Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Blunt Directive Safeguards Tax Dollars from Illegal Workers

O'FALLON – Gov. Matt Blunt today took decisive action to prevent taxpayers' money from supporting illegal immigration as he outlined tough new initiatives to ensure state-supported building projects are not employing illegal workers.

"Missourians have a right to know that their tax dollars are spent with care and not funding illegal immigration," Gov. Blunt said. "I am enacting new directives to help ensure that whenever tax credits are awarded Missourians can be confident the projects are not funding illegal workers or promoting illegal activity."

"I am excited that Governor Blunt has stepped up to address this growing problem when many other governors buried their head in the sand. This is the second time that the illegal workers issues have arisen on state subsidized projects in our area. Missouri taxpayers deserve and demand better. Governor Blunt is taking this issue head on and is representing the beliefs and concerns of all of Missouri with his actions to crack down on illegal immigration," Sen. Scott Rupp said.

In recent news, a development in O'Fallon is facing allegations of using illegal immigrants. The project is funded in part by tax credits issued by the Missouri Housing Development Commission. The commission is continuing an investigation into the allegation of illegal activity.

All Missouri Department of Economic Development tax credit programs currently mandate applicants meet strict employment verification requirements. In addition to these requirements, the governor today directed the department to:

* Conduct random on-site inspections of all projects accompanied by the tax credit recipient to monitor and retrieve documentation regarding the legal status of all workers on the job. The inspections will include direct employees of the tax credit recipient, contracted or subcontracted agents and both general contractors and their subcontractors.
* Perform a Compliance By Written Demand action for all tax credit recipients that requires all workers' proof of legal status including contractors and subcontractors to be submitted within 30 days of the date of the receipt of the written request.

If the state uncovers illegal workers the first step will be to work through ICE and authorized state law enforcement to take appropriate action. Next, tax credits recipients may be subject to action by law and policy, including the five year ban from accessing any state programs as provided under current law.

Today's announcement is part of a tough new strategy Blunt designed to fight illegal immigration and activity in Missouri.

Earlier this week he announced directives that will help enforce the laws against illegal immigration. Under the governor's leadership all state law enforcement agencies will immediately take the meticulous steps necessary to verify the immigration status of every criminal who state law enforcement officials present for incarceration. In addition the governor is finalizing an agreement with federal officials that will essentially deputize state troopers, Capitol Police, and water patrol officers to enforce federal laws and protect against illegal immigration. Missouri will be one of only seven states to have taken this important step to empower state law enforcement to effectively fight illegal activity.

Blunt is a strong advocate for protecting Missouri from illegal immigration. He recently outlined his principles for the Missouri Housing Development Commission that include possible sanctions of up to a lifetime ban of contractors and developers who knowingly employ illegal immigrants in violation of federal law.

Earlier this year Gov. Blunt ousted a state contractor who hired illegal workers and ordered state agencies to enact a no tolerance policy through tough new contract protections. The governor cancelled the state's contract with Sam's Janitorial Services and barred them from doing further business with the state after local and federal law enforcement agencies identified dozens of suspected illegal immigrants working under falsified documents.

Blunt also authored the state's first directive to audit all contractors to ensure that the contract employees are legally eligible to work in the U.S. and to terminate contracts if it is determined a contractor employs illegal immigrants. He added tough provisions in state contracts to allow the state to immediately cancel contracts if it determines the contractor knowingly has employees not eligible to work in the U.S. and to require contractors to certify that all their employees meet state and federal employment eligibility requirements.

posted by Darin at 5:22 PM

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