Thread: Legislatures look at employer sanctions

Legislatures look at employer sanctions
By JACQUES BILLEAUD, Associated Press Writer
Mar 21, 2007


Frustrated by what they see as a lack of aggressiveness on the federal government's part, lawmakers in several states want to start doing something that has long been Washington's job: cracking down on employers who hire illegal immigrants.

Legislators in at least nine states — Arizona, Missouri, Montana, Virginia, South Carolina, West Virginia, Kansas, Mississippi and Oklahoma — have considered various ideas, including fining businesses and suspending their licenses, prohibiting violators from obtaining state contracts, and requiring employers to sign affidavits saying they do not knowingly hire illegal immigrants.

A few states passed laws in 2006 to confront the problem as well.

A 20-year-old federal law prohibits businesses from knowingly employing illegal immigrants. And the federal government has launched several employer crackdowns over the past year. But some state legislators say Washington is not doing enough.

"The feds are so woefully behind," said Republican state Sen. Chris Koster of Missouri, sponsor of a proposal that would require many employers to electronically verify the eligibility of their workers. "To sit around and wait for federal action on this is like waiting for Santa Claus."

Opponents of illegal immigration complain that businesses' use of illicit labor is encouraging people to sneak across the border.

Critics of some of these proposals say that states are ill-equipped to enforce immigration laws and are intruding on the federal government's constitutional powers.

Nevertheless, a bill in Missouri would set fines of $10,000 to $200,000 for three-time violators, while the proposed penalties in Montana would be $300 for each illegal hiring.

The West Virginia Legislature passed a bill to suspend or revoke the business licenses of employers with three violations. It is awaiting the governor's signature.

Proposals in South Carolina and Kansas would require companies seeking state contracts to verify the eligibility of workers and would prohibit the awarding of state contracts to businesses that hire illegal immigrants.

Republican state Rep. Mike Pitts of South Carolina said his bill was prompted partly by an influx of illegal immigrants into his district who are seeking jobs in agriculture, construction and the service industry. The immigrants are bringing their families and putting a strain on schools and hospitals, he said.

"The flow would stop, and it would reverse the trend," Pitts said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency responsible for investigating illegal hirings, has stepped up its enforcement of the employer sanctions law in the past year, leading to a dozen major busts.

Federal officials said they are taking a new approach: focusing on criminal cases against company officials, rather than seeking just civil penalties, which were viewed by some violators as the cost of doing business.

A first offense, for instance, carries civil fines from $275 to $2,200 for each illegal immigrant hired. The criminal penalties are fines as high as $3,000 and up to six months in prison for each illegal hiring.

"We are getting good at focusing on areas where our attention will get the most impact," said agency spokeswoman Pat Reilly.

Earlier this month, the head of a temporary labor business that used hundreds of illegal immigrants was sentenced in Ohio to 15 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $12 million. In November, a man was sentenced to 1 1/2 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $1.5 million. Authorities said he operated a contracting business in Indiana that used mostly illegal immigrants to perform stucco work.

In worksite raids from October 2005 to December 2006, ICE said it made more than 1,100 criminal arrests, including those of business operators and the manufacturers of fake work documents. More than 5,200 illegal immigrants also were picked up.

Reilly said the agency will take all the assistance it can get from state and local authorities. "We are an effective agency, but the problem is large," he said.

However, critics say that states should not be creating a patchwork of rules and that the problem should remain the federal government's responsibility.

"The state of Arizona is not equipped to address a problem that's a national problem," said Jessica Pacheco, a lobbyist for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which opposes state legislation that would fine employers.

Moreover, state penalties against employers could impinge on the federal government's authority to regulate immigration, said Tyler Moran, a policy analyst for the National Immigration Law Center, which aims to protect poor immigrants.

Moran said that states and communities can suspend or revoke the business licenses of employers after they are punished by the federal government, but have no legal authority to impose further sanctions.

"The states are certainly getting more creative, but they are really trying to do the same thing, which is to regulate immigration, and that's not under their power," Moran said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070321/ap_ ... anctions_1

A first offense, for instance, carries civil fines from $275 to $2,200 for each illegal immigrant hired. The criminal penalties are fines as high as $3,000 and up to six months in prison for each illegal hiring.

This is still not harsh enough. The minimum fine should be a minimum of $25,000 for the first offense, with up to one year in prison.
The second time should entail pulling of their business license w/ a $100k fine and 5 years in prison.
To many big companies, these small dollar penalities are a joke.
When they can make hundreds of thousands of dollars in a month, what is $3k per illegal hiring penalty? WHOOOO that should scare 'em good...GIMMIE A BREAK!

Its as big of a joke as the EPA only fining hazardous chemical producers a measly $25k per violation.
That's mighty small in comparison to the hundreds of millions they make each year from dumping their crap in our oceans, deserts, etc.

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Legislatures look at employer sanctions ???
I say "Look at Legislatures sanctions"!

DO YOUR JOB you POLITICAL-IDIOTS,
ENFORCE OUR LAWS!
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