New rules this week would be backed by raids on employers of illegal immigrants WASHINGTON, AUGUST 8: In a new effort to crack down on illegal immigrants, federal authorities are expected to announce tough rules this week that would require employers to fire workers who use false Social Security numbers. Officials said the rules would be backed up by stepped-up raids on workplaces across the country that employ illegal immigrants. Related Stories Bush supporters are actually like Bush: male, white, conservative and churchgoingObama, Hillary clash over US strikes in PakBush signs law to tap phone calls, e-mail without warrantsJust how sexy should the race to White House be?Foot-and-mouth disease back in UK Rad Links Immigration in America Department of Homeland Security Immigrants After first proposing the rules last year, Department of Homeland Security officials said they held off finishing them to await the outcome of the debate in Congress over a sweeping immigration bill. That measure, which was supported by President Bush, died in the Senate in June. Now administration officials are signalling that they intend to clamp down on employers of illegal immigrants even without a new immigration law to offer legal status to millions of illegal immigrants already in the work force. The approach is expected to play well with conservatives who have long demanded that the administration do more to enforce existing immigration laws, but it could also lead to renewed pressure from businesses on Congress to provide legal status for an estimated 6 million unauthorised immigrant workers. "We are tough and we are going to be even tougher," Russ Knocke, the spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, said Tuesday. "There are not going to be any more excuses for employers, and there will be serious consequences for those that choose to blatantly disregard the law." Experts said the new rules represented a major tightening of the immigration enforcement system, in which employers for decades have paid little attention to notices, known as no-match letters, from the Social Security Administration advising that workers' names and numbers did not match the agency's records. Employers, especially in agriculture and low-wage industries, said they were deeply worried about the new rules. More than 70 per cent of farm workers in the US are illegal immigrants, according to estimates by growers' associations. "Across the employer community people are scared, confused, holding their breath," said Craig Regelbrugge, co-chairman of the Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform, a trade organisation. Immigrant rights groups and labour unions, including the AFL-CIO, predicted the rules would unleash discrimination against Hispanic workers.