Results 1 to 4 of 4

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

  1. #1
    Senior Member zeezil's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    NC
    Posts
    16,593

    Law would bar immigration law violators from tax breaks

    1/9/2008
    Law would bar immigration law violators from tax breaks
    By NATE JENKINS
    Associated Press Writer

    LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- A state lawmaker wants to wave a big stick at companies who may be hiring illegal immigrants, threatening to take away their state-approved tax breaks if they knowingly employ them.

    The strategy, from Sen. Gwen Howard of Omaha, represents a new attack on illegal immigration that is sharply different from the one supported by Gov. Dave Heineman. The dueling approaches could heat up the already hot topic of illegal immigration among lawmakers and others across the state this year.

    "This has to be a two-way street," said Howard. "Businesses have the ability to help with the immigration issue.

    "We have a problem with companies potentially hiring people who aren't U.S. citizens."

    Under the bill (LB784) she introduced Wednesday, the opening day of the legislative session, employers who violated federal law by knowingly hiring illegal immigrants wouldn't be able to benefit from a multimillion dollar state tax break package designed to lure in jobs.

    Companies would also have to pay back tax breaks they received after they violated the law.

    Heineman, meanwhile, is targeting illegal immigrants in a proposal that would require state agencies to verify any resident applying for state benefits is in the United States legally. He says the proposal would help assure that benefits available to U.S. citizens are preserved for those who truly qualify for assistance.

    Already, illegal immigrants are forbidden, under a 1996 federal law, from receiving most state benefits. But Attorney General Jon Bruning has said some state agencies are better than others at verifying the status of benefit applicants.

    How many, if any, Nebraska businesses that receive tax breaks and have been charged with knowingly hiring illegal immigrants is unclear. Howard said she didn't know of any. Neither did Barry Kennedy, president of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce.

    But nationally, the number of people arrested on charges related to unlawfully employing illegal immigrants has increased, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In 2002, just 25 people were arrested on such charges; last fiscal year, 863 people were arrested.

    Officials with the agency attribute the increase to more aggressive enforcement.

    While not targeting a specific industry with her bill, Howard said "meatpacking comes to mind" as one.

    As of July, at least four meatpacking companies with operations in Nebraska had applied for tax breaks, according to records from the state. If they meet their goals of investing a total of more than $40 million to expand of their operations, and hiring additional workers, they could be in line for more than $5 million worth of state tax breaks.

    Among those companies is Swift a plant in Grand Island that was one of six sites where ICE officers conducted a coordinated raid in 2006, resulting in about 1,300 arrests of workers.

    No charges were filed against Swift.

    The law proposed by Howard wouldn't cause the company to change its hiring practices, said a company official, because Swift already does all it can under federal law to ensure its employees are authorized to work there.

    "Today, we are doing all we possibly can to make sure people working for us are authorized to work," said Doug Schult, head of employee and labor relations at Colorado-based Swift. States like Nebraska are grasping for answers because the federal government has failed to act while at the same time using a flawed system that doesn't allow companies to cross reference Social Security data with information provided by employees, he said.

    "Until employers and the state have a system provided by the federal government to cross reference this data, we will continue to struggle to identify those people truly authorized," to work, he said.
    http://www.hdnews.net/wirestories/k1053 ... 01_09_0725
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  2. #2
    Senior Member azwreath's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Posts
    6,621
    Until employers and the state have a system provided by the federal government to cross reference this data, we will continue to struggle to identify those people truly authorized," to work, he said






    Here's a good start.......how about making it mandatory that employees speak English?

    When someone shows up on your doorstep not knowing a lick of English, it's a pretty safe bet that they're an illegal alien, you dolt. Additionally, making English a qualification for employment will act as a deterrent to IAs even showing up to apply.

    And yes, I know all about the lawsuits which are sure to follow. So what?
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  3. #3
    Senior Member dragonfire's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Lehigh Acres, Fl
    Posts
    929
    It’s pretty sad when law makers feel they have to create laws to address things that are already illegal. If they end employers hiring illegal aliens, the issue of stopping them from getting tax breaks wouldn’t be a discussion.
    Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!

  4. #4
    Senior Member Texan123's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    975

    Law would bar

    If our government was serious about enforcement against employers who hire illegals, there are many things they can do.

    I propose we allow the IRS to cross check Social Security numbers against the NO Match list. If an employee's number does not match the name, then the company is not allowed to write off the wages paid to that employee as a business expense.

    Also set up a Social Security verification requirement on all welfare benefits, food stamps, and other aid.

    We also need COUNTRY wide screening of jails and prisons.

    If a simple person like me can come up with workable ideas, why can't our country's leaders? They have no guts to enforce the laws.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •