Thread: TX: State cleared to fine employers for illegal hiring

State cleared to fine employers for illegal hiring
By Brandi Grissom / Austin Bureau
Posted: 03/02/2009 12:00:00 AM MST

AUSTIN -- Texas businesses caught hiring undocumented workers could face stiff penalties if legislators approve employer sanctions modeled after an Arizona law.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott last week gave lawmakers the go-ahead to adopt such sanctions, saying in an opinion that courts would likely uphold penalties against employers.

State Rep. Frank Corte, R-San Antonio, asked Abbott last year whether Texas would face a constitutional challenge if it adopted a law similar to one approved in Arizona that rescinds business licenses of companies caught hiring undocumented workers.

"There should be the capabilities of making sure that no one is breaking the law, and it is illegal to knowingly hire illegal aliens," Corte said.

Abbott wrote that a Texas law would likely withstand a legal challenge if it closely resembled the law Arizona adopted in 2007.

That law faced several court challenges but was upheld by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The court decided the sanctions did not conflict with federal laws that punish employers for hiring undocumented workers.

But, Abbott added, this aspect of law is still developing and some cases involving municipal regulations are under review.

Proposals to sanction employers failed during Texas' 2007 legislative session, but several lawmakers have filed new bills that would impose penalties on businesses or require them to check federal databases before hiring workers.

State Rep. Patricia Harless, R-Spring, filed a measure that would revoke the licenses of businesses found to be hiring undocumented workers.

A preliminary review of the bill by the Texas Workforce Commission found that implementing the sanctions would cost the state about $10 million, said Harless' chief of staff, Julie Scott.

Because of the cost, she said, the bill was unlikely to pass.

Corte said he doesn't plan to file a bill. But, he said, he knows other lawmakers want to punish businesses that hire undocumented workers because the federal government has failed to do so.

"I think all the laws ought to be upheld," Corte said.

El Paso immigration lawyer Kathleen Walker said a concern for employers with the Arizona law was that it allowed for anonymous complaints. A competitor, she said, could file complaints to sabotage another business.

State employer sanctions, Walker said, also could discourage companies from doing business in Texas.

Her biggest worry, though, was the expense involved with implementing and enforcing sanctions. The federal government, she said, already has a system to find and punish employers who break the law. "I don't really think we need to have states walk into this and spend additional resources when we're in such economic turmoil right now."

A University of Arizona study released in December 2008 found the state's law cost about $2.5 million to implement and had little effect on employers or undocumented workers during the first year.

The report said, though, that the small number of complaints filed against employers did not necessarily accurately reflect the law's effect.

"Numerous references were made during the course of this research to the law's 'chilling effect,' " the report states. "Newspaper reports and other anecdotal evidence point to increased vacancies in immigrant neighborhoods and in markets catering to immigrant communities being particularly affected by the economic downturn."

In Texas, business groups and immigration advocates have joined to oppose employer sanctions, arguing it could deprive companies of needed workers and make the state less competitive.

Fernando Peña, owner of El Paso Pro Sportswear, said sanctioning employers who hire undocumented workers should remain a federal responsibility.

Peña, who considered himself a Republican until recently, said he had grown weary of legislators taking aim at Hispanic immigrants. "It's not anything having to do with terrorism or anything having to do with people who are taking somebody else's jobs," he said. "It's just the fact of bigotry and discrimination."

http://www.elpasotimes.com/politics/ci_11815728

Enforce our immigration laws, that's all we ask.

Texas not going to go broke? Interesting

"I think all the laws ought to be upheld," Corte said.

Gee, what a concept?

© 2009 The Associated Press
Feb. 27, 2009, 11:37AM
Share Print Email Del.icio.usDiggTechnoratiYahoo! BuzzAUSTIN, Texas — A law that would suspend licenses and tax permits for companies that intentionally hire illegal immigrants would probably withstand constitutional challenge, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said.

Two such proposals have been filed in the Texas House.

Rep. Frank Corte, R-San Antonio, had requested the attorney general's opinion to see if Texas could enact a measure similar to an Arizona law passed in 2007. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Arizona's law soon after Corte filed his request.

The Arizona law has the state's attorney general and county attorneys investigate complaints against businesses allegedly employing illegal immigrants and requires them to notify federal and local authorities if proven true.

Abbott's opinion, released Thursday, found that because the law dealing with state licensing has withstood appeals, it would probably be constitutional in Texas.

Two years ago, several bills aimed at illegal immigration were stalled in Texas when the attorney general ruled they were too broad or impinged on the jurisdiction of the federal government. But Republicans have refined those bills.

___

Information from The Dallas Morning News: http://www.dallasnews.com

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/ ... 84566.html