Thread: SC: Governor signs tough illegal immigration law

Posted on Wed, Jun. 04, 2008
Sanford signs illegal immigration bill
By SEANNA ADCOX - The Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. --Gov. Mark Sanford signed legislation Wednesday that threatens to temporarily shut down businesses and fine them up to $1,000 per worker if they employ illegal immigrants.

Sanford, surrounded by about 20 legislators, said the measure reasserts the rule of law in South Carolina - cracking down on the "wink-and-nod" employment of illegal immigrants. He and legislators said they hope the ideas spread and force Congress to act.

"The message is loud and clear: Stop the silent invasion of this state," said Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston.

Legislators boasted the measure is the most strict and effective anti-illegal-immigrant bill in the country. Lawmakers made the law increasingly tougher as debate progressed, with constituents becoming more frustrated by the federal government's inaction on the issue.

"It's certainly one of the toughest, if not the toughest," said Larry Frankel, state legislative counsel in the American Civil Liberty Union's Washington office.

Rep. Thad Viers, R-Myrtle Beach, predicted the law will lower the state's unemployment rate, at 5.9 percent in April, because immigrants will "self-deport" and make more jobs available.

But immigrant advocates warn lawmakers may regret what they've done.

Other states to pass comprehensive efforts include Arizona, Oklahoma and Colorado. Georgia passed the first in 2006.

Arizona lawmakers have since considered creating a guest-worker program in the state to fill labor shortages. On Wednesday, a federal judge blocked parts of Oklahoma's anti-illegal immigration law, saying it's likely unconstitutional.

"The problem with bills that are so harsh is they end up hurting businesses who have problems finding employees," said the ACLU's Frankel. "It's also driving people out of state. Some people think, 'That's great; they're illegals,' but it drives out people who are just not willing to be discriminated against because people assume they're illegal."

Frankel said the legislation could worsen the economic downturn's affects in South Carolina.

Sanford's signing ceremony, on the next-to-last day of session and a week before primary elections, ends months of often contentious debate between the House and Senate on a law legislators said at the beginning of the year would pass within a few weeks.

The debate centered on whether private businesses with no state contracts should be required to verify their workers, and how to legally enforce the requirements.

Under the final version, all employers must either check new hires' Social Security number through a federal online database called E-verify or hire workers with a driver's license from South Carolina or another state with strict requirements.

Employers caught not checking their workers can be fined between $100 and $1,000 per worker, and if an investigation finds they knowingly hired an illegal immigrant, their business can be temporarily shut down, up to 30 days on first offense and five years if caught a third time.

The state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation will investigate complaints and can randomly audit companies.

Advocates for Hispanics came to the Statehouse on Thursday to urge the governor to reconsider, calling the measure unfair to hardworking immigrants trying to provide for their families and a burden to small business owners.

"We're just human beings who want a prosperous life," said Diana Salazar, director of the Latino Association of Charleston, an American-born citizen who said her great-grandmother came here illegally with just pennies in her pocket.

She was surrounded by about 15 legal and illegal immigrants with signs reading "America was built on immigrants" and "We are not terrorists or criminals!"

Salazar warned the law will hurt the state's two top industries, tourism and agriculture, because citizens don't want the hard labor. She said election-year politics will have economic consequences.

"There's no way I will be picking those vegetables in 90-degree heat," she said. "Who does the housekeeping at all those fancy hotels?"

The bill also bans adult illegal immigrants from receiving public aid, bars illegal immigrants from attending public colleges and requires them to pay out-of-state rates for private colleges. It creates felonies for harboring or transporting illegal immigrants and for forging documents.

Critics have warned it could lead to racial profiling.

Nationwide, more than 1,560 immigrant-related bills were introduced last year, with 240 becoming law. More than 1,100 bills were introduced in the first quarter of this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

http://www.thestate.com/breaking/story/424316.html

Posted on Wed, Jun. 04, 2008
A look at S.C.'s new illegal immigration law
The Associated Press
The following are highlights of the illegal immigration bill signed into law Wednesday. It will:

- Require all businesses to verify that newly hired employees are in the country legally. Public contractors with at least 500 employees must begin verifying their new hires by January. All other businesses must follow by July 2010.

