Thread: RI lawmakers approve immigration checks on workers

RI lawmakers approve immigration checks on workers



By KELSEY ABBRUZZESE
.

Published: Tue, May 12, 2009 - 10:24 am
Last Updated: Tue, May 12, 2009 - 5:02 pm

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) House lawmakers have narrowly approved a bill requiring private companies to use the federal E-Verify database to check the immigration status of new hires.

House legislators voted 37-33 on Tuesday to approve the bill sponsored by Rep. Jon Brien, a Democrat who said the legislation addresses a jobs issue.

Workplace and immigration advocates have argued the bill would implement a flawed system, put financial pressure on small businesses and discriminate against minorities.

The legislation now heads to the Senate, where it stalled last year.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 12 states require some form of E-Verify. Gov. Don Carcieri signed an executive order in 2008 that forces executive branch agencies and companies doing business with the state to use it.

http://www.wkrg.com/associated_press/ar ... ers/46208/

Yippee! There is sanity is legislature. The senate better not quash this!

WELL WHAT DO YOU KNOW, COMMON SENSE.

BUT WHY SUCH A NARROW MARGIN?

We have to support RIILE and Governor Carcieri in efforts to get the bill passed in the Senate. Rhode Island has one of the highest rates of unemployment in the United States.

This bill barely passed with a 37-33 count. The legislators of RI do not give a damn about their constituents who live in FRI and should be voted out at the first opportunity.

With a close vote like that the Senate will feel safe in voting against the bill.

Workplace and immigration advocates have argued the bill would implement a flawed system, put financial pressure on small businesses and discriminate against minorities.

What financial pressure? E-verify is FREE. I don't see how verifying a worker is who he claims to be is "discriminating". Is this the best argument these profiteers have?

Posted: Wednesday, May 13, 2009 11:00 AM EDT


State House OKs plan to check workers' immigration status


By Joe Baker
Daily News staff

By a razor-thin margin, the House of Representatives on Tuesday passed legislation that would require all Rhode Island businesses to run the names of new employees through the federal E-Verify system to make sure they are not in the country illegally.

The bill (H5143) was approved 37-33.

Employers can check the immigration status of new employees by sending the person’s supporting documentation, such as their Social Security number, to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. The program is voluntary on the federal level. But the legislation would require all employers in Rhode Island to file paperwork with the state Department of Labor and Training stipulating that they will participate in the program.

There is no penalty for ignoring the law and failing to file the paperwork. However, if someone complies with the law and files the paperwork, then fails to follow through with the federal check, he or she could be charged with filing false paperwork and face up to a $1,000 fine and up to a year in prison, said Rep. Jon D. Brien, D-Woonsocket, the bill’s sponsor.


Also
LOCAL VOTE COUNT

In favor

Rep. John G. Edwards, D-Tiverton.

Rep. Raymond E. Gallison Jr., D-Bristol.

Rep. John J. Loughlin Jr., R-Tiverton.

Opposed

Rep. Peter F. Martin, D-Newport.

Rep. Amy G. Rice, D-Portsmouth.

Rep. Deborah L. Ruggiero, D-Jamestown.

Absent

Rep. J. Russell Jackson, D-Newport.



The program would not stop unscrupulous employers from intentionally hiring illegal aliens, but it would send a message that Rhode Island is taking a stand on the issue, he said.

“You’re never going to stop everything,â€