A must for any business in the country, but ESPECIALLY if you are using taxpayer money from government contracts. The bill in question would require employers with state contracts check social security numbers of employees, which is fine for those that already have contracts. They shouldn't be awarded a contract if they cannot verify they have done this.
Cross posted from Morning Coffee:
This is a follow up to two CAII posts about articles in the Boston Globe; Public funded projects employing Illegals, and Uncooperative Blogger's One State Goes Soft on Illegal Aliens and Another Cracks Down.
From Boston.com
Republicans press Reilly on illegal immigration
Employers with state contracts would be required to make sure their workers have valid Social Security numbers by checking a federal online database under a bill proposed yesterday by Senate Republicans to combat illegal immigration.
Responding to a Globe story that showed that contractors on publicly funded projects hired workers with fake Social Security numbers, Senate minority whip Bruce E. Tarr and Senator Scott P. Brown of Wrentham said their bill would bar such companies from doing business with the state.
"It's absolutely absurd that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts would be a partner in the illegal act of employing someone who has no authority to be in this country," said Tarr. "There's very strong sentiment in Massachusetts that we shouldn't be an accomplice to a criminal act."
The Massachusets Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly said on Monday it is not his responsibility to crack down on Massachusetts employers that hire undocumented immigrants, and he said he will continue his policy of taking no action against the companies.
The bill that Republicans plan to unveil today at the State House would also require Attorney General to enter into an agreement with the US attorney general to help investigate possible violations of federal immigration law and enforce it.
In addition, the legislation would impose a $5,000 fine or incarceration for up to five years for workers who use false identification documents to get state-funded jobs.
The federal government already imposes penalties on employers who knowingly hire undocumented immigrants but does not penalize the employees, Tarr said.
The bill would require employers with state contracts to check Social Security numbers on databases of valid numbers run by the Department of Homeland Security or the Social Security Administration or private databases, Tarr said.
Homeland Security has already launched an initiative, known as the Basic Pilot Program, that allows employers to verify a worker's status using online databases. But that program is being used by only a small number of companies nationwide. Dunkin' Donuts has begun participating and has put up signs in shops alerting customers that employees have been screened.
No state in the country mandates that employers substantiate that their workers are legal, according to the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C. Georgia recently passed a measure that would do so by July 1, 2007.
**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let me know at what level you would like to participate.
tag: Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII) tag: DeMediacrat tag: Illegal Immigration Reform
