Thread: State Senator wants to require IDs for Alabama workers

Feb 21, 2008
Senator wants to require IDs for Alabama workers
By PHILLIP RAWLS
Associated Press Writer

MONTGOMERY, Ala. A state senator trying to crack down on illegal immigration wants to require everyone working in Alabama to show a state-issued ID to prove their legal residency.

"The point of this bill is to try to get business owners to only hire legal folks," state Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale, said at a news conference Thursday.

Beason introduced his bill Thursday, with 26 of his 34 fellow senators signing on as co-sponsors. But he said that doesn't mean the bill will pass the Senate.

"The big question is whether the Legislature will act at all," he said.

Senate Rules Committee Chairman Lowell Barron, D-Fyffe, said the Legislature needs to be careful about addressing immigration issues.

"Immigration needs a unified solution and that solution has got to come from Congress," he said.

"Rather than us spending a lot of time on this issue pushing legislation that would probably be found unconstitutional, we need to be addressing critical state problems we know we can resolve without a court challenge," Barron said.

Beason served a vice chairman of the Joint Patriotic Immigration Commission, which was created by the Legislature at Beason's request to study immigration issues. The committee recently presented recommendations to the Legislature, but did not propose any bills.

Beason's bill would create a new form of identification issued by the state Department of Public Safety that would be called the Alabama Verified Employee Identification Card. It would go to out-of-state residents working in Alabama, permanent resident aliens, and others with the legal status to work in Alabama.

The Department of Public Safety already issues driver's licenses and non-driver IDs to people who show the proper documentation, including a birth certificate, Social Security card or passport.

Beginning in January 2010, Beason's bill would require all employers to verify proof of legal status of all employees by checking and copying an Alabama driver's license, an Alabama non-driver's ID, or an Alabama Verified Employee ID.

Employers who violate the legislation would be subject to fines starting at $500 per employee for a first offense. A third offense would shut down a business by pulling the business license for one year.

"We'll be the only state trying to do it this way," Beason said.

Other provisions in Beason's bill would:

-require all state agencies to verify the citizenship status of everyone 14 and older who applies for state or federal benefits.

-restrict all college scholarships and financial aid to people lawfully in the United States.

-make it a crime for a person to transport, conceal or protect an illegal immigrant from detection by state or federal authorities.

-require verification of the legal status of every person charged with a crime before they can get out of jail on bail.

Beason said he hopes to have a state representative introduce the immigration bill in the House, where several other more limited immigration bills are already pending.

House Speaker Seth Hammett said he is assigning most of the bills to the House Judiciary Committee, and he has instructed the committee chairman to devote a day to having hearings on the bills.

http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20080 ... /802210861

Lowell Barron D-frye state SENATOR -owns barron vantage COMPANY (barron land company) -256-623-2298 -which is into construction ,property management ,other things-he may not want this because maybe his company is hiring illegals -google barron vantage company -alabama

This appears to be Alabama's version of a Real ID for employment. Are they also signed up for actual Real ID for their driver's licenses?

Alabama policy makers must confront immigration issues
By Scott Beason
Special to The Star
02-24-2008


The number one issue in the state of Alabama is illegal immigration. What is going to be done to curb the influx of thousands of illegal immigrants into our state?

Illegal immigration is a federal issue at the border, but once an illegal immigrant crosses that line, it becomes a state issue. States have to deal with the problems that follow.

Last spring, the Legislature established the Joint Interim Patriotic Immigration Commission and stated that “the unprecedented influx of non-English speaking immigrants requires Alabama policy makers to confront a growing critical public-policy crisis and that states must exercise power to investigate, apprehend, detain, and remove illegal aliens.â€