Along with calls to deport all 10 to 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the USA, are token proposals for leveling fines on those who currently employ the undocumented. I say "token" because it's inconceivable that any citizen-American would have her life crushed by a modest fine. Jail time seems unlikely for most.
Furthermore, there appears to be no statute of limitations for the crime of being an undocumented immigrant, so does it not follow that an employer of illegal immigrants at any time in the past should be liable for having contributed to the continuing lawlessness of the past-employed, along with their undocumented immigrant families?
It should be a simple matter to root out those citizen-Americans who have violated the law and perhaps, as the argument goes, diminished the security and culture of community and country. Before undocumented immigrants are deported, they can be enlisted to identify all those who have employed them in the past. I won't go so far as to suggest a kind of plea-bargain arrangement (finger the culprit, and we'll let minor children remain, for example)--that probably wouldn't be necessary.
Which brings me to a substantial sticking point in formulating the immigration reform that virtually everyone says we need: no amnesty for the immigrants. Well, maybe we can negotiate a trade. Mild as the punishment of illegal employers might be, it's still sure to be a bother for them.
Let those who are now undocumented remain in this country with a path to citizenship in exchange for guaranteeing that their past employers will not be prosecuted. Amnesty for all!