Lawmaker Fears Stimulus Money to Increase Illegal Aliens

Many communities are hoping the federal stimulus money will put people back to work. But there's a growing concern that some of the people on the payroll may not be U.S. citizens.

Friday, March 13th 2009, 11:00 am

By: News 9


By Dave Jordan, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Many communities are hoping the federal stimulus money will put people back to work. But there's a growing concern that some of the people on the payroll may not be U.S. citizens.

Those concerns were raised this week by the Center for Immigration Studies and the Heritage Foundation. Those organizations say the greatest impact would be in Border States like Arizona, California and Texas.

But one state representative in Oklahoma is also concerned.

Representative Randy Terrill's bill which penalizes anyone who hires or shelters illegal immigrants was widely considered among the strictest anti-illegal immigration legislation in the country. It spawned protests at the state Capitol like one back in November of 2007. Now, two years after it was signed into law, Terrill is beginning to question its effectiveness.

"There are not presently checks in place to prevent them from hiring illegal aliens," Terrill said. "Of course, that is one of the things that House Bill 1804 was designed to prevent."

That provision of the Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007 is being appealed in federal court at a time the state is planning to use federal stimulus money to hire workers for bridge and road repair.

"Individual business owners, that's their responsibility to ensure that the people that work for them are in the United States legally," Director of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation Gary Ridley said. "I really can't say one way or another whether it is an issue or if it's not an issue."

But Bobby Stem with the Association of General Contractors says those companies hired for repair projects collect documentation on everyone employed.

"It's called an I-9 and you get two forms of ID, sometimes it's a driver's license, sometimes it's a picture ID, state ID, Social Security card," Bobby Stem with the Association of General Contractors said.

Those documents are kept on file for federal review. But Congress is not forcing employers to use E-Verify which checks the status of their employees.

"To the extent that there aren't checks in place to prevent that as part of the economic stimulus package, is just another magnet that will attract illegal aliens here," Terrill said.

Representative Terrill wants the governor to issue an executive order requiring those who accept stimulus money to verify that their employees are in Oklahoma legally. A spokesman for the governor says the state is following all federal requirements for that stimulus money but is checking as to whether additional restrictions are necessary.

The state has created a Web site so you can see where Oklahoma's stimulus money is going. Track Oklahoma's stimulus money dollar for dollar.

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