Illegal immigration has become a hot topic in this years gubernatorial race between Ted Kulongoski (D-Ore.) and challenger Ron Saxton (R-Ore.) who both support the Real ID Act passed by the U.S. Senate