Thread: Ex-Utah lawmaker Cook starts initiative against illegal immi

Ex-Utah lawmaker Cook starts initiative against illegal immigration


By david montero

The Salt Lake Tribune
First published 2 hours ago
Updated 15 minutes ago

With the stroke of a pen, the stamp of a notary and the cheers of about 30 people looking on, Merrill Cook began a year-long campaign to get a petition on the ballot that would require employers to use E-Verify while tacking on tough penalties for those hiring undocumented workers.

It won’t be easy, he acknowledged.

The former Utah congressman said he’ll need about 100,000 signatures total and about 37,000 in Salt Lake County alone as he attempts to get the measure on every city and county ballot.

Cook said he doubted he’d be successful in every county, but was circumspect about the approach.

"It’s better than doing nothing," he said.

What he’s trying to do is have ballot measures pass that would result in business license revocations after an employer’s second offense in hiring undocumented workers. The first offense would result in businesses having to file quarterly paperwork with the local district attorney’s office to verify they haven’t hired undocumented workers.

Currently, Utah’s law requires businesses with more than 15 employees to use E-Verify to determine legal status of workers, but the law carries no penalties.

Cook also sees the ballot measure route as a way to target HB116, a guest worker bill signed into law by Gov. Gary Herbert that levies fines of either $1,000 or $2,500 against undocumented workers and requires them to pass background checks before being allowed to legally live and work in Utah.

www.sltrib.com

Go Merrill! We need throw Herbert out along with a bunch of illegals.