Jeanfromfillmore
10-21-2011, 05:36 PM
Cities scramble in wake of E-Verify bill
A number of Inland cities may be forced to repeal ordinances requiring businesses to verify that employees are not undocumented immigrants, now that the state has prohibited cities from mandating use of the federally run E-Verify system.
The law that was signed this month and goes into effect Jan. 1 left cities with few other options, but it has stoked the debate on both sides of the issue about the state’s role in immigration issues.
E-Verify, created in 1996 by Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, is operated by the Department of Homeland Security. It can be used to ensure that an employee has the legal right to work in the United States.
The new state legislation does not prohibit businesses or government entities, including cities and counties, from using E-Verify; it does prohibit making E-Verify’s use a requirement to do business within those cities our counties.
In the past year and a half, Temecula, Murrieta, Lake Elsinore, Hemet, Menifee, Wildomar, Norco and San Bernardino County have passed ordinances requiring businesses to use the system, to varying degrees. The Inland area is home to the majority of municipalities in the state with such ordinances.
The state law comes as a bill is making its way through Congress that would require every business in the nation to use E-Verify, signaling that the issue between cities, states and the federal government may just be getting started.
“Right now, across America, various states and local governments are enacting mandatory E-Verify,” Calvert said in a statement. “Meanwhile, California is going the other way … and in fact the Governor is signing laws to preempt the use of E-Verify. This is an outrage.”
CITIES AFFECTED
When Gov. Jerry Brown signed the bill last week, he released no signing statement and the move largely flew under the radar. But the text of the bill cited the costs that businesses incur to implement the system, and concern about the accuracy of the system.
Though E-Verify is free to use, the bill noted that there could be a significant cost to businesses in staff time and other resources. And while Calvert’s office boasts that E-Verify is 99.5 percent accurate, other studies have questioned that figure.
As word spread about the new bill, cities in Riverside County began working on how to react. Officials in some of those cities said they are still having internal discussions among city and legal staff.
City leaders said it is likely that most of the city councils will be asked to repeal the ordinance. Another option is a legal battle, but officials said that would be an unlikely choice because of costs.
In Temecula and Murrieta, there have been no reports of immigration violations since the E-Verify ordinances went into place. Staff for both southwest Riverside County cities said they did not view illegal immigration as a major issue in their towns.
“When you look at the whole issue, it’s a federal issue,” Temecula Deputy City Manager Grant Yates said. “When you look at actions across the country … the frustration is that at the federal level we don’t have clear direction.”
In Hemet, the city passed its ordinance in June and just recently got new business license paperwork with the E-Verify information on it. Staff members are now instructing applicants to ignore that language.
“California is a dysfunctional state and therefore it makes it difficult on local governments to implement this and a host of other issues,” said Brian Ambrose, a Senior Management Analyst with the city of Murrieta. “Does this surprise me? No.
“The state legislature passed this bill, and if that’s the legislature and governor’s desire, we are content to do what they wish. (But) this is absolutely far from over.”
FEDERAL ISSUE?
Many local city officials said they will keep a close eye on the federal push for the E-Verify system because they believe the federal government should be the one making the final decision on immigration issues.
Kathleen Kim, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles who specializes in immigration issues, said E-Verify should be dealt with on the national level and that asking private businesses to run immigration checks blurs the line between the public and private sector.
“I think the workplace should not be the location for immigration enforcement,” Kim said. “E-Verify and the controversy over it is an example of why immigration enforcement should be taken out of the workplace and put in the hands of trained officers.
“This attempt to privatize immigration enforcement in the workplace can never find a comfortable solution.”
Republican State Sen. Bill Emmerson said he opposed the state bill and that it goes against Brown’s campaign for governor, during which he said he wanted to shift power to local agencies. Emmerson, whose 37th District includes Hemet, Menifee, Lake Elsinore, Moreno Valley and Corona, said he was surprised by the bill.
“It’s another case of the state stepping in and not allowing local governments to use the tools available to them,” Emmerson said. “To say they can’t use a federal program seems not fair.
“The federal government has to be the level of government that steps up and makes the fix so states have a clearer policy of what to do.”
LOCAL POLICIES
HEMET: All businesses in the city must check newly hired employees through E-Verify.
LAKE ELSINORE: All businesses in the city must check newly hired employees through E-Verify.
MENIFEE: All applicants for a business license must affirm their intent to use E-Verify.
MURRIETA: All businesses in the city must check newly hired employees through E-Verify.
NORCO: All businesses that have contracts with the city must use E-Verify.
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY: All county contractors must use E-Verify.
TEMECULA: All businesses in the city must check newly hired employees through E-Verify.
