Senator wants employment verification system in Neb.
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By JEAN ORTIZ / The Associated Press
OMAHA — A Nebraska state senator studying illegal immigration is proposing the state look at mandating use of a federal employment verification system.
Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha says that will be among proposals the Legislature will have to look at during the new legislative session, which begins in January.
The chairman of the Judiciary Committee made his comments Thursday during a meeting of the Black-Brown Coalition of Greater Omaha.
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OMAHA -- A state senator says he believes Nebraska voters will approve a proposed ban on affirmative action.
Voters are faced with a ballot measure that would ban state and local governments from giving preferential treatment to people on the basis of race, sex, ethnicity or national origin.
Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha said Thursday the intended consequences of it are terrible and the unintended consequences are worse.
He said the ban’s approval stands to significantly affect how business is conducted in the state.
--The Associated Press
Some 30,000 to 50,000 illegal immigrants are living and working in Nebraska, he said, and the federal government’s actions have created a “sad, sorrowful situation.’’
“We have, in fact, created an underclass of workers in our state,’’ Ashford said.
Requiring all employers to use the system, now used voluntarily by some, is essential to eliminating discrimination, he said.
But Norm Pflanz, an attorney with the Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest, which works with immigrants, said he expects such a mandate could increase discrimination.
E-Verify is “riddled with errors’’ that make a foreign-born worker 30 times more likely to be erroneously labeled unauthorized to work than a native-born person, he said, citing a statistic also used by the National Immigration Law Center.
The system has been faulted for its inability to pick up duplicate uses of Social Security numbers. Misspelled names, last names entered as middle names and outdated information also have led to mistakes.
The real solution is increased enforcement of discrimination laws in the workplace, Pflanz said.
The idea of using the Web-based system called E-Verify came from the city of Fremont, Ashford said.
Fremont leaders tried unsuccessfully earlier this year to mandate use of the system as part of a proposal that would have banned hiring illegal immigrants or renting housing to them. The proposal was introduced by a city councilman who cited mounting frustrations over what many in the community believed to be lax federal enforcement of immigration laws.
“Fremont is just the tip of the iceberg,’’ Ashford said in an interview, citing tensions in that Dodge County city. “It’s going to erupt across the state.’’
Ten states require the use of E-Verify for public and/or private employers with Arizona and Mississippi mandating it for all, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Illinois, on the other hand, limits use of the federal system until its accuracy is improved and it has privacy and anti-discrimination protections.
At least one state, Tennessee, encourages E-Verify’s use by providing a safe harbor from state penalties for employers who use it.
Ashford said he recognizes that mandated use of the system could slim Nebraska’s work force, but he said the business community could subsequently force the hand of federal officials to take action or perhaps the situation would grab the attention of congressional representatives to make changes.
The interim study took Ashford to Lexington, Grand Island, Schuyler, North Platte and Scottsbluff, and he said Thursday he still hopes to get to South Sioux City.
His study has focused on how illegal immigration affects education, employment and social services. He has said legislation will need to address all three, but says now that employment will take precedence.
Ashford plans to eventually release a full report of his study’s findings. A public hearing on the report is set for Dec. 12 in Lincoln.
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Should be done anyway wrote on October 23, 2008 9:59 am:
j83 wrote on October 23, 2008 11:44 am:
Sultrydayinne wrote on October 23, 2008 12:01 pm:
Broken Clock wrote on October 23, 2008 12:06 pm:
bob wrote on October 23, 2008 12:12 pm:
facts first wrote on October 23, 2008 12:49 pm:
YOU are NOT allowed to use it to PRESCREEN people. You have to hire the person BEFORE you enter their information into the system. If the person comes back as invalid, you have to provide them with information as to how to resolve the situation. You can not fire a person until AFTER the final steps, but the person can quit.
There are penalties if you use this to Pre-Screen employees. "
About Time wrote on October 23, 2008 1:21 pm:
Steve wrote on October 23, 2008 2:10 pm:
RJ wrote on October 23, 2008 2:56 pm:
should be cleared up though, is to be able to use the system BEFORE they
hire someone. Any expense should go to the employer, not the taxpayer.
Also the raids should be kept up and more of them. Anything that will
make it hard on the employer & illegals. It is to bad that the legal
get involved, but blame it on the employer, not the government agents
who are doing their job. "
Been there wrote on October 23, 2008 2:59 pm:
mark wrote on October 23, 2008 3:33 pm:
DR wrote on October 23, 2008 3:36 pm:
Ashamed wrote on October 23, 2008 11:07 pm:
fix it wrote on October 24, 2008 2:33 am:
Fed up wrote on October 24, 2008 6:35 am:
Doesnt Work wrote on October 24, 2008 11:36 am: