04/23/2008
Healthcare, taxes and minimum wage issues are debated and discussed in state legislatures on a regular basis. But there is another issue that is gaining ground on the scale of importance to small business owners around the country: immigration.
According to a round up by the National Conference of State Legislatures, 46 states enacted 194 new immigration-related laws in 2007, triple the number from 2006.
Immigration-related legislation in the states covers almost every conceivable policy arena: employment, health, driver's licenses and other forms of identification, business licenses, law enforcement, public benefits and human trafficking. That trend is not expected to change as the calendar turns on 2008.
NFIB continues to be aggressive in the legislatures and in the court system to ensure that businesses are not saddled with overly harsh regulations and requirements. For example, we are one of the leaders of the Virginia Employers for Sensible Immigration Policy.
"This is a major issue in Virginia, and we wanted to come together as a group and have a seat at the table," said Julia Ciarlo Hammond, NFIB/Virginia state director, in an article published in The Washington Post. "We fully support sanctions against those who knowingly violate the law."
And NFIB is taking action in other states as well:
Michigan: While small business does not support the intentional hiring of illegal aliens by any employer, laws that put small business owners in the position of being the enforcement agency for state immigration laws are not the answer. Some laws being pushed would put all of the burden of proof, recordkeeping and penalties for immigration compliance on employers. Employers that simply made a mistake in recordkeeping or accepted documents that appeared genuine but were falsified by the employee would be subject to penalties including criminal violations under some proposed laws.
Kansas: NFIB continues to inform legislators that we do not condone the hiring of illegal immigrants. However, we must have complete assurances that small businesses are not severely penalized for making honest, unintentional mistakes. The business licenses of our "good actors" should not be put in jeopardy due to the acts of a few, bad actors.
Missouri: "When talking about illegal immigration, we need to remember an important fact -- we are a nation of immigrants," said Speaker of the House Rod Jetton in a recent MyVOICE publication.
This session, Speaker Jetton is working with fellow lawmakers "to develop a strategy and plan to remove the economic incentives for illegal immigrants to come to Missouri."
Arizona: On Feb. 7, U.S. District Judge Neil Wake ruled that the state's legal Arizona workers act doesn't overstep the federal government's immigration authority. The state can revoke the business licenses of employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.
"The last thing America needs is a crazy quilt of 50 different immigration laws. Arizona's small business owners are no different from entrepreneurs in other states," says Karen Harned, executive director of the NFIB Small Business Legal Center. "First and foremost, they believe immigration is a national matter best handled at the federal level."
Montana: When asked if state government should have the power to revoke the business licenses of an employer if an employee is found to be unauthorized to work in the United States, 47 percent of Montana small business owners said 'Yes,' 43 percent said 'No,' 9 percent were undecided, and 1 percent did not respond.
"The response to our immigration question seems to parallel those in other neighboring states," said NFIB/Montana State Director Riley Johnson. "Our sister group, NFIB/Utah, balloted the almost identical question and came out with the almost identical response (47 Yes/44 No). The NFIB/Colorado member poll showed 51 percent support for state government forcing employers to use the federal E-Verify program to vet for the eligibility of new hires (37 percent were opposed)."
As the immigration debate continues, NFIB will make sure the views of our members are heard in the state legislatures and in the courts.
