California IN BRIEF : SAN DIEGO : Tighten Loopholes, INS Chief Urges

Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Eugene McNary, in his first official visit to the busy U.S.-Mexico border crossing here, said he favors tightening documentation loopholes now hindering enforcement of laws making it a crime to hire undocumented workers. Among alternatives being considered, McNary said, is implementation of a telephone verification system that would allow prospective employers to quickly verify the authenticity of immigration documents and other paper work submitted by job applicants. Such a system, McNary said, could reduce the still-booming pool for undocumented workers and cut down on discrimination by employers fearful of hiring illegals who may have forged papers. U.S. officials have long said that illegal immigration will remain a problem so long as the undocumented continue to have access to the U.S. employment market through phony paper work.