effectively enforced because of legal constraints on investigations, noncommunication between government agencies, lack of enforcement resolve, and lack of personnel. In France and Germany, new laws have gone into effect to increase the effectiveness of their employer sanctions and in Switzerland, a public referendum scheduled for later this year will decide whether to implement new immigration legislation. With the exception of West Germany, each surveyed country has a seasonal worker program. Generally, the seasonal workers complied with their entry conditions and did not pose problems for the countries which employed them. Both Canada and France have had programs to give illegal aliens an opportunity to obtain legal status. A number of government officials complained about the number of aliens who requested political asylum and efforts are being made to streamline the asylum process for those believed to be economic refugees.
Oct 26, 2020
Intellectual Property:
CBP Has Taken Steps to Combat Counterfeit Goods in Small Packages but Could Streamline EnforcementGAO-20-692: Published: Sep 24, 2020. Publicly Released: Oct 26, 2020.
Sep 30, 2020
-
Federal Criminal Restitution:
Department of Justice Has Ongoing Efforts to Improve Its Oversight of the Collection of Restitution and Tracking the Use of Forfeited AssetsGAO-20-676R: Published: Sep 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 30, 2020.
Sep 10, 2020
-
Federal Tactical Teams:
Characteristics, Training, Deployments, and InventoryGAO-20-710: Published: Sep 10, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 10, 2020.
Sep 8, 2020
-
VA Police:
Actions Needed to Improve Data Completeness and Accuracy on Use of Force Incidents at Medical CentersGAO-20-599: Published: Sep 8, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 8, 2020.
Aug 13, 2020
-
Anti-Money Laundering:
FinCEN Should Enhance Procedures for Implementing and Evaluating Geographic Targeting OrdersGAO-20-546: Published: Jul 14, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 13, 2020.
Jul 29, 2020
-
Federal Prison Industries:
Actions Needed to Evaluate Program EffectivenessGAO-20-505: Published: Jul 29, 2020. Publicly Released: Jul 29, 2020.
Jul 8, 2020
-
Gun Control:
DOJ Can Further Improve Guidance on Federal Firearm Background Check RecordsGAO-20-528: Published: Jul 8, 2020. Publicly Released: Jul 8, 2020.
Jun 22, 2020
-
Federal Prisons:
Additional Analysis Needed to Determine Whether to Issue Pepper Spray to Minimum Security PrisonsGAO-20-342: Published: Jun 22, 2020. Publicly Released: Jun 22, 2020.
May 26, 2020
-
Bureau of Prisons:
Improved Planning Would Help BOP Evaluate and Manage Its Portfolio of Drug Education and Treatment ProgramsGAO-20-423: Published: May 26, 2020. Publicly Released: May 26, 2020.
May 12, 2020
-
Forensic Technology:
Algorithms Used in Federal Law EnforcementGAO-20-479SP: Published: May 12, 2020. Publicly Released: May 12, 2020.
Looking for more? Browse all our products here
Explore our Key Issues on Justice and Law Enforcement
Explore our other Key Issues here
