California Law Limits E-Verify and Supports Illegal Immigrant Hiring Practices

To the applause of illegal immigration advocates and unscrupulous business owners, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law AB 1236, an act that prohibits California municipalities from requiring businesses within their jurisdiction to use E-Verify. Titled, the “Employment Acceleration Act of 2011,” the bill is sure to accelerate illegal hiring practices and make it more difficult for legal residents to acquire jobs. Before the bill was signed, over 15 municipalities in California required use of E-Verify for either city contractors or all businesses within city limits: Mission Viejo, Palmdale, San Clemente, Murrieta, Lake Elsinore, Lancaster, Temecula, Escondido, Menifee, Hemet, Wildomar, San Juan Capistrano, Hesperia, Norco, San Bernardino County, Rancho Santa Margarita, Yorba Linda, Simi Valley. Many more California cities use E-Verify for government employees; such use is not prohibited by the new state bill.

As written, AB 1236 prohibits: the state, or a city, county, city and county, or special district, from requiring an employer other than one of those government entities to use an electronic employment verification system except when required by federal law or as a condition of receiving federal funds.

The justifications written into the bill are a smorgasbord of rehashed nonsense spread by open-border groups – e.g. overinflated costs, overstated inaccuracy rates. The bill also cites California’s unemployment rate (currently over 12 percent) and explains that the state “must pursue all avenues in facilitating and incubating job development and economic growth.” How desperate is California if the legislature thinks the only way to reduce unemployment in the Golden State is to promote violations of federal law, perpetuate ID theft, and strain both natural and taxpayer-subsidized resources via increased illegal immigration? If California wanted to reduce unemployment and income inequality it would mandate E-Verify and eliminate other magnets for illegal immigration, thereby driving out the illegal population and forcing businesses to offer a better wage in order to attract millions of unemployed Californians. But putting legal residents to work, improving their wages, and reducing demand for social services apparently makes too much sense.

You know, my Congressman Elton Gallegly who has pushed E-Verify for years in the Congress must be especially frustrated. Hispanic, Democratic, Labor and Big Agriculture organizations all oppose E-Verify in California and nationally.

Why?

They all have vested interests in keeping the law the same, which means little if any immigration control.

Big business gets cheap labor and does not have to pay medical or other health benefits to its illegal employees, Labor gets more union dues and the Democrats eventually get more voters.

Go figure.

Besides, even when E-Verify passes the GOP majority House, Senator Harry Reid will never even consider calling the bill up for consideration in the Senate. Plus, it faces a certain veto by President Obama.

The status quo will remain the norm here in illegal immigration.