
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 30, 1990                   TAG: 9003300157
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

GAO: IMMIGRATION LAW CAUSING JOB BIAS

A 1986 law that imposes fines on employers who hire illegal immigrants has caused "widespread" job discrimination, especially against Latinos and Asians who are U.S. citizens or legal workers, according to a report issued Thursday by the General Accounting Office.

Investigators posing as job applicants found that in two cities, San Diego and Chicago, Latinos who were U.S. citizens were three times more likely to face job discrimination than equally qualified white citizens. The survey also discovered that across the nation many employers had begun illegal discriminatory policies in response to the law, such as refusing to hire all foreign-born workers.

The report, which will trigger automatic provisions of the 1986 law that require its prompt review by Congress, prompted calls for repeal of employer sanctions from civil rights groups and some members of Congress, which adopted the legislation only after a lengthy and divisive debate. - The Baltimore Sun

by CNB