Thread: OK: Vinita passes immigration rule

By Julie Bisbee
Staff Writer
VINITA — Employers who hire workers not in the country legally could lose their business permits under an ordinance approved this week in Vinita.

City council members unanimously approved an ordinance that would make it illegal for a business to recruit, hire or employ workers who are not U.S. citizens or can't prove they are in the country legally.

Vinita, in Craig County in far northeastern Oklahoma, has few problems with illegal immigration, but city leaders wanted an ordinance in place as a preventative measure, said Charlie Enyart, city administrator.

"As to our knowledge, there are no issues of illegal workers or immigrants in our city,” Enyart said. "But the mayor was approached by some people who used to live in the Dallas area and had to move because they couldn't find work there. There are issues like in some of the counties close to Craig County.”

He said brick layers and contractors who work in masonry wanted an ordinance to protect Vinita business owners from being underbid by employers who hire illegal workers and pay them less.

Starting next week
The ordinance, which takes effect after it's published next week, will allow citizens to file a complaint with the Vinita Police Department against a business they believe has illegal workers. The police department would be in charge of enforcing the ordinance.

If a complaint is filed against a business, the business will have three days to produce documentation that workers are in the country legally. If a business does not comply, the city clerk can suspend a business' permit to operate in the city. Businesses with revoked permits are not allowed to operate in the city, Enyart said. Business owners also can be charged in municipal court and fined up to $200, according to the ordinance.

Status verification
The city also is asking businesses to verify employee's immigration status by using the Employment Eligibility Verification Program, a joint database with the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Bureau and the Social Security Administration.

Contractors who do work valued at more than $10,000 for the city will sign an affidavit swearing they have not knowingly hired any undocumented workers, Enyart said.

Vinita is the second Oklahoma town known to pass such an ordinance. In October, Oologah passed a similar ordinance. City leaders in Tulsa have discussed the situation.

Enyart said there was no opposition to the ordinance when it was passed Wednesday.

"There's been a lot of discussion about it around town, there was quite a large turnout at the meeting, but no one voiced anything against it,” Enyart said.

"We had some legal immigrants who have businesses here in town speak in favor of it. One man owns a motel and he's from Holland. He thinks people should do it the right way, just like he did,” he said.

Similar ordinance
A similar ordinance in Hazelton, Pa., is being challenged in federal court. Federal Judge James Munley listened to two weeks of testimony about Hazelton's ordinance.

The challenge was filed on behalf of residents and business owners who opposed the ordinance. Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union are representing them in court. A decision in the case is expected by this summer, according to the ACLU.

http://www.newsok.com/article/3037347

He said brick layers and contractors who work in masonry wanted an ordinance to protect Vinita business owners from being underbid by employers who hire illegal workers and pay them less.

FANTASTIC!!

Smart businessmen & women should be demanding that the LAW be followed rather than bowing down by going to the ILLEGAL hiring practice in order to be competitive.

DEMAND that bidding is fair & equitable for all contractors.
That's what these smart Americans did Love it!

FAIR COMPETITION is the AMERICAN WAY

He said brick layers and contractors who work in masonry wanted an ordinance to protect Vinita business owners from being underbid by employers who hire illegal workers and pay them less.

FANTASTIC!!

Smart businessmen & women should be demanding that the LAW be followed rather than bowing down by going to the ILLEGAL hiring practice in order to be competitive.

DEMAND that bidding is fair & equitable for all contractors.
That's what these smart Americans did Love it!

FAIR COMPETITION is the AMERICAN WAY