Senate Approves Strong, Enforceable Immigration Bill
Private employers are required to use E-Verify or South Carolina driver’s license.Toughest, most comprehensive immigration reform bill in nation.
Columbia, SC - The Senate, by unanimous vote, gave key approval today to the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act (H.4400). The bill requires private employers to verify employment eligibility of all new hires through the federal E-Verify system or by a South Carolina driver’s license. Private employers are for the first time in statute prohibited from “knowingly and intentionally” hiring illegal aliens.
The bill also creates a no-fee, no application necessary, implied South Carolina employment license, permitting all private employers to hire new employees. The license will stay in effect as long as the business abides by the hiring requirements established in the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act. The employment license could be suspended or revoked if an employer is found to have hired undocumented workers. This would prevent businesses from legally hiring anyone for the duration of the suspension or revocation.
“This is going to be the toughest bill in the United States,” says Senator Glenn McConnell (R-Charleston). “This bill has enforcement in it. This is a comprehensive bill that deals with public benefits, ID fraud and host of other issues. When you take the entire matrix of this bill and put it out there and start engaging in conduct that violates this law you are in for some rough sledding. But, the bill also has in it the necessary safeguards so that business are not caught in a trap.”
“We have adopted an E-verify bill that includes licensure revocation and penalties, civil fines and potential criminal penalties that are very straight forward and the toughest in the nation,” says Senator Jim Ritchie (R-Spartanburg). The objective of the whole bill is to make sure that those people who are breaking the law are not at a competitive advantage over those who are playing by the rules. The value of these new enforceable penalties is that all employers will now be playing under the same rules.”
“We are now going to be able to reassert the rule of law that has been abdicated by the federal government,” says Senator Chip Campsen (R-Charleston). “It is their responsibility, but they have abdicated enforcing federal law and we are reasserting that rule of law at the state level to the greatest extent that we can.”
In addition to the strict employment eligibility verification and the new employment license, the bill addresses other major challenges in the fight against illegal immigration.
The bill:
- Creates an information website and telephone hotline for the reporting of suspected immigration law violations.
- Authorizes SLED to develop a Memorandum of Understanding with federal agencies to allow state law enforcement officers to become auxiliary immigration and customs enforcement agents.
- Mandates lawful presence verification of any person seeking public assistance benefits.
- Prevents a business from claiming as a deductible business expense any wages paid to an undocumented worker.
- Requires a seven percent withholding of all compensation paid to an undocumented worker.
- Creates a state felony for harboring or transporting illegal aliens.
- Establishes increased penalties for ID theft connected to illegal aliens.
- Mandates operators of any jail to verify lawful presence of anyone with a pending felony or DUI.
- Allows for a cause of action by those terminated in favor of hiring an undocumented worker.
- Prohibits anyone not lawfully in the United States from buying, selling, possessing, transporting, etc. all firearms.
- Adds a list of factors a court must consider when determining bail, including immigration status.
- Prevents illegal immigrants from attending public institutions of higher learning.
- Prohibits sanctuary and local preemptive ordinances.
“South Carolina is sending a message to illegal immigrants that this is not going to be a sanctuary state and we are not going to stand idly by for a silent invasion,” says Senator McConnell. “We have exercised state law as far as we can without being in conflict with the federal law.”
Senators Jim Ritchie and Chip Campsen have championed illegal immigration reform for almost three-years and today’s approval of the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act is a result of the building blocks they put into place and the consensus built in the Senate by Senator McConnell in the final days.
The bill will receive a required third reading tomorrow before being sent to the House.
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May 28th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
It is about time this bill came into play. Between shipping all our work to cheaper overseas labor and hiring illegals to do the work that is left, things have gone from bad to worse. What else concerns me is that we are paying $1200.00 a month health insurance for 2 adults with a $5,000 deductable and people who aren’t paying taxes and are illegal get free health care. I don’t blame these people from coming here, I blame the US for allowing it for so long and giving them reasons to come here!
May 28th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
H.4400, This is a flawed Bill in that it does NOT address verifing eligibility of current employees, only new hires. It doesn’t address the “Self Employed”. We know for a fact, and so does the legislature, that many illegal aliens are now self employed. Not a bad deal for them, after all they don’t pay taxes or health care cost. They let the stupid American’s do that for them.
Drivers licenses, what a joke. They may look legitimate, but they are not. Maybe
some of you in the legislature don’t give a damn about our nation security,
but you better. Illegal aliens and other enemies of America are voting in our elections. you know who you are, the chamber of commerce lap dogs.
May 29th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
If it is true that there is no provision to require verification of existing employees and the self-employed, this leaves a huge gap if the intent, as it should be, is to eliminate the use of illegals as employees. This should be corrected immediately.