Lose Undocumented Workers or Lose Your License
What is being called the “the toughest, yet fairest employer-sanction law in the country?” Governor Janet Napolitano signed legislation on Monday, July 2nd, against employers of undocumented workers. This aggressive new reform targets the state’s businesses that rely on undocumented workers for part, or all, of their workforce.
This highly controversial new law, which takes effect January 1st, 2008, includes a first offense involving the suspension of a business license for up to 10 days. Those caught “intentionally” hiring an undocumented worker would lose their license for at least 10 days.
Opposition includes Latino Activists and the business community, including the Arizona Chamber of Commerce who issued a statement calling it a “crippling blow to Arizona business.”
Basic Pilot Program – The Foundation of Change
- Beginning January 1st, at least for now, all Arizona employers will be required to check the legal status of their employees through a federal database known as the Basic Pilot Program.
- This program will be managed by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Agency (USCIS).
- Attorney general and county prosecutors must use this database to substantiate tips that somebody is working illegally…there is currently no system in place for local prosecutors to access this data.
- Businesses that have been using Basic Pilot on a voluntary basis only have access to check records of their own employees.
- Estimated to handle 130,000 to 150,000 Arizona businesses.
Chief Gerri Ratliff says that USCIS can run queries to determine if employers are checking applicants; however, USCIS can only share those findings with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE will be integral to enforcement since they are the ones deporting the workers.
Prosecutors will be responsible for penalizing employers, and police officers and sheriff’s deputies will be needed for additional enforcement assistance. The U.S. Senate immigration-reform bill that died the last week of June, would have added hundreds of ICE agents and USCIS employees, plus 4,500 Department of Homeland Security employees to bolster the worker-verification program.
Immigration Law Concerns
- Insufficient funding for enforcement
- Overbroad language that could cause a chain of businesses to be penalized if a single location was cited.
- Lack of an exemption to ensure that critical facilities such as hospitals and power plants don’t have to temporarily close if undocumented workers are found.
There is to be a special legislative session in the fall to address some of the gaps in the signed legislation. So, although this is a signed piece of legislation, there are potential adjustments to be made before it is enforced on January 1, 2008. Stay tuned to the CBR Blog for weekly updates throughout the process.
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