Thread: Democrats promise to toughen laws on employers

Democrats promise to toughen laws on employers
By WILLIAM PETROSKI • bpetroski@dmreg.com • June 1, 2008

Democratic leaders in the Iowa Legislature are promising to toughen state employment laws in the wake of the federal roundup of 389 immigrant workers at Agriprocessors Inc. in Postville.

Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal of Council Bluffs said he plans to resume work in January on legislation aimed at preventing employers from hiring immigrant workers as independent contractors when they should be considered actual employees. He said he also supports sanctions on employers that knowingly hire undocumented workers.


"We think the real cause of this problem isn't people who are trying to seek a better life for themselves and their family. The real cause is companies that deliberately use immigrant labor to drive down wages and cut corners and save money," Gronstal said.

Iowa House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Des Moines said he will reintroduce a bill aimed at stopping identity theft for employment and misclassification of immigrant workers as independent contractors. Independent contractors in such situations are usually paid in cash and are not considered employees for workers' compensation, unemployment and insurance benefits, state officials said.

The misclassification legislation is particularly targeted toward immigrants working on construction projects. Abuses have been documented in Iowa, including on public school and hospital construction projects, House Democratic researchers said.

Both the Iowa House and Senate approved bills this session related to immigration. The proposed legislation, however, failed to pass both chambers.

An Iowa Poll conducted earlier this year by The Des Moines Register showed that residents favor the Legislature taking action on illegal immigration. Fifty-five percent of Iowans believe the state could most effectively deal with illegal immigration.

"I think the impetus is there. Iowans are asking us to do something. We want to make sure we do it right, though," said McCarthy, a former prosecuting attorney. He added that the House legislation has been carefully crafted to withstand court challenges.

Gov. Chet Culver, a Democrat, supports the goals of the proposed legislation, said Troy Price, a Culver aide. However, until specific legislation passes both houses, it is unknown whether the governor would sign it, he said.

Iowa political leaders said Congress' inability to comprehensively address immigration issues has left problems that state lawmakers are trying to fix.

A survey by the National Conference of State Legislatures showed 46 states enacted 194 new immigration-related laws in 2007, triple the number of the previous year. For the first three months of 2008, 26 states enacted 44 such laws. The top three areas of interest are law enforcement, employment and identification documents, the conference said.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials launched the Postville raid on May 12, seeking evidence relating to aggravated identity theft, fraudulent use of Social Security numbers and other crimes. They also sought people illegally in the United States. More than 300 detainees have been charged with fraud-related crimes, and have funneled through makeshift courtrooms over the past two weeks.

No Agriprocessors executives have been arrested. A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Matt Dummermuth in Cedar Rapids has declined to comment on the possibility that Agriprocessors executives could be indicted, citing an ongoing federal investigation. Spokesmen for Agriprocessors have said they are cooperating with federal investigators, but they have not commented on specific allegations.

Sandra Sanchez of Des Moines, director of the Immigrants Voice Project for the American Friends Service Committee, said she opposes the proposed state legislation. There are already federal laws to address similar issues involving immigrants, she said. She contends state officials should instead pressure Congress to pass comprehensive changes in federal immigration laws, including a path to legalization for the nation's estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants.

"We don't believe that creating a state law that punishes will solve anything. But it will create a lot of discrimination against people who look or sound foreign like me," Sanchez said.

John Gilliland, a lobbyist for the Iowa Association of Business and Industry, said his organization also believes the immigration issue is best addressed at the federal level. "Are we doing anything to address illegal immigration, or are we just playing politics with the issue?" he asked.

McCarthy disagreed, saying immigrant workers are being abused and exploited by companies that are only interested in obtaining cheap labor. "This is not political pandering. ... It is a human rights issue," he said.

Iowa House Republican Leader Christopher Rants of Sioux City complained that members of his caucus repeatedly offered proposals last session to address identity theft issues, but Democrats voted them all down.

"There are so many problems with this. You have employers who are hiring people who shouldn't be, and you have stolen Social Security numbers. That's why we offered ideas to deal with the problem," Rants said.

McCarthy dismissed Rants' complaints. He contended the Republicans' proposals were simply intended to create fodder for negative political mailings against Democrats running for re-election this fall.

One issue that likely won't be debated in the Iowa Legislature next year is granting driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants, lawmakers said. The issue has been a political hot potato, even though some law enforcement officials have said it's a matter of public safety to have people licensed to drive and in a position to obtain car insurance.

"The polling on this is pretty much off the charts opposing it. I just don't see that as something that leaders are going to touch politically," said state Sen. Matt McCoy, a Des Moines Democrat who chairs a transportation appropriations subcommittee.

A national survey in November by Rassmussen Reports found 77 percent of American adults opposed making driver's licenses available to people who are in the country illegally. Just 16 percent took the opposite view.

However, the issue of immigrant workers illegally obtaining Iowa driver's licenses appears to be a significant matter in the federal investigation of Postville's Agriprocessors meatpacking plant.

Senior Special Agent David Hoagland of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement wrote in an affidavit that investigators had confirmed from an Iowa Department of Transportation database that Iowa driver's licenses had been many issued to many employees for whom ICE had "no-match" Social Security information.

Shirley Andre, director of the Iowa DOT's Motor Vehicle Division, said state officials are trying to learn more about the federal investigation. She noted state and county employees who issue driver's licenses already conduct computer checks on Social Security numbers provided by license applicants. They also receive training to recognize fraudulent documents, she added.




http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/p ... /806010327

People coveniently like to forget that it was a democrat - Clinton - that started the 287g program. More conservative democrats are being elected all the time now that they don't feel they have to tow the party line.