- Create civil fines up to $1,000 per worker for failing to verify.

- Require employers to temporarily shut down if an investigation finds they knowingly hired illegal immigrants.

- Ban illegal immigrants over 18 from public assistance, with some exceptions such as emergency medical care.

- Create a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, for falsifying documents.

- Make it a felony to transport or harbor illegal immigrants, though it provides exceptions for some charities, such as churches and soup kitchens.

- Ban illegal immigrants from attending public colleges and bar them from winning state scholarships or grants. They would have to pay out-of-state tuition at private colleges.

- Allow fired workers to sue their former employers if they're replaced by illegal workers within 60 days.

- Bar gun sales to illegal immigrants.

http://www.charlotte.com/205/story/654367.html

Governor signs tough illegal immigration law
Posted: June 4, 2008 03:07 PM PDT
Updated: June 4, 2008 03:19 PM PDT

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - After years of debate and disagreement, South Carolina has taken a stand on illegal immigration. And the governor has turned that legislation into law.

They call it one of the toughest crackdowns on illegal immigration anywhere in the nation, signed into law this afternoon by Governor Mark Sanford.

"We've said from day one that while we're a nation of immigrants, we're also a nation of laws - and that South Carolina shouldn't be in the business of sanctioning illegal activity with a wink and a nod," said Sanford.

A key feature of the new law is a so-called "E-Verify" system requiring employers to verify the legal status of employees through Homeland Security or with a South Carolina drivers' license.

The law sets up agreements allowing state and local authorities to enforce federal immigration laws, and a hotline and online services to report and track violations.

The law requires state and local agencies to verify the status of adults who apply for public benefits, and it gives local governments a chance to pass their own immigration laws.

The law also has an impact on colleges, such as no scholarships or grants for illegals, and no in-state tuition rates at private colleges.

Workers replaced with illegal immigrants can sue their employers. Some of those employers, especially in agriculture and construction, will feel the effects of this new law.

Reported by Jack Kuenzie

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8432858

The message is loud and clear: Stop the silent invasion of this state," said Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston.

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I had to laugh when I read this statement from McConnell. An illegal immigration bill could have been passed last year in this state except Glenn McConnell elected to keep the legislation in his desk, gathering dust and not bring it out for discussion.

Do you hear me now, North Carolina? Brace yourself for the border jumper illegals from SC heading here. Time to bring the hammer down in the tarheel state.

bttt

This is great news!! way to go Governor.......especially after that frigging OK Judge today!

Gee, Does Lindsey GrAmnesty Know About This?

He'll have his undies in a bunch! The cheap-labor his numerous golfing spots rely on has been put on notice: Go back to Mexico/Ireland/Brazil/whereever, or find a Sanctuary State like NJ or MA!

BTW, I called his DC office today for a comment - got put on hold and left there. GrAmnesty must be positively apoplectic over this! How dare the state legislature listen to the Will of the People! Don't they know they're supposed to be lackeys for Big Biz and the political and intellectual elite?

Congratulations Governor Sanford. If only my Governor could be so bold. I've e-mailed him a copy of this wonderful news!!!

Sanford signs broad illegal immigration law
By Yvonne Wenger
The Post and Courier
Thursday, June 5, 2008

Mary Ann Chastain/AP


Immigration bill 4400

COLUMBIA — South Carolina became the fifth state in the nation to pass broad illegal immigration reform with the stroke of Gov. Mark Sanford's pen Wednesday.

The new law — the hallmark of this legislative session — is being touted as the toughest in the United States. Legislators said they studied the laws and lessons from Arizona, Colorado, Georgia and Oklahoma, and incorporated what worked, improved what didn't and added a number of new provisions.

"This puts South Carolina in the forefront of where all states are on immigration reform," said Sanford, who was joined by about 20 legislators for the bill signing.

