Current Bill Summary
SB 348 - This act creates the Missouri Omnibus Immigration Act.
The Division of Immigration Enforcement is created inside the office of the Secretary of State to implement new provisions in the law that deny housing and employment to illegal aliens.
It is illegal to employ unauthorized aliens and the act mandates that every employer in the state participate in the federal Basic Pilot Program in order to verify an employee's work authorization status as a condition of employment. Certificates of incorporation and other business licenses and registrations will be suspended when an employer employ's unauthorized aliens. Steps for curing violations are enumerated.
It is also illegal, under the act, to rent any dwelling to an illegal alien. Rental licenses and occupancy permits will be denied or suspended for those who knowingly or recklessly rent to illegal aliens and steps for curing violations are enumerated. A process is created whereby the landlord may, through the Division of Immigration Enforcement, verify the immigration status of any individual.
Law enforcement officers must inquire into the immigration status of any individual detained for any violation unless the inquiry would significantly extend the duration of the detention. If the individual is found to be illegal, the officer shall cooperate with any request from federal authorities regarding detention and custody transfer.
The state shall enter into cooperative agreements with the federal government to designate state law enforcement officers to help enforce federal immigration law.
Illegal aliens are barred from attending all public universities in the state and shall not receive any type of public assistance or benefit.
The act also authorizes cities, villages, and towns to enact ordinances prohibiting the employment of unauthorized aliens or unlawful workers and may deny business licenses to employers who employ unlawful workers.
This act is similar to SB 334 (2005), SB 988 (2006), SB 178 (2007), and SB 180 (2007).
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3 comments:
What is your position on this bill? Would you vote for it or against it if it came up in the House?
I always enjoy going to Grand if I want a true Vietnamese dinner, Bevo for Bosnian/Croatian food, Cherokee for Mexican and the Hill for Italian. When I'm in those areas I don't find myself questioning which people are here legally and which are here illegally. I'm there because I want to enjoy the cultural experience that those neighborhoods provide.
Many of these neighborhoods were struggling before these immigrant groups moved in. Would the City of St. Louis be better off by having the illegal immigrants all deported? I don't think we would. I think the bill would have a negative impact. I could see many people looking at these ethnic neighborhoods with a new and suspicious eye. Landlords may no longer want to own property in these areas for fear they would accidentally rent to an illegal and businesses would be afraid to employ people from the neighborhood for fear they may be illegal and may decide to shut down or relocate.
I'm also concerned about the money situation. It would appear to me that the state would be doing the job that the Federal Government should be doing. The Federal Government has been pretty good lately at cutting back on their financial support of programs run by the State. I'm not sure I want to reward the Federal Government by draining more state funds to perform a duty that if anybody should be doing, they should be doing.
Let's not forget we're asking landlords and employer's to become unpaid immigration officers, and if they mess up we'll be there to prosecute them.
I think I'll be voting "no" but we'll see what happens to the bill if/when it makes it to the house.
This bill sounds just plain mean to me. I think this is part of the scare-tactic mentality that so much of our government is infected with. For Heaven's sake, I wish our government would put as much effort into issues such as affordable health insurance, good education, and a sound energy policy as they do in scaring us that the illegals are going to take our jobs, overwhelm our healthcare system, and blow us all up.
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