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Patrick bars state contractors from hiring undocumented workers

February 23, 07 04:17 PM
By Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick, who was criticized as soft on illegal immigration during his campaign, signed an executive order today that barred any company with a state contract from employing undocumented workers.

Patrick vowed that any employer caught hiring illegal immigrants would lose state contracts and face fines and other penalties.

"I understand how most undocumented immigrants enter Massachusetts seeking opportunities, jobs and a better way of life, and I support balanced immigration reform," the governor said in a statement. "But undocumented workers cannot work on state contracts, and we must enforce that law."

Last year lawmakers called for a crackdown on companies that hire undocumented workers. In June, the Globe published an analysis of nine public works project and found that the state paid millions to contractors who hired hundreds of illegal laborers. The projects ranged from dormitory construction at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth to the building of the new Middlesex County Jail.

Later in the summer, the Globe found that the State Police had relied for years on a company to clean its barracks and headquarters that has employed scores of undocumented immigrants. The story was published at a time when then-governor Mitt Romney was pushing to give state troopers the authority to enforce federal immigration laws.

Romney eventually gave troopers that power in an agreement with federal immigration authorities. The deal was nullified when Patrick took office.

Federal and state laws already prohibit the hiring of undocumented workers.

The executive order that Patrick signed today will require state contractors to certify that they have not knowingly used undocumented workers and have checked the immigration status of their employees.