Colo. lawmakers to debate illegal immigration requirements for businesses
written by: Jeffrey Wolf written by: Adam Schrager 1 hr ago Comments (23)

DENVER - Colorado lawmakers will once again debate whether companies should be required to use a federal database that helps determine whether workers are in this country illegally.



Leading Republicans included support for the so-called "E-Verify" plan in the "Platform for Prosperity" campaign pledge they unveiled on Monday and said they will introduce legislation in January when state lawmakers return to work.

Currently, using the system is voluntary in all but two states nationwide. The Department of Homeland Security launched a public relations campaign last week to encourage all U.S. companies to use the system and to promote those who do.

DHS officials say roughly 170,000 of the nation's employers enter prospective employees' I-9 forms against federal databases to ensure citizenship. There are nearly 7 million U.S. employers.

"Should jobs not go to black, white and brown Americans, to citizens of the United States, and citizens of the state of Colorado before they go to anybody else?" former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colorado) asked at the Republican news conference on Monday. "I certainly believe they should and I think most Coloradans believe the same thing. This is not a hard-hearted thing, it's just we're going to prioritize here and if you want a job in this state, you have to be legally present."

Democrats at the State Capitol defeated a similar proposal last year on a party-line vote. They continue to say the system is fraught with more problems than benefits.

DHS acknowledges the system cannot prevent or detect identity theft.

"When I sit down with small businesses, they express to me frustration with the bureaucracy that government already imposes on them," Senate President Brandon Shaffer (D-Longmont) said. "They say the last thing we want you to do is force us to enter into another database, force us to do more paperwork to make our lives more difficult. We're down here working to make people's lives easier.

"We'll look at it again, but we've looked at it in the past and concluded that it costs too much money for small businesses in this state," Shaffer said.

To visit the E-Verify site at Department of Homeland Security, go to http://www.dhs.gov/files/programs/gc_1185221678150.shtm.



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