WILDOMAR: All city contractors must use E-Verify and provide documentation of doing so.
http://www.pe.com/local-news/local-news-headlines/20111020-region-cities-scramble-in-wake-of-e-verify-bill.ece
A number of Inland cities may be forced to repeal ordinances requiring businesses to verify that employees are not undocumented immigrants, now that the state has prohibited cities from mandating use of the federally run E-Verify system.
The law that was signed this month and goes into effect Jan. 1 left cities with few other options, but it has stoked the debate on both sides of the issue about the state’s role in immigration issues.
E-Verify, created in 1996 by Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, is operated by the Department of Homeland Security. It can be used to ensure that an employee has the legal right to work in the United States.
The new state legislation does not prohibit businesses or government entities, including cities and counties, from using E-Verify; it does prohibit making E-Verify’s use a requirement to do business within those cities our counties.
In the past year and a half, Temecula, Murrieta, Lake Elsinore, Hemet, Menifee, Wildomar, Norco and San Bernardino County have passed ordinances requiring businesses to use the system, to varying degrees. The Inland area is home to the majority of municipalities in the state with such ordinances.
The state law comes as a bill is making its way through Congress that would require every business in the nation to use E-Verify, signaling that the issue between cities, states and the federal government may just be getting started.
“Right now, across America, various states and local governments are enacting mandatory E-Verify,” Calvert said in a statement. “Meanwhile, California is going the other way … and in fact the Governor is signing laws to preempt the use of E-Verify. This is an outrage.”
CITIES AFFECTED
When Gov. Jerry Brown signed the bill last week, he released no signing statement and the move largely flew under the radar. But the text of the bill cited the costs that businesses incur to implement the system, and concern about the accuracy of the system.
Though E-Verify is free to use, the bill noted that there could be a significant cost to businesses in staff time and other resources. And while Calvert’s office boasts that E-Verify is 99.5 percent accurate, other studies have questioned that figure.
As word spread about the new bill, cities in Riverside County began working on how to react. Officials in some of those cities said they are still having internal discussions among city and legal staff.
City leaders said it is likely that most of the city councils will be asked to repeal the ordinance. Another option is a legal battle, but officials said that would be an unlikely choice because of costs.
In Temecula and Murrieta, there have been no reports of immigration violations since the E-Verify ordinances went into place. Staff for both southwest Riverside County cities said they did not view illegal immigration as a major issue in their towns.
“When you look at the whole issue, it’s a federal issue,” Temecula Deputy City Manager Grant Yates said. “When you look at actions across the country … the frustration is that at the federal level we don’t have clear direction.”
In Hemet, the city passed its ordinance in June and just recently got new business license paperwork with the E-Verify information on it. Staff members are now instructing applicants to ignore that language.
“California is a dysfunctional state and therefore it makes it difficult on local governments to implement this and a host of other issues,” said Brian Ambrose, a Senior Management Analyst with the city of Murrieta. “Does this surprise me? No.
“The state legislature passed this bill, and if that’s the legislature and governor’s desire, we are content to do what they wish. (But) this is absolutely far from over.”
FEDERAL ISSUE?
Many local city officials said they will keep a close eye on the federal push for the E-Verify system because they believe the federal government should be the one making the final decision on immigration issues.
Kathleen Kim, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles who specializes in immigration issues, said E-Verify should be dealt with on the national level and that asking private businesses to run immigration checks blurs the line between the public and private sector.
“I think the workplace should not be the location for immigration enforcement,” Kim said. “E-Verify and the controversy over it is an example of why immigration enforcement should be taken out of the workplace and put in the hands of trained officers.
“This attempt to privatize immigration enforcement in the workplace can never find a comfortable solution.”
Republican State Sen. Bill Emmerson said he opposed the state bill and that it goes against Brown’s campaign for governor, during which he said he wanted to shift power to local agencies. Emmerson, whose 37th District includes Hemet, Menifee, Lake Elsinore, Moreno Valley and Corona, said he was surprised by the bill.
“It’s another case of the state stepping in and not allowing local governments to use the tools available to them,” Emmerson said. “To say they can’t use a federal program seems not fair.
“The federal government has to be the level of government that steps up and makes the fix so states have a clearer policy of what to do.”
LOCAL POLICIES
HEMET: All businesses in the city must check newly hired employees through E-Verify.
LAKE ELSINORE: All businesses in the city must check newly hired employees through E-Verify.
MENIFEE: All applicants for a business license must affirm their intent to use E-Verify.
MURRIETA: All businesses in the city must check newly hired employees through E-Verify.
NORCO: All businesses that have contracts with the city must use E-Verify.
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY: All county contractors must use E-Verify.
TEMECULA: All businesses in the city must check newly hired employees through E-Verify.
WILDOMAR: All city contractors must use E-Verify and provide documentation of doing so.
http://www.pe.com/local-news/local-news-headlines/20111020-region-cities-scramble-in-wake-of-e-verify-bill.ece