Heritage Foundation: Feds Sue Illinois for Flouting Immigration Law
Friday, October 05, 2007

By Ernest Istook

Hooray for Michael Chertoff! Hooray for his Department of Homeland Security!

They’re taking the scofflaws to court. This time, it’s not just a meat-packing plant or a construction contractor, or some small business hiring illegal aliens. This time, it’s the whole blooming state of Illinois, which has one of the worst records of looking the other way when illegals take jobs.

Taking the amnesty approach to a new low, Illinois passed a law banning employers from participating in the Basic Pilot Program (aka E-Verify), the successful federal system used to track down phony Social Security numbers and thus detect illegal workers.

Other states, such as Arizona, are mandating that employers use this system. Going the other way is Illinois, the so-called “Land of Lincolnâ€