Thread: SC: Ritchie Continues Fight for Tough Immigration Bill

Ritchie Continues Fight for Tough Immigration Bill

Vows to shut down Senate to get vote on bill.

Columbia, SC - Senator Jim Ritchie (R-Spartanburg) today continued his fight for a tough illegal immigration reform bill. Senator Ritchie took the Senate floor and vowed to shut down all other legislation until senators agree to address a stronger standard for private employer verification by removing the I-9 from the list of options available to confirm someone’s employment eligibility. Senator Ritchie offered an amendment to H.3032 that would remove the federal I-9, leaving E-Verify and the South Carolina Driver’s License as the primary methods of confirming employment eligibility for new hires.

“I made a commitment to the people of South Carolina to use every method available to get a strong illegal immigration bill through the General Assembly this session; today is the next step in that commitment,â€

Join our fight to get a tough illegal immigration enforcement bill passed by SC:
http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-674870.html#674870

I was sent this after an email I just sent about an hour ago

Re: S 392
Date:Tuesday, April 29, 2008 6:34:08 PM

As Senator Ritchie's legislative aide, he asked me to respond to your
email below on illegal immigration reform and, specifically, the current
status of his Illegal Immigration Reform Act.

I can assure you that Senator Ritchie shares your commitment to strong,
comprehensive illegal immigration reform. He has led this effort for
two years - since the summer of 2006 - and continues to fight to ensure
that South Carolina enacts the most thorough and aggressive illegal
immigration law in the country.

Senator Ritchie was the first legislator to introduce an amendment to
include requirements for private employers in South Carolina and he was
the first legislator to say we must require all employers to verify
their workforce using E-Verify. Senator Ritchie remains committed to
doing everything he can to bring true reform to the Palmetto State and
he understands that we cannot have true reform without getting tough on
businesses that intentionally break the law.

Unfortunately, special interests and political grandstanding have
delayed progress toward final passage. Rather than engaging in a "he
said, she said" battle that will only continue to delay this vital
legislation, Senator Ritchie is working to find new ways to ensure this
bill becomes law prior to the close of this two-year legislative
Session.

You may be interested to know that in light of last week's setbacks in
conference committee, Senator Ritchie objected to all other bills on the
Senate calendar today in order to force the Senate to again debate
requiring E-verify for all private employers. I have provided an
excerpt from a Post and Courier afternoon update article below:
Senate tries to get movement on immigration reformBy Yvonne Wenger
The Post and Courier
Originally published 01:27 p.m., April 29, 2008
Updated 03:39 p.m., April 29, 2008

...

Sens. Jim Ritchie, R-Spartanburg, and Chip Campsen, R-Isle of Palms,
have written an amendment that would remove the I-9 Employment
Eligibility Verification Form as an acceptable worker verification
method for private employees.
Deadlock on the state’s immigration reform plan has focused on whether
to allow private employers to check if a person is legally authorized to
work in the country by using a South Carolina driver’s license, the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security’s online database E-Verify or the
federal I-9 form.
The Senate is poised to continue debate on immigration reform when it
meets tomorrow at 11 a.m.
To read Ms. Wenger's full article and its related links, click on the
link below:
http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/apr ... immigratio
n_r38980/.

Senator Ritchie introduced a strike-and-insert amendment to a House
bill on immigration that would replace the entire bill with the language
in his Illegal Immigration Reform Act as agreed to in conference
committee. However, he went one step further - his amendment requires
employers to verify the lawful presence of their workers using E-verify
without providing the I-9 as another verification option. This
amendment, if successful, would close the I-9 loophole and would put us
one step closer to the nation's most aggressive, comprehensive illegal
immigration law.

I have also provided some excerpts below from an April 19 article in
the Greenville News that discusses in detail Senator Ritchie's position
on the federal I-9. Should you have any additional questions, please
feel free to email me at robinsonk@scsenate.org or call our office at
803.212.6032. Senator Ritchie and/or I will be happy to discuss this
important issue with you further.

Best regards,
Kendall Robinson

I just send JHR a mail giving him a fine pat on the back and thank you . Now i hope he does not cave like the AZ Governor did (I'm not finished with her by a long shot) .

Posted on Wed, Apr. 30, 2008
Immigration in S.C.: Proposal may bypass logjam
Senator’s plan would provide for online identity verification for jobs
By RODDIE A. BURRIS

Seeking to break a caustic impasse and avoid going back home to voters this summer without passing an immigration law, the Senate rolled out a new plan Tuesday to establish an online identity verification system for all S.C. employers.

E-verify, as it is known, is the federal electronic employment verification system that matches job applicants’ names with their Social Security numbers.

Sen. Jim Ritchie, R-Spartanburg, brought the measure to the floor Tuesday, after Republicans used an emergency procedure to clear the Senate calendar to take it up.

But with the days quickly waning to get legislation passed and sent to the House before the May 1 crossover deadline — after which a two-thirds vote will be needed to send bills across the hall — Senate Democrats rebelled and quickly organized a filibuster.

That threat forced Senate Republicans to reconsider and put off further discussion on their new immigration effort until today, when members will convene at 11 a.m. — three hours earlier than normal — to resume debate.

“I’m not going home until I’ve exhausted every opportunity available to pass immigration reform this year,â€

come on SC get it done . Don't waste time , just do it . Illegals will bleed you dry if you don't

Received this response today from Cleary....

Dear XXXX

Today is the day hopefully in the Senate. Does this mean that e-verify
will pass with or without I-9s is the question. But at the end of the
day you will get to see who votes cloture to end the filibusters if one
occurs and see who votes in what manner on the e-verify question.

As background, the Senate voted three times in February for e-verify
only and could NOT get it passed. Quite frankly we had one senator who
opposed the end of common law marriage and the body could not get it
passed over his concerns. Such are the rules of the Senate, the cards
which we are dealt. HOWEVER we did get passed a stronger bill than
the house which included legal action if a man was fired and replaced
with an illegal [ the House did not] and our bill also included ALL
employers in the state, not just those with state contracts [ which the
House did not have]

As a dentist and a first time legislator, I
would do not like the finger pointing etc. If the House can pass a
bill with e-verify etc then let them DO IT and the Senate should take
all the heat for not being able to. But the House has FAILED to pass
anything meaningful and continues to say that they can if we do. Why
not just do it and place the burden on us. Whatever happens in the
House I cannot answer. But hopefully at the end of the day we will see
at least in the Senate where we have enough courage to take a roll call
vote, who is for and against this legislation. That the public has a
right to know.

Sincerely Ray

The Honorable Raymond E. Cleary III
State Senator
District 34
Geo

The Honorable Raymond E. Cleary III
State Senator
District 34
Georgetown, Horry and Charleston Counties
Post Office Box 142
Columbia, SC 29202
O: 803.212.6032
F: 803.212.6035