The new law took effect Wednesday, although portions, primarily employment verification standards, will be phased in over the coming months.

Ann Morse, program director the National Conference of State Legislatures' immigrant policy project, said recent legal challenges to the laws in Oklahoma and elsewhere raise "a real question" of how South Carolina's law will be received.

Legislators here say they pushed the boundaries of federal limitations but crafted a law that is expected to hold up against legal challenges.

The state's new illegal immigration reform law is long and complicated. Here are some of the real-life implications:

Q: What do I need to know about hiring a landscaper, kitchen remodeling company or any other home contractor?

A: It is not your responsibility to check whether the labor is legal or illegal. That burden is on the company that employs the workers. If the contractor is self-employed, such as a landscaper, then you are not required to verify their immigration status.

Q: As a small business owner, what do I need to know about new hiring standards?

A: All employers must verify the legal status of their workers using a South Carolina driver's license, an ID card, or the documents needed to obtain one. Licenses from other states with the same eligibility requirements are also acceptable. The final option is using the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's online database called E-Verify. It is free to enroll and use.

Businesses with fewer than 100 employees have until July 1, 2010, to comply with the new law. The state Employment Security Commission and the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation are available to help with questions. Deadlines for larger companies and those that do business with government agencies are sooner.

Q: I am an illegal immigrant. How will my life, and my children's lives, change?

A: An unwelcome backdrop for employment is arguably the single biggest implication of the new law. The goal of the legislation is to ensure illegal immigrants aren't working here.

You could be charged with a felony if you provide false information to get a job or gain public benefits such as Medicaid. You would also subject yourself to a lawsuit if you steal another person's identity in an effort to create fraudulent immigration or identification documents.

If you own a firearm or try to purchase or sell one, you could also be charged with a felony.

Emergency medical treatment will still be available, as well as nonprofit services such as food at soup kitchens and short-term shelter, prenatal care and protection from domestic abuse.

Children under 18 will still have the right to a public education and public benefits, although no illegal immigrant can attend a state-supported college or receive any scholarships.

Q: I suspect a business is using illegal labor. What can I do?

A: The Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation will accept written and signed complaints and investigate credible allegations. The agency will also conduct random audits of businesses to make sure they've attempted to verify the workers are legal. If the investigators find illegal workers are on staff, they are obligated to turn that information over to Homeland Security and state law enforcement agencies, in addition to requiring those workers be fired.

Q: My church or social service organization is serving illegal immigrants. Do we have to stop?

A: Probably not. While harboring and transporting illegal immigrants is now a state crime, the Legislature built in an exception for churches and nonprofits to carry out their missions without the threat of legal action. However, if the purpose of providing aid to an illegal immigrant is to conceal their identity or further their illegal status in the country, then the organization may be subject to criminal prosecution.

Q: I hire illegal workers for my business. What will happen if I get caught?

A: Penalties are broken into two categories. The first involves businesses that do not verify the immigration status of their workers. They would be subject to a $100 to $1,000 fine for a worker who is not verified. For the first offense, employers are given 72 hours after they're caught to verify all new employees' status. Businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants would be shut down for 10 to 30 days for a first offense, up to two months for a second offense and five years for a third offense. Reinstatement fees would cost up to $1,000. In all cases, illegal workers must be immediately fired.

Q: An illegal immigrant stole my identity. What recourse do I have?

A: Victims of identity theft associated with an illegal immigrant can sue the thief, or anyone who helped them steal your identity, and may be awarded up to three times the cost of any actual damages, plus attorney's fees.

Q: I was fired and replaced by an illegal immigrant. What can I do?

A: Lawful workers will have the right to sue their former bosses if they are fired and replaced by someone the employer knew, or should have known, to be an illegal immigrant. The lawful worker can get their job back and collect lost wages and actual damages which would include things like the cost of a home foreclosure. The right to sue is only available for one year after the employee's termination.

www.charleston.net