Following in the infamous footsteps of Arizona, the Georgia legislature has passed a strong anti-illegal immigration law, HB 87. Like its Arizona counterpart, it allows the police to stop and question people who look illegal. Let this be a warning to illegal Poles, Germans and Martians!
Aside from immigrant rights groups, the business community is acting like it's not very pleased with the bill's passage. One of the new requirements is that employers must use the federal E-Verify program in order to confirm that anyone hired is eligible to work in the US. Business groups, including the Chamber of Commerce, have complained that this requirement will place an undue burden on businesses.
With these complaints intensifying, the Georgia legislature showed that it has a heart -- it also shows the Chamber has muscle -- by exempting businesses with 10 employees or less. Isn't it nice to see that government leaders always seem willing to provide loopholes to the business community?
For me, the part of this legislation that makes little sense (which is NOT to suggest that I agree with this discriminatory kind of legislation at all!) is the penalty section. It comes down very hard on illegal immigrants caught with fake IDS by punishing them with up to 15 years in the Georgia pen AND up to $250,000 in fines. Businesses who hire illegal immigrants, on the other hand, are afforded a 30-day grace period to correct "good faith" mistakes and can be fined up to $10,000.
Think about this for a moment. The businesses who profit mightily from illegal workers can hire them on 30-day contracts without penalty and, even if they exceed this, the penalty is a paltry $10,000 max. It's not $10,000 per illegal immigrant. With such a low fine -- and it could easily be less than $10K -- big agribusiness will continue as usual.
No, as is usual, the major onus falls on those who simply are looking for work to feed impoverished families. This new law pretty much guarantees there will be no unionization efforts amongst illegal immigrants which means big agribusiness can abuse them with impunity.
The crazy part of the legislation is the $250,000 maximum penalty that can be levied against an illegal worker. Most of these people work for less than minimum wage! The very idea that they could pay a $500 fine is laughable.
And so it goes in this country. The people who make the big bucks on the backs of illegal immigrant workers will be able to get off with a fine that amounts to little more than a slap on the wrists, while the state throws the book at the workers themselves!
If the Georgia legislature was SERIOUS about the stated intent of this bill, the penalties would be the other way around. If they truly wanted to rid their state of illegal workers, they would target their fines at business and make the max fine $250,000 per individual. Even big agribusiness would have to rethink their business strategy in the face of such severe punishment.
But bills of this nature aren't really about putting the clamps on business at all. No, they are about legal scapegoating!
Aside from immigrant rights groups, the business community is acting like it's not very pleased with the bill's passage. One of the new requirements is that employers must use the federal E-Verify program in order to confirm that anyone hired is eligible to work in the US. Business groups, including the Chamber of Commerce, have complained that this requirement will place an undue burden on businesses.
With these complaints intensifying, the Georgia legislature showed that it has a heart -- it also shows the Chamber has muscle -- by exempting businesses with 10 employees or less. Isn't it nice to see that government leaders always seem willing to provide loopholes to the business community?
For me, the part of this legislation that makes little sense (which is NOT to suggest that I agree with this discriminatory kind of legislation at all!) is the penalty section. It comes down very hard on illegal immigrants caught with fake IDS by punishing them with up to 15 years in the Georgia pen AND up to $250,000 in fines. Businesses who hire illegal immigrants, on the other hand, are afforded a 30-day grace period to correct "good faith" mistakes and can be fined up to $10,000.
Think about this for a moment. The businesses who profit mightily from illegal workers can hire them on 30-day contracts without penalty and, even if they exceed this, the penalty is a paltry $10,000 max. It's not $10,000 per illegal immigrant. With such a low fine -- and it could easily be less than $10K -- big agribusiness will continue as usual.
No, as is usual, the major onus falls on those who simply are looking for work to feed impoverished families. This new law pretty much guarantees there will be no unionization efforts amongst illegal immigrants which means big agribusiness can abuse them with impunity.
The crazy part of the legislation is the $250,000 maximum penalty that can be levied against an illegal worker. Most of these people work for less than minimum wage! The very idea that they could pay a $500 fine is laughable.
And so it goes in this country. The people who make the big bucks on the backs of illegal immigrant workers will be able to get off with a fine that amounts to little more than a slap on the wrists, while the state throws the book at the workers themselves!
If the Georgia legislature was SERIOUS about the stated intent of this bill, the penalties would be the other way around. If they truly wanted to rid their state of illegal workers, they would target their fines at business and make the max fine $250,000 per individual. Even big agribusiness would have to rethink their business strategy in the face of such severe punishment.
But bills of this nature aren't really about putting the clamps on business at all. No, they are about legal scapegoating!
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