RED ALERT MISSISSIPPI OUR BILL IN DANGER OF VETO!
From our friends on the ground.
All ALIPAC Activists please take immediate action.
---
Mississippi Federation for Immigration Reform and Enforcement
Post Office Box 55511
Jackson, Mississippi 39296-5511
601.894.2215
On Tuesday, March 11th, SB 2988, a bill requiring all employers in the State of Mississippi to verify the legal status of their employees, was sent to Governor Barbour for his signature. As of today (Sunday), Governor Barbour has not signed the bill. SB 2988 passed the Senate 52-0, and overwhelmingly passed the House 112-8 (with 2 absent and/or not voting).
Prior to his reelection last November, Governor Barbour ran radio ads vowing to crack down on illegal immigration in Mississippi, and he posted on his website "The State of Mississippi: Helping to Control our Borders" that still appears on his website (see below). However, since Governor Barbour's reelection, we have not heard one word from him about illegal immigration. The following is excerpted from Governor Barbour's website and reflects the intent of SB 2988:
Enlisting Employers to Help Enforce Federal and State Immigration Laws
Governor Barbour recognizes the need for the State of Mississippi to remain vigilant in ensuring that all state workers have the proper, legal documentation needed to work for the taxpayers of Mississippi. Governor Barbour has directed the Executive Directors of the State’s Departments and agencies to actively review the employment eligibility of its current and new employees to ensure they are in accordance with current federal and state law.
The state can help make sure employers hire only legal workers by providing businesses with information about the legal status of workers. Under Governor Barbour’s leadership, the Department of Public Safety will work with employers by providing periodic status checks of employees through the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Crime Information Center.
Tomorrow, Monday, March 17th, is the deadline for Governor Barbour to sign SB 2988. This is an urgent request that you light up the Governor's office switchboard tomorrow and demand that he live up to his campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration and sign SB 2988! The Governor's phone numbers are 1-877-405-0733 or 601-359-3150.
Call to Gov Barbour's office!
I called Gov Barbour's office and had to leave a message!
I am upset about Indiana!
Linder
Re: Call to Gov Barbour's office!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Linder
I called Gov Barbour's office and had to leave a message!
I am upset about Indiana!
Linder
WELCOME TO ALIPAC LINDER. GLAD TO HAVE YOU.
God this is disappointing
I've received so many positives regarding passage of SB 2988. How can it come to this?
Indiana failed because of three men. Pathetic. What a pathetic show of support for it's own citizens. Popular vote defeated once again by a lobbyist. Popular vote doesn't mean jack in this country. Obviously the majority does not rule.
I'm disgusted.
Re: God this is disappointing
Quote:
Originally Posted by smcpatrick
I've received so many positives regarding passage of SB 2988. How can it come to this?
Indiana failed because of three men. Pathetic. What a pathetic show of support for it's own citizens. Popular vote defeated once again by a lobbyist. Popular vote doesn't mean jack in this country. Obviously the majority does not rule.
I'm disgusted.
Does our vote really count anymore? Not sure it does.How did Mclame get the republican nommination?
The official word from MS Gov
Subject: Fwd: STATEMENT OF GOVERNOR HALEY BARBOUR ON SENATE BILL 2988
Andrew Ketchings
Legislative Affairs
Office of Governor Haley Barbour
STATEMENT OF GOVERNOR HALEY BARBOUR ON SENATE BILL
2988
MARCH 17, 2008
"Today, I have signed into law SB 2988, a bill designed to discourage
illegal immigration in Mississippi by creating new penalties for hiring
illegal immigrants. I appreciate the efforts of Lieutenant Governor
Phil Bryant and others in the House and Senate who have worked so hard
on this issue.
Any employer who knowingly hires an illegal alien should be held
accountable, and that is the goal of SB 2988. While I have signed this
legislation into law, I have serious concerns about specific provisions
of the bill that could have unintended negative consequences. I urge
the Legislature to make the necessary technical changes to ensure this
bill will have the intended effect.
Senate Bill 2988 mandates that employers utilize the federal E-Verify
program administered by the Department of Homeland Security. I am
concerned about mandating the E-Verify system as the sole source from
which an employer in Mississippi can verify a potential employee's
eligibility, especially since the federal government itself has said
E-Verify is not a reliable system. According to a 2006 Report prepared
for the United States Department of Homeland Security: "The accuracy
of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) database used
for verification has improved substantially since the start of the Basic
Pilot program. However, further improvements are needed, especially if
the Web Basic Pilot becomes a mandated national program – improvements
that USCIS personnel report are currently underway. Most importantly,
the database used for verification is still not sufficiently up to date
to meet the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act
(IIRIRA) requirements for accurate verification, especially for
naturalized citizens. USCIS accommodates this problem by providing for
manual review that is time consuming and can lead to discrimination
against work-authorized foreign-born persons during the period that the
verification is ongoing, especially naturalized citizens."
Mississippi's economy is growing; we have record employment. We
don't want American citizens or others legally here to lose jobs
because the verification system is technologically flawed. I urge the
Legislature to add other reliable verification systems beyond E-Verify
to confirm the hiring eligibility of potential employees.
The requirement to use E-Verify to determine the eligibility of
potential new employees is phased-in, depending on the businesses'
number of employees. Smaller businesses are not required to use the
federal program until July 1, 2011; however, SB 2988 establishes
employers' use of E-Verify as an absolute defense against suits
brought by a former employee, as it should. But the bill does not make
plain that the smaller employers are immune from these private suits
until the mandate to use E-Verify goes into effect for employers in
their size category. It should be made plain that small employers are
exempt from and will be held harmless from the private litigation
referred to in Section 2(4)(e) until such time as they are required to
use the E-Verify system under the statue's timetable in Section 2(7).
Also, while the intent of SB 2988 is to hold employers accountable for
their actions, the term "employing entity" is used in certain places
without being defined. I ask the Legislature to clarify that an
"employing entity" in this bill is the entity that is the
employer of the employee found to be an illegal immigrant.
Employers are understandably concerned when government applies new
regulations to their businesses, especially when these new regulations
provide for powerful penalties, even including loss of current contracts
or of a license to do business in our state. Employers, therefore, can
be expected to be very cautious in hiring with the sword of these
penalties hanging over their heads.
It is, therefore, very important that the law be written clearly and be
interpreted predictably. SB 2988 falls short of that standard, and it
also limits compliance to a system of verification that even its
provider, the U.S. Government, says is insufficiently reliable.
I look forward to working with the Legislature this session to make
these greatly needed technical amendments."
