Neufeld seeks tougher stance


By Sarah Kessinger

Harris News Service

TOPEKA - As the Bush administration announced a crackdown Friday on employers of illegal immigrants, a Kansas GOP leader pushed for a tougher state stance on the issue.

³I think we need to send a clear message that the state of Kansas does not support employers hiring illegally,² said Kansas House Speaker Melvin Neufeld, R-Ingalls, while also seeking to appease the business community.

³... On the other hand we don¹t want to punish employers who they think they¹ve hired legitimately.²

The comments came after U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff asserted in media reports Friday that his agency would come down on disobedient employers ³like a ton of bricks.²

Neufeld had just returned from the National Conference of State Legislatures annual summit in Boston this week, where illegal immigration was among the hottest topics.

That was due in part to Congress¹s lack of action this summer on immigration reform.

Forty-one state legislatures, including Kansas, have responded to the congressional stalemate of recent years by passing their own bills - some 170 this year, more than twice the amount in 2006.

³Because leadership in Congress has not had the courage to pass comprehensive immigration reform, Kansas and all other states must take steps to solve immigration-related problems we face,² Neufeld said.

³Kansas welcomes those immigrants who have followed our country¹s and state¹s laws to come here. However illegal immigration has put a tremendous burden on our state, especially on our schools, social services, hospitals and justice systems.²


Targeting employers

The nation¹s job market has attracted millions of new immigrants in the past two decades. The federal government hasn¹t overhauled immigration quotas, however, while employers hired from the new labor pool.

Congress has reacted with sharp spending increases on border controls while remaining gridlocked over whether to give legal status to the estimated 11 million to 20 million illegal immigrants in the country.

No official estimates are available on the number of illegal immigrants working in Kansas.

Neufeld says the federal government must deal with immigration policy, but states are finding they need their own ³immigrant policy.²

He expressed support for recent legislative proposals pitched by Rep. Brenda Landwehr, R-Wichita, to revoke the business license and impose civil penalties on employers that knowingly hired illegal workers or failed to verify their identity.

Landwehr also suggests possible penalties for state employees who¹ve allowed illegal immigrant to apply for or receive state benefits and penalties for illegal immigrants who attempted to vote.


Taking on landlords

Another piece of legislation that Landwehr suggests is to crack down on landlords who rent to illegal immigrants.

However a Pennsylvania judge recently threw out such an ordinance in Hazelton, Pa., saying it usurped federal immigration law. The ordinance sought to penalize locals who hire or rent to undocumented residents.

The town¹s lawyer on the case is Kris Kobach, who also is chairman of the Kansas Republican Party. The decision, which Kobach blamed on an ³activist² judge, is on appeal.

Other state laws face challenges elsewhere.

08/13/2007; 9:30:54 AM

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