IDAHO bill rejected that would crack down on employers who hire illegal aliens (Republican State Legislator also a Dairy Farmer Opposes Crackdown on Slave Labor)

Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho -- For a second straight year, Idaho lawmakers have killed a measure that would crack down on employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.

The House State Affairs Committee unanimously rejected a bill Friday that would have required employers to verify workers' immigration status. Companies could have had their business licenses suspended or revoked for hiring people unauthorized to work in the United States.

The proposal is modeled on a law passed last year in Arizona to weaken economic incentives for immigrants to sneak across the border. That law, which took effect on Jan. 1, has already caused scores of immigrants to go to other states or back to their homelands.

"It's a problem not being dealt with in the way it should be," said Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, one of the bill's supporters. "If (the employer) can show that he did make a good faith effort, there would be no penalty."

full story

Follow the money

Posted by tyne at March 9, 2008