Immigration Law

Lewisville May Crack Down on Hiring of Illegal Immigrants

By Robert A. Kraft

 As reported today in the Dallas Morning News, the city of Lewisville may be about to wrestle with an immigration issue that has caused confusion and litigation in other Dallas suburbs in recent years. Here are excerpts from the newspaper article:

 The City Council next month will discuss requiring city contractors to ensure that their employees are working legally in the United States.

"I want people we do business with to show they're doing their due diligence," said council member John Gorena, an opponent of illegal immigration who narrowly won a seat on the council last year.

He's proposing that the city expand its use of E-Verify, a federally maintained electronic database system containing Social Security and other records. The system is used by the federal government for sizable contracts.

Twelve states require the use of some elements of the system to verify employment status of workers. Three states – Arizona, Mississippi and South Carolina – require all employers to use some level of E-Verify. Texas has no such requirement.

Lewisville already uses E-verify for its employees. The city also requires that its contractors comply with federal immigration laws. However, the city has no way to verify that contractors are hiring only legal workers.

That would change under Gorena's proposal to require contractors to confirm workers' employment status with E-Verify.

Gorena's proposal, made this week, received a lukewarm reception from other council members, who were concerned about straying too far into immigration policies.

Farmers Branch has become known for its battles over illegal immigration and is in costly litigation over its ordinance banning illegal immigrants from renting apartments.

Full post as published by Immigration Law Answers Blog on January 09, 2010 (boomark / email).