In the debate that preceded the collapse of the [immigration reform] bill in the Senate, the rallying cry of opponents was “enforcement first.” Keeping new illegal immigrants from being employed is far and away the best strategy for deterring them from entering the country, easily trumping border guards and fences. The Social Security database, combined with laws already on the books, provides a way to catch unauthorized workers almost as soon as they are hired. {This editorial spotlights} the hostility of the coalition of immigrant advocates and employers that favor lax enforcement [of immigration laws]. Political pressure from this coalition has for years prevented the government from deploying the enforcement system that is already in place. Social Security administrators assert, erroneously, that they are not permitted to aid immigration law enforcement or to share data with the Department of Homeland Security. The real reason for their reticence is their fear that more aggressive electronic enforcement might invite political outrage. In 2002, the Social Security Administration chose merely to inform employers of Social Security number discrepancies by sending 950,000 “mismatch” letters. That action so angered businesses and immigration advocates that a year later the modest bureaucratic effort was largely ended.