Controversial amendment could stall immigration reform
By SARAH D. WIRE

May 13, 2008 | 10:33 p.m. CST

JEFFERSON CITY — Whispers of a special session began circulating the Capitol on Tuesday after a controversial amendment was added to an immigration reform bill, a piece of legislation the governor has specified as one of his highest priorities.

The amendment, which gives the state attorney general the power to investigate companies that try to hide the employment of illegal workers by misclassifying them, had been a part of an earlier Senate bill and was removed by the House earlier in the week.

Chairman of the House Immigration Committee Rep. Jerry Nolte, R-Gladstone, said adding the amendment means the bill may not pass through the House before the end of the session, which is in three days.

“Misclassification (of employees) has some relevance to illegal immigrants but it does open a new chapter of law on the bill,â€