Thread: Ky Illegal-worker issues growing in importance

LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW
Illegal-worker issues growing in importance
Issue 5: Immigration
By Brandon Ortiz
BORTIZ@HERALD-LEADER.COM

. Foes of illegal immigration are hoping that the high-profile attention the issue has gotten in the U.S. presidential race will translate into legislative victories in the upcoming General Assembly session.

Scores of anti-illegal immigration measures have been filed by lawmakers in recent years. Most have died without getting a vote or even a hearing.

State Rep. Rick Nelson, D-Middlesboro, said the presidential race has kept the illegal immigration issue in the news. He said a growing number of people want the state to curb illegal immigration.

"I feel a growing concern and anger among the citizens," Nelson said. "I feel like there is a growing concern that they're about to get overwhelmed with illegals. I think the cork is about to pop off the bottle."

Advocates for illegal immigrants say this is one of the toughest political environments they've faced. As of Nov. 16, two-and-a-half times more immigration-related bills -- 1,562 -- have been filed in state legislatures this year than in 2006, according to the non-partisan National Conference of State Legislatures.

"We are going to have to work very hard to protect the rights of immigrants," said Freddie Peralta, president of the Kentucky Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. "The immigration problem -- everybody agrees it needs to be addressed at the federal level. But we need to be realistic. The truth of the matter is people are here, they are here in large quantities and they are helping the economy."

Advocates for illegal immigrants can take comfort that they're bedfellows with the business lobby on the immigration issue. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently announced that it will mount legal challenges against immigration laws passed by the states. The chamber says such laws encroach on an area that is the responsibility of the federal government.

The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce also wants the General Assembly to defer to the federal government.

It worries that large companies with facilities in several states would struggle to comply "with a dizzying array of different state regulations while also working to comply with federal requirements," said Mike Ridenour, vice president of public affairs for the Kentucky chamber. "The odds are high that some states will impose standards and penalties that conflict, or even contradict, federal rules."

Nelson has prefiled a bill that would give the state the power to suspend the business license of any business caught hiring illegal immigrants. It would also create a state police task force to investigate illegal immigration, provide training for immigration enforcement and establish a hotline for reporting businesses suspected of hiring undocumented workers.

He said that businesses would probably get a warning for the first offense, but could see their licenses permanently revoked for later offenses.

But Nelson acknowledges that his bill is not likely to pass. He said he has not received the support of House Democratic leaders, and he expects the measure to be controversial among urban lawmakers.

"I just don't know if we can get legislators in urban areas (to support it), unless the citizens get behind this," Nelson said. "Then it's not going to go anywhere."

Even if it did pass, the bill could run into legal problems.

State agencies must enter into agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enforce federal immigration law.

But the agency does not allow police to conduct their own investigations or enforcement raids, as Nelson wants state police to do in his bill. It only allows law enforcement to detain illegal immigrants they happen to encounter during the course of their duties. Police can already arrest illegal immigrants, and regularly do, if they commit a crime.

State Sen. Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, has said he will file a bill that would establish a centralized screening process to check the legal status of all jail inmates. Its odds seem good in the Republican-controlled Senate, but it is not clear how it would fare in the Democratic-run House.

At least one pro-immigrant bill is expected to be filed, though it, too, is unlikely to go anywhere. State Sen. Ernesto Scorsone, D-Lexington, will promote a measure that would allow illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses and buy car insurance.

Scorsone said not allowing undocumented workers to obtain licenses and be tested for their driving proficiency creates a public safety problem. And insurance rates are higher because illegal immigrants can't buy car insurance, Scorsone said. "We need to make sure people learn the rules of the road and have insurance," he said.

http://www.kentucky.com/454/story/273685.html

Kentucky needs our help to get some Bills shot down, and get some bills passed
Please Help out do all you can !!!

Sen. Ernesto Scorsone, D-Lexington, will promote a measure that would allow illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses and buy car insurance.

Nelson has prefiled a bill that would give the state the power to suspend the business license of any business caught hiring illegal immigrants.

Sen. Ernesto Scorsone, D-Lexington, will promote a measure that would allow illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses and buy car insurance.

Mr. Scorsone apparently failed to become an American and acts like an agent of foreign power.

bttt