By Sascha Cordner
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Tallahassee, FL – Florida is one of several states that struck down a measure that would verify the legal status of all new hires during the past legislative session. Now, Congress has its own legislation that would make it mandatory in all 50 states. As Sascha Cordner reports, proponents say it would protect American jobs, while opponents say it would destroy many key industries in the state.
Congress is looking into legislation that would mandate that all employers in the country use the employee verification system known as E-verify. The federal program would check the legal status of new hires in the workplace.
Ediberto Roman is a Florida International University Law Professor, who was also selected to offer expert testimony on Immigration to one of the Florida Senate committees during this past legislative session. He says the intent of the legislation was to create more jobs. But, numerous studies show that the work that undocumented workers do are jobs that native-born Americans are not willing to do.
"Much of the rhetoric associated with this legislation is that these individuals take jobs from domestic workers and it's just not the case. And, that's why the business sector has repeatedly said they are not in favor of these types of enforcement only approaches and at the end of the day, all this legislation is going to do is increase the cost of labor."
Jose Gonzalez is Vice President of Governmental Affairs with the state's largest business lobbying group, Associated Industries of Florida. Gonzalez says he feels that any type of talks about E-verify needs to be paired with a debate on comprehensive immigration reform. That includes finding ways to make sure undocumented workers don't have to hide. But, he says the idea behind E-verify is not realistic.
"In order to deal with the reality, which is that our companies they are dependent on this workforce and I think that's something that gets lost in translation I think when you hear about folks that are very supportive of E-verify or are supportive of doing away with or trying to reduce the number of illegal workers in this country. We all want that goal, but the reality is someone needs to meet the labor needs of the state in this country."
But, some, like Florida Congressman Allen West, say Congress almost didn't have a choice, with states, like Florida, who did not pass their E-verify legislation, when they had the chance. The Republican lawmaker says that, in a way, forced Congress' hand and could be one of the reasons why Florida's U-S Senator Marco Rubio co-sponsored the bill.
"I was disappointed in the state legislature did not pass E-verify for the state of Florida and I think that kind of forces us to try to do something at the federal level where we do have a responsibility to look at our nation and make sure that we don't have this incredible thing called illegal immigration overtaking and overpowering out systems, which is what I see happening."
Florida's Chamber of Commerce claim they played an instrumental role in helping to strike down Florida's E-verify legislation. The organization's Director of Commerce and Governance Leticia Adams says her organization was instrumental in helping Florida's E-verify legislation to be struck down because many of their members had concerns for the impact it would have on Florida's tourism, brand, and international image.
"A mandatory E-verify is not the answer. And, a full immigration proposal was not the .And, if you remember the House had a proposal that was very Arizona-esque. It was mandatory E-verify. It was enforcement measures that were just They weren't right for Florida at all. Florida is not Arizona."
Like Arizona, Georgia added its hat into the ring with the implementation of its own E-verify law. The E-verify component has yet to take effect for employers with 500 or more employees, until January 2012. However, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has since tried to implement a pilot program aimed to replace migrant farm workers with offenders on probation. Some walked off their jobs, while others could not do a full day, which Charles Hall, Georgia's Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association Executive Director, says is understandable.
"A number of the probationaries could not withstand the hard work that these jobs require. These are 8-10 hour day jobs that are out in the sun. The people that are doing these jobs are doing them 9-10 months a year and have built up a stamina in doing those. So, it wouldn't be uncommon that the probationers would have a problem withstanding the physical rigors of the job."
Others in Florida's agriculture community would agree, including Mike Carlton, the Director of Labor Relations of the Florida Fruit and Vegetables Association. He says that's why it would be a huge problem if E-verify is enacted. He adds it shows undocumented workers are the only ones who are willing to do the jobs.
"We have a situation where we have jobs that are not necessarily looked upon favorably by U-S citizens and it is estimated that 75 to 85-percent of the agriculture workforce in the country may be here with false documents. So, that creates a significant concern for us long-term in our ability to maintain a workforce."
Both the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries of Florida have said though there are good components of the bill, the bill has a long way to go before many business leaders can officially support it.
Some of the current areas in U-S Representative Lamar Smith's measure, include a safe harbor provision that allows an employer to be off the hook for firing an employee unlawfully. It also allows the E-verify system to be used for only new hires, not pre-hires. Lastly, the phase-in for employers to use the program, after the law goes into effect, is 2 years.