Illegal Alien Employment Petition Submitted, Racial Profiling Questioned

[Jeanfromfillmore]

Illegal Alien Employment Petition Submitted, Racial Profiling Questioned
The Ozarks Minutemen gathered 2,101 signatures to push initiative ahead
Springfield, MO—
2,101-- that's how many signatures it took for the Ozarks Minutemen to get an initiative against undocumented workers in front of the city council.

Under the proposed ordinance, all businesses in the Springfield city limits would have to check immigration status through the E-Verify system. If companies do not provide the E-Verify papers when asked they can face penalties such as a $499 fine or a revoked business licence.

Critics said the initiative unfairly targets industries such as lawn maintenance and construction.

"Our industry and many others are already hurting," said Amber Gladson with The Lawn Care Company. "Although we do not employ illegal aliens, this legislation targets small businesses and costs valuable time and resources."

Yet Jerry Wilson, spokesperson for the Ozarks Minutemen sees it differently.

"That business who is following the law, hiring American citizens and doing the right thing has no recourse," he said. "We say there is an unwritten rule between the employee, employer and federal government. The employee presents documentation that appears valid, the employer asks no questions and the federal government looks away. We need to change that."

Currently, the free program is used by city, state, and federal governments as well as other organizations such as MSU.

"The City of Springfield has used the system since August of 2008 and according to our human resources department we've had no issues," explained Springfield Public Information Officer, Mike Brothers. "It takes a matter of seconds and we've hired hundreds in the last three years."

Yolanda Lorge is the President of Groupo Latinoamericano. Her organization helps immigrants assimilate into the American culture by teaching citizens classes and giving English lessons. Although she supports all laws on the books, she says the proposed initiative goes too far.

"It is a target population for this. We know it and they know it is. It is the Hispanic population, because they are not describing the Russians," said Lorge.

Critics fear racial profiling will increase, especially since it's the job of the people to blow the whistle on companies hiring suspected illegal aliens.

The Minutemen website has a list of suspected traits people can use to spot an illegal alien. Under the heading "How can I determine if workers are illegal aliens?" characteristics such as "frequenting businesses that are open late - 24 hour stores or markets" and "children enrolled in school without birth documents" are listed.
To see the Ozarks Minutemen website, click here.
"Why are they describing how can you tell if this child is undocumented? I thought we were talking about E-Verify. Are you going to E-Verify at school as well?" asked Lorge.

Wilson explained people should focus on the bigger picture and not just one characteristic.

"It is profiling, but it is behavioral profiling," he said. "That type of profiling has been used by our immigration customs enforcement root of our government for some time."

Although most do not dispute the legality of hiring undocumented workers, some feel the federal laws should suffice.

"What population are we talking about here? What is a big problem? We have bigger problems in this area," said Lorge. "We have meth cookers, meth producers big time. And if the state or the city or the county is not taking care of that problem, will they take care of it?"

If passed, the city's financial office will serve as the enforcement agency. The ordinance is scheduled to be on the next city council agenda on August 22. The council can choose to vote on it or place it on November's ballot.
http://www.kspr.com/news/local/kspr-...,2225572.story