Shifts

Obama Shifts Immigration Focus

Cracks down on employers more than workers.

President Obama’s immigration-enforcement strategy is coming into focus: While the number of criminal cases against illegal immigrants has dropped sharply since he took office, his administration is beginning to crack down instead on people who employ illegal workers. More businesses than ever are facing scrutiny in a break with Bush-era policies, which focused on high-profile factory raids and deportations. As an example, The New York Times points to an April 20 raid on 14 Chuy’s restaurants. Forty-two illegal kitchen workers were detained, but only the restaurant owners and an accountant stood trial in federal court. (Thirteen immigrants were deported on civil charges; one faced unrelated criminal charges; and the rest remained as witnesses or to seek legal status through courts.)