Posted on 04/11/2008 1:02:38 PM PDT by llevrok
PROVIDENCE — The General Assembly this week heard testimony on 17 immigration bills.
Just one of them is expected to move forward.
The proposal calls for all employers to electronically verify the citizenship status of new employment
Supporters say it tones down the rhetoric and offers a reasonable compromise to the fierce debate that has engulfed Rhode Island politics for two weeks.
Critics say it takes Governor Carcieri’s recent executive order a step further, setting a dangerous precedent for immigration policy in this state.
The plan would mandate all Rhode Island employers with three or more workers to confirm through a Web-based government database whether any new employee is authorized to work in the United States. Businesses and organizations that refuse to participate in the program would face fines of up to $5,000 every 30 days depending on size.
At least five states now mandate the use of E-Verify according to the National Council of State Legislatures –– Arizona, Georgia, Colorado, Oklahoma and Missouri –– with hundreds of businesses in other states using the program on a voluntary basis. It’s the same system Carcieri’s executive order calls for state agencies and vendors to use in verifying the status of employees.
To access E-Verify, an employer enters the prospective employee’s name, Social Security number and other identifying information. Within a few seconds, the program either verifies the person’s status, or offers a tentative non-verification.
Both sides agree that the system can produce non-verifications for reasons that have nothing to do with immigration status, if for example a person has changed his name.
The Social Security Administration, the system’s primary data source, has acknowledged having 17.8 million flaws that could affect the outcome of a check, far too many to make it reliable, opponents argue.
(Excerpt) Read more at projo.com ...
Gee, I live in the middle of the US and you have to show your birth certificate to get a job. Been that way a long time.
A governor that gets it.
How rare.
Maybe we should be looking at Carcieri 2012 after McCain fades back into the Senate RINO pen after the election.
“Critics say it takes Governor Carcieri’s recent executive order a step further, setting a dangerous precedent for immigration policy in this state.”
lol...DANGEROUS? sheesh.
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