Ozarks Minutemen turn in petition to strengthen employment screening

July 19, 2011
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Members of the Ozarks Minutemen have turned in a petition to the City Clerk that would increase pre-employment screening requirements for all licensed Springfield businesses in an effort to prevent the hiring of illegal immigrants.

The group said in a news release that it hopes to close exiting loopholes and deter illegal immigration by requiring all employers to use the E-verify system.

Ozarks Minutemen gathered about 2,400 signatures, according to a news release. If at least 2,101 are verified by the clerk’s office, the issue will go to City Council, which could approve the ordinance as is or send it to voters for a public election.

The unedited news release from the Ozarks Minutemen is below:

“SPRINGFIELD, MO (19 July 2011) - The Ozarks Minutemen, a Springfield-based group of citizen volunteers, has obtained necessary voter signatures on an initiative petition proposing an ordinance that would make it unlawful for businesses licensed by the city of Springfield to hire illegal aliens. The proposed ordinance also calls for the mandatory use of E-Verify, a free, government-sponsored program which enables employers to easily determine the eligibility of a prospective employee to work in the United States.

“We submitted 104 petitions containing over 2,400 signatures to the Springfield City Clerk's office earlier today,â€