Thread: S.C. immigration-reform efforts boosted

COLUMBIA, S.C. - The U.S. Senate's rejection last week of a federal proposal aimed at curbing illegal immigration is boosting efforts to pass a comprehensive bill in South Carolina.

Until Monday, the state Chamber of Commerce had resisted the state's immigration reform proposals over concerns that they would unduly strain businesses.

But with immigration reform likely stalled in Congress until after the 2008 election, the Chamber signaled a readiness to move forward with state legislation.

"The South Carolina Chamber hopes to bring together state legislators and business leaders to talk about a comprehensive bill that does not unfairly burden businesses with enforcement responsibility and does not penalize businesses that don't have foolproof mechanisms to verify citizenship," the Chamber's communications manager Kristine Hartvigsen said.

Rep. Thad Viers, R-Myrtle Beach, called the Chamber's announcement "substantial."

Viers, who proposed a number of immigration bills this session, said lawmakers have taken heat not only from the Chamber, but from the farming and hospitality communities as well.

"I've never seen industries fight so hard against such common-sense legislation," he said.

Multiple concerns

Lawmakers recite several reasons for their failure to pass immigration reform at the state and federal levels this year.

In Congress, it's concerns over insufficient border security and so-called "amnesty" clauses.

In South Carolina, it's the possible impact on businesses and the realities of the legislative process.

The result, nevertheless, is that the General Assembly's 2007 session closed out last week without passage of widespread changes to the state's immigration laws, just days after the U.S. Senate defeated a federal immigration proposal pushed by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and others.

"A lot of Americans are just fed up, and the federal government is not listening," Viers said.

Estimates put the total number of undocumented immigrants in the United States at about 12 million.

About 25,000 to 30,000 of those lived in South Carolina between 2002 and 2004, according to Pew Hispanic Center estimates.

Georgia, with an estimated unauthorized population of 200,000 to 250,000 during those years, passed a comprehensive immigration bill that took effect Sunday.

Viers convinced the House to pass three limited immigration bills this session, but they never came up for a vote on the Senate floor.

Reform efforts

Sen. Jim Ritchie's "Illegal Immigration Reform Act" has passed the Senate.

The wide-reaching legislation:

Requires that public employers and any business that contracts with the state verify the legal status of their employees.

Requires legal-status verification for adults applying for public benefits, except in certain instances such as medical emergencies.

Widens state law enforcement's authority to enforce immigration laws.

Hartvigsen said that one of the problems is that the federal ID verification system is "full of holes. It's just not reliable."

Businesses want to comply with immigration laws, she said.

But they don't want enforcement to be solely on their shoulders, and they don't want to be slapped with severe penalties and fines if, despite an employer's efforts, someone with a fake ID gets hired, she said.

Ritchie's legislation never made it out of the House Judiciary Committee this year.

http://savannahnow.com/node/318704

If a business gets notified that a SSAN is fake then the business is response. That is only common sense. The IRS and SSAN need to start looking into issues if two different names are appearing against a SSAN or if a SSAN is used in two different states at the same time. Common sense goes a long way except when dealing with the federal government.