Arizona legislators crack down on illegal employment
Written by: Rough Writer Staff | 23 Feb 2008
The Legal Arizona Workers Act is dividing opinion regarding whether legislation concerning undocumented workers should fall under the state’s authority.
Arizona seeks to respond to the illegal immigration issue with the Legal Arizona Workers Act, or House Bill 2779.
The act, which became effective Jan. 1 of 2008, allows the county attorney to penalize businesses that knowingly or intentionally employ unauthorized aliens, according to the Yavapai County Attorney’s website.
“It is a complaint driven process,” says Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk. The county attorney’s office is responsible for investigating complaints of suspicion about employees’ citizenship.
Various organizations and businesses have taken stances for or against the act, as the act directly affects Arizona businesses.
The Yavapai County Contractors Association (YCCA) has publicly supported the act while acknowledging the possible ramifications of it. “We do believe that there is going to be negative impact to the working pool…especially in the construction industry. The services and construction industry I think are going to be hit extremely hard,” says Gary Hudder of Asphalt Paving & Supply and president of YCCA.
“We don’t think that fear of the negative impact is a good enough reason to allow people to continue to break the law…You [have to] deal with it.”
YCCA states that the act is not perfect but is a start to addressing the issue. “Because we believe there is going to be a negative impact, we fully endorse and support some sort of a much needed guest worker or alternate piece to get a handle on this problem that allows the currently undocumented illegal folks to stay here and work legally in some capacity.”
Hudder explains that the YCCA’s choice to endorse the act was not the statement that most businesses had been making. “We came out with a position statement in support of the bill which put us at odds with everybody right off the bat,” he says.
Hudder is speaking in part about the Arizona Contractors Association’s (ACA) reaction to the YCCA’s statement.
The ACA issued a press release last year expressing disappointment that the YCCA had decided to endorse the Legal Arizona Workers Act.
In the press release, ACA admonished the act, writing that “enforcing border security and regulating immigration is the exclusive responsibility of the federal government since the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1789.”
YCCA states that one reason their association supports the act is because of a lack of action on the part of the federal government. “We support 2779 because we support the concept that something has to get done. The Federal government obviously isn’t going to act,” says Hudder.
The act, which came out of the State legislature, is addressing frustration over a perceived failure of the federal government to address illegal immigration and unauthorized aliens being employed, according to Polk.
It remains a federal crime to knowingly or intentionally employ an unauthorized alien, but the Legal Arizona Workers Act allows the county attorney to ask for suspension or revocation of business licenses in a civil suit.
The act will require employers to use E-Verify, an online system that allows the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to check employment eligibility. The law states that employers “shall” use E-Verify to screen employees, according to Polk, although “there is no consequence for not doing it built into the law,” she says.
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