Last week, the House passed legislation, HB36, to require all employers with 25 or more employees to use the E-Verify system. E-Verify is a federal Internet-based system that allows employers, using an employee’s Form I-9 information, to determine the legal immigration status of potential and current employees.
However, this week the Senate significantly watered down the bill in its sixth edition, requiring only counties, cities, and entities contracting with government agencies and with 25 or more employees, and their subcontractors, to use E-Verify.
Such a change would omit and exempt the majority of employers in North Carolina. Because the bill was so severally altered, the House was required to concur with the Senate modifications. However, rather than accept the new useless bill, the House voted not to concur 71-45. It looks like it’s back to the drawing board for HB 36. Hopefully, the House version will reemerge in committee so that we can begin to tackle the illegal immigration problem in our state.
It’s amazing… Illegals will still be able to take jobs while remaining “off the grid,” and thus not required to pay income taxes. This allows them to accept lower wages – often paid off the books – while their take home pay is the same as legal workers earning higher wages but forced to pay taxes. This creates an uneven playing field in the labor market, making it easier for employers to afford to hire illegals compared to legal, taxpaying residents.
And considering that this law did nothing more than try to enforce current law (you cannot enter the United States’ sovereign territory without its permission), it puzzles me why it was minimized to such an extent.