ILLEGAL ALIEN JOB CHECKS UP EMPLOYERS CAN FACE STIFF FINES.(Local)

Byline: Joe Picchi Staff writer

Stepped-up enforcement against employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens began Wednesday nationwide, but in the Capital District it's "business as usual" for immigration officials.

William Donohue, assistant officer in charge of the Albany office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, said employers here generally have been adhering to federal laws against hiring illegal aliens.

"No plans are in the works for intensifying what they are now doing routinely," Donohue said.

The new enforcement policy, part of the sweeping immigration law enacted in 1986, allows the INS to initially fine an employer …