Senator to speak on immigration plan
Posted: Wednesday, Jul 08, 2009 - 11:01:50 pm PDT
By ALECIA WARREN

Jorgenson wants more businesses to verify employees' statuses

He wants more than a fence.

Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, has plenty of ideas for cracking down on illegal immigration, one of the most championed causes of his platform.

Locals will hear an earful this Friday when he discusses progress across the state and country at the Coeur d'Alene Pachyderm Club meeting.

"I think the most important thing is you have to let people know it's a serious issue, how severe of an issue it is, and that it's not an overnight fix," Jorgenson said. "But we're working very hard to change that."

Leniency will not be an issue if he has anything to do about it, Jorgenson said.

He has promised the next state congressional session will begin straight off with enforcement legislation he is tinkering with.

Ideally the measure would require employers to confirm employees' legal status with E-Verify, he said, a free Internet background check provided by the Department of Homeland Security.

"The legislation would aim to cause employers to hire only legal aliens, and penalize them if they knowingly hire illegals," he said.

He has also conducted broad research on the subject that he will share Friday, including interviews with state agencies that report up to $200 million spent annually on illegal immigrants.

"People aren't denying we have the problems," he said. "It's coming up with legislation that would be acceptable to all the stakeholders like employers, that sort of thing, that's the problem."

Friday will also include presentations by county residents who work with national immigration activist groups, he said.

"Overcoming these obstacles has to be accomplished at a political level," he said. "My goal is just to keep constituents informed."

Gov. Butch Otter has already issued executive orders and penned letters on the matter, like a letter sent to a federal judge prodding to get more illegal immigrants out of the U.S. prison system.

Just this Wednesday in Washington, Sen. Jim Risch supported two amendments that passed the Senate to improve standards for vetting employee citizenship.

One measure would upgrade the E-Verify service from a pilot program to a permanent one, and the other would require the completion of at least 700 miles of reinforced fencing along the southwest border of the country by Dec. 31, 2010.

"He believes we do need to reform our immigration laws, so those who want to come to our country to work on a temporary basis, he wants to make sure they have access," said Risch spokesman Brad Hoaglun.

Donna Montgomery, board member of the Pachyderm Club, said she is eager to hear what Jorgenson has to divulge, as she occasionally hears of illegal immigration popping up in North Idaho.

"The key word is 'illegal,' and I think it's a good thing he's working on it," she said.

The meeting will be at 7 a.m. at the Shore Lounge in The Coeur d'Alene Resort, and is free and open to the public.

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