Illegal Alien Petition Hearing Brings Big Crowd to City Council

[Jeanfromfillmore]

There are still some out there fighting illegal aliens. The fight continues!!!



Illegal Alien Petition Hearing Brings Big Crowd to City Council
Springfield, MO) -- An illegal immigration debate heated up at Springfield City Council Monday night.
It was a packed house as Council heard 17 speakers discuss a petition aimed at cracking down on local businesses that hire illegal aliens.
Some people told OzarksFirst.com they hadn't seen so many people at a meeting there in a long time.
Council held its first reading and a public hearing on an E-verify petition.
Two bills were presented: one to pass the measure as is; the second to send the issue to voters.

Seventeen members of the public spoke as both measures were read together. Seven were in favor; ten were against.

The City says the public hearing has been held open for additional comments until 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 26. Comments may be submitted until that time via e-mail to: citycouncil@springfieldmo.gov.

You can also call or write the City Clerk's Office.

The Ozarks Minutemen submitted the petition to make it illegal for businesses licensed by the City of Springfield to hire illegal aliens.
The proposal also calls for the mandatory use of E-verify, a free, government-sponsored program which enables employers to easily determine a worker's eligibility.
Mayor O'Neal asked City Council to suspend normal rules and limit each speaker to three minutes instead of five minutes, due to an expected high turnout. He wanted to wrap up the meeting within 90 minutes and hear all viewpoints.
Many people at the meeting wore "no hate" stickers.
One woman tells us this ordinance is spreading unnecessary discrimination in the Ozarks.
But Jerry Wilson, spokesman for the Ozarks Minutemen, says enforcing immigration laws isn't effective on the state and federal level.
"Generally speaking, the broad category of people who can work in the U.S. are people who have a Social Security number. That's what E-verify does. It simply checks the Social Security number against the Social Security Administration."

City Council has two weeks to adopt the ordinance or send it to voters.
Possible penalties would be a local business losing its license.
If City Council adopts the ordinance, it can still be repealed in the future.
http://ozarksfirst.com/fulltext?nxd_id=509667

[Jeanfromfillmore]

Passions high on immigrant law
Council hears varied opinions on requiring checks on workers.
City Council chambers were filled past capacity Monday as dozens of residents turned out for a lengthy meeting that included a public hearing on a controversial petition submitted by the Ozarks Minutemen.
City staff opened up an overflow room after attendees exceeded the official capacity of 133 in the third floor meeting room.
When the public hearing began -- after two hours of other business -- at least half that many remained.
The proposed ordinance would require any employer doing business in Springfield to use the federal E-Verify computer program to check the eligibility of all current and potential workers.
Any business found to employ an unlawful worker could see its city business license suspended. Longer suspensions and eventual license revocation can follow with subsequent violations, although City Attorney Dan Wichmer said monetary fines included in the proposal conflict with federal law.
Hoping to limit testimony to about 90 minutes, Mayor Jim O'Neal modified normal council rules to limit speakers to three minutes, rather than five.
Even so, after 45 minutes, only five of the 18 scheduled speakers had taken a turn at the podium.
Jerry Wilson, an Ozark man who serves as a spokesman for the Ozarks Minutemen, said the ordinance is needed to close a "loophole big enough to drive an 18-wheeler through" in the current process of verifying worker eligibility.
Wilson said unscrupulous employers can fulfill the letter of the law by accepting fraudulent documents at face value. Mandating the use of E-Verify would ensure those documents were at least run through a federal database.
"Illegal aliens will self-deport" when job opportunities dry up, he said.
Don Potvin, a human resources executive at America's Incredible Pizza Company, said his experience with E-Verify has been overwhelmingly positive.
"It does all the work for us," he said. "It works in tandem with the (paper-based) I-9 program."
But Springfield insurance agent Joe Robles said the requirement would be burdensome for small businesses in addition to being poorly written.
"This ordinance would probably be gutted at a cost to businesses and taxpayers," Robles said.
He criticized the Ozarks Minutemen as dealers in "innuendos, accusations, fear-mongering" while describing the ordinance -- described as an anti-illegal immigration measure -- as a message to businesses that "you're not welcome here."
Cheryl Clay, president of the local chapter of the NAACP, also said the proposal would hurt local businesses and waste local staff time.
"There are already legal procedures in place (to address illegal immigration)," she said. "I do not believe it is the city of Springfield's duty to police the federal government."
The Minutemen and other supporters, including Councilman Nick Ibarra, have said state and federal authorities are not doing an adequate job.
Ozarks Minutemen leader Jerry Long also said the ordinance will benefit business.
"Businesses that follow the law and use E-Verify will find the hiring side of the field leveled," Long said, adding that "it eliminates discrimination because all employees are checked."
In addition to Monday's testimony, which appeared poised to continue past 10 p.m., the City Council also will continue taking comments by phone, letter or email before voting on the issue in two weeks.
Because the proposed ordinance was advanced by initiative petition, the council may only adopt the ordinance as written or put it before voters at a public election, likely in February.
Ibarra noted Monday that adoption by the council, rather than public vote, could allow the measure to be amended more easily.
If the council approves the ordinance, it could be amended almost immediately, according to Wichmer. If approved by voters at a public election, it could not be changed for at least six months and then only by a unanimous vote of council.
http://www.news-leader.com/article/2...yssey=nav|head