DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Senate on Wednesday passed a bill requiring employers in the state to report to E-Verify programs to ensure workers' legal statuses. If signed into law, it would prevent employers from hiring or retaining employees who are unauthorized immigrants.
Sen. Julian Garrett, R-Warren County, was the floor manager on the bill and claimed the legislation aims to prevent employers from competing with those who hire migrant workers at a lower rate.
"I've always thought it's not fair to businesses and employees who obey the law who are here, legally, legal people, to have to compete with businesses that hire people who are not here legally, and who will work for cut-rate wages, " Garrett told Local 5.
The bill passed in the Senate on Wednesday and now moves to the House. If it makes its way to Gov. Kim Reynolds' desk, it would require businesses to use the federal E-Verify program, a web-based system through which businesses electronically confirm the employment eligibility of their workers.
League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa (LULAC) Political President Joe Enriquez Henry believes this is another anti-immigration bill that wouldn't just hurt immigrants, but also the Iowa economy.
"For us, it's a moral and ethical issue, but for all Iowans, it's an economic issue. I mean, I could go on and on here. It's not only agriculture, but it's corporations, its farmers. It's also, you know, regular Iowans," Enriquez Henry said.
When asked about the economic impacts this bill would carry, Garrett sees it as something hard to gauge.
"I would think that it would help employees get better wages. And this is a two-sided thing, is people looking for cheap labor on the one hand, but on the other hand, you've got big costs of medical costs, education and welfare," he said.
If the legislation passes the House and is signed into law, employers who violate the law would face a three-year probationary period or suspension. The bill states that county attorneys, local law enforcement and members of the public could file a complaint against businesses that do not comply with the bill.
The legislation states that every three months, the Iowa Secretary of State would request a list from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security of employers who are registered through the E-Verify program. That list would then be posted on the Iowa Secretary of State's website.