Thread: Winston-Salem wants illegal immigrants off private payrolls

City wants illegal immigrants off private payrolls
Change in wording of contracts stresses that companies must follow federal law when hiring
By Blair Goldstein and Bertrand M. Gutierrez
JOURNAL REPORTERS
Friday, February 15, 2008

The city of Winston-Salem wants private companies to do more to keep illegal immigrants off their payrolls, though the city itself hasn’t gone as far as the federal or state government to track the immigration status of its own hires.

The city is changing its contracts with private companies - from landscapers to companies asking for economic incentives. The changes highlight that employers must comply with federal laws that require companies to verify that new hires are in the country legally. The changes, which will apply to new contracts and do not require the approval of the Winston-Salem City Council, come at the request of Council Member Nelson Malloy. He said he wants to make sure that city contracts do not benefit illegal immigrants.

Malloy, who is black, said that illegal immigrants have taken jobs that black people used to do. Malloy did not present any information to support his claim.

Local governments can do little about getting tough on employers that hire illegal immigrants because federal law already governs what employers must do. But the city’s changes mirror efforts being made nationwide by local and state governments to try to deal with the influx of illegal immigrants.

Malloy said he wants the city to do something with some teeth to stymie the hiring of illegal immigrants.

“I’m not looking for anything symbolic,â€

[quote]David Fairall, the director of human resources for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, said he was skeptical last year when the legislature required that public schools and state agencies use E-Verify.

But after using the system for a year, Fairall said that the schools are better off with it. E-Verify has spotted several possible fake documents. He said that applicants usually give up the job search when they are told that their documentation did not pass the E-Verify system.

“It forces us to put more emphasis in that area, and it has given us access to a database that we didn’t have access to before to verify employment eligibility,â€

Good point Phred.