Thread: Iowa Immigration bill would mandate ID

Iowa Immigration bill would mandate ID

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/p ... /-1/LIFE04

Everyone working in Iowa would have to obtain an Iowa driver's license or state-issued identification under proposed immigration enforcement legislation that generated spirited debate Monday at the Statehouse.

Opponents said the proposal would do little more than perpetuate stereotypes, add red tape for businesses and launch an underground network for obtaining phony identification.

The proposal, House Study Bill 717, would require all employers to verify the identity of each new employee within 10 days of hiring the person by obtaining a copy of his state-issued license or identification.

Employers who failed to comply or knowingly submitted false information to Iowa Workforce Development could face felony criminal perjury charges. Conviction could mean more than five years in prison and a fine of up to $7,500.

Some lawmakers who support the bill said they were trying to stop exploitation of illegal immigrants. Undocumented workers are often treated unfairly, paid less and given far fewer benefits, such as health care coverage. The proposal would cut those problems, they said.

But opponents disagreed that the idea would be effective.

"If I no longer work there but I have that ID, I'm going to sell that for $150 to the first 18-year-old who comes into my presence and wants to pay for that to go bar-hopping," Marty Ryan, a lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, told lawmakers.

Some groups expressed concern about the extra paperwork and headaches that they believe the proposal would cause businesses and out-of-state employees. Many workers in Iowa border cities live in adjoining states.

Tom Gillespie, a lobbyist for the Iowa State Building & Construction Trades Council, said requiring such workers to get state IDs could cause work delays.

Former undocumented worker Bernard Ortiz, an Altoona resident who is now a U.S. citizen and human rights activist, told lawmakers that the proposal would reinforce negative stereotypes that are harmful to Latinos.

"All these laws will increase stereotypes, harassment, racism. It's just more obstacles for me," Ortiz said.

Rep. Lance Horbach of Tama, the top-ranking Republican on the House Labor Committee, responded to Ortiz: "I would also challenge you that your civil rights are actually being more endangered, in my mind, by the people who are illegally coming into our country."

Noncitizens who are working legally in Iowa would be able to obtain state-issued identification by showing such documents as federal immigration papers, according to the legislative proposal.

Rep. Rick Olson, a Des Moines Democrat who led a House labor subcommittee discussion Monday on the idea, acknowledged that the plan was imperfect but said he was willing to work with groups to reshape it.

"If there is another way in which you think that we can verify that someone that we're hiring is the person that we're going to hire, that that person hasn't assumed somebody else's identity for the purpose of employment, I'm open to it," Olson told a group of about 25 lobbyists Monday.

Concerns that out-of-state workers would have trouble obtaining Iowa-issued identification would be addressed, Olson assured the group.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Des Moines Democrat, last month introduced House File 2026, which would make business executives criminally liable if their companies knowingly hired undocumented workers. He said the state ID plan was drafted to avoid possible constitutional challenges to the original proposal. It is possible that the U.S. Supreme Court could determine that the state is unable to go directly after business executives for violation of immigration laws. The newest proposal would enable prosecution of executives for perjury.

Under legislative rules, the immigration reform proposal must pass out of a House committee by March 7 in order to be considered for final approval this legislative session. McCarthy predicted that some sort of immigration reform would pass this year.

Reporter Jason Clayworth can be reached at (515) 699-7058 or jclayworth@dmreg.com

Opponents said the proposal would do little more than perpetuate stereotypes, add red tape for businesses and launch an underground network for obtaining phony identification.

Idiots. They're already doing that anyway!!!! (Duh!)

I don't see what the big deal is. As of Jan 31, 2008; ALL foreigners in the US must have passports from their countries to enter the US. If they are stopped for a traffic violation, they should have their passports with them anyway, so there's their ID.

If they have no ID, they are probably illegally here. Matricula cards are bogus ID and should not be accepted. If someone showed me one, I would automatically assume they are here illegally.

FYI... I stopped at my local Autozone for car stuff yesterday afternoon on my way home. On the cash register they have taped a little PC produced notice that lists all the forms of identification they 'accept'. The Matricular Consular card is among them. I was going to give the cashier a little lecture on the subject but the transaction was quick, and he was having a bad day anyway.
Next time though, they're going to get a 1 minute education!

Yeah, what a country, we bend over backwards to assist them in breaking our laws.....

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