SB251

Mar 2, 2010 — The Salt Lake Tribune

Steven Oberbeck

Feb. 26, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Despite being riddled with flaws, a bill that would require businesses to use the federal E-Verify system to ensure workers are eligible to work in the U.S. made it out of committee Friday and was sent to the Senate floor for debate.

The problems voiced by supporters and opponents alike with Sen. Chris Buttars' SB251: It has criminal penalties for business owners, it clashes with federal law and likely would face a legal challenge.

Not only that, the bill fails to deal with the issue of workers who are legally in the country but not on the E-Verify system, such as many agricultural laborers.

Buttars, following the 4-2 vote advancing the measure to the floor, acknowledged the flaws and promised to correct them before it reaches the full Senate.

Despite the problems, he nevertheless characterized SB251 as a way to protect the state's children from identify theft and to deal with the problem of undocumented workers getting jobs that should go those who are in the country legally.

"Illegal employment hurts our children whose identities are often stolen" and used by undocumented workers, Buttars told the Senate Business and Labor Standing Committee. "This bill protects our children, levels the playing field for companies making a good-faith effort to hire legal workers and makes sure jobs go to American citizens and legal residents."

Marina Lowe, legislative and policy council for the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, said Buttars' proposed bill with its criminal penalties would clash with federal law and will almost certainly face a legal challenge if passed. "It goes far beyond the laws passed in any other state."

The bill would make it a class B misdemeanor for a Utah business owner or operator if they fail to use the E-Verify system. That misdemeanor carries a penalty of up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Committee Chairman John Valentine told Buttars the he believes the measure "will be struck down [by the courts]." He raised the specter of legal workers being left off E-Verify. And committee member Kevin VanTassell, R-Vernal, who also sits on the senate committee and voted to move the proposed legislation forward for a vote by the full Senate, stated simply, "As this bill is currently drafted, I would be opposed to it on the floor."

Several business groups -- the Utah Retail Merchants Association, the Utah Manufacturers Association and the Salt Lake Chamber -- also spoke out against SB251. They pointed out the E-Verify system is only able to identify illegal workers less than half the time.

"Why would you want to go to a doctor that misdiagnoses your problem 54 percent of the time," asked Tom Bingham, president of the Utah Manufacturers Association. "Why would you want to go to a mechanic who only is able to fix your car 54 percent of the time."

Bingham said only approximately 184,000 of the nation's 7 million to 8 million employers use E-Verify.

"There are problems with the system. I know that if the E-Verify system ever gets to the point where it does what it is supposed to do, you wouldn't have to require our members to use it. They would all jump right on it."

But Ronald Mortensen, co-founder of the Utah Coalition on Illegal Immigration, argued that in 98 percent of the cases Social Security number thieves use their own names with the stolen numbers.

"The federal E-Verify program can detect this fraud, Universal, mandatory use of E-Verify would curb this and stop virtually 100 percent of child identity theft."

steve@sltrib.com

What is E-Verify?

It is a free Web-based system that checks worker information against data bases maintained by the Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security to determine if they are eligible to work in this country.

What is happening elsewhere

Fourteen states now require businesses to use the federal E-Verify program, but generally only under threat of financial penalties. Others have balked at mandating use of the system.

Illinois -- Lawmakers recently moved to bar employers from using the system, saying its accuracy remains in question. The online tool wrongly clears illegal workers about 54 percent of the time, according to Westat, a research company that evaluated the system for the Homeland Security Department.

Oklahoma -- A federal judge recently blocked portions of an immigration law there after U.S. Chamber of Commerce challenged it, saying the E-Verify program is unreliable and unfairly imposes penalties.

Mississippi -- Employers who hire undocumented workers can lose their business licenses, but undocumented immigrants found working face a one-year prison sentence.

Source: The Associated Press

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