Today, Sen. Jim Ritchie placed an objection on the whole calendar until another attempt is made at meaningful immigration reform. This means that the Senate will not take up any legislation until this matter is debated once again. We’ve found a new “vehicle” House bill H. 3032. Since this bill has passed the SC House already, we have the chance to beef up a piece of legislation, send it to the House. H. 3032 cannot amend this bill, only vote to “concur” or “non-concur”.
Sen. Ritchie has drafted a “strike-and-insert” amendment that inserts strict definitions of legal status of workers. I am also a sponsor of this amendment which will require all employers, whether State contract or not, to use either the e-verify or a SC drivers license to determine employees status. This is a great step in the direction of true immigration reform. A document called the “i9” is currently being used to verify status. This “i9” is virtually a joke (explained here), since the requirements to obtain an i9 are so lenient.
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