Elgin tries to crack down on illegal immigrants
City to join forces with federal officials to check job applicants, contractors and inmates charged with some felonies
By Ray Quintanilla

Tribune reporter

10:46 PM CST, January 22, 2008

In response to complaints that Elgin was not doing enough to combat illegal immigration, the city unveiled a crackdown Tuesday that calls for developing closer ties with federal law enforcement agencies, screening applicants for city jobs to make sure they have valid Social Security numbers and doing random checks to make sure city contractors do not hire illegal workers.

"Our focus is the safety and security of the people in Elgin," said Susan Olafson, a city spokeswoman.

Beginning March 1, Elgin officials also will begin questioning inmates in the city's jail about their legal status. The questioning would include inmates charged with felonies involving gang offenses, drugs, sex crimes and domestic abuse, officials said.

Verifying a city job applicant's Social Security number has begun, they said.

The city of 105,000 residents—a third of whom are Latino—also has applied to participate in a U.S. Immigration and Custom's Enforcement initiative that would authorize police to work with federal agents on immigration enforcement actions, Olafson said.

David White, co-chairman of the Elgin-based Association for Legal Americans, said he welcomed the city's efforts.

"This is giving our community hope," said White, who in recent months has been critical of the city's efforts on illegal immigration. "We want to thank the City Council for taking some action."

But the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights said Elgin's efforts should be watched closely for possible violations of federal civil rights laws. Coalition officials also said questions have been raised about the validity of E-Verify, a link to federal government databases of Social Security numbers that Elgin plans to use in checking job applicants.

"E-Verify has already been shown to be flawed, and this could end up with people being fired who are perfectly legal," said Fred Tsao, the group's policy director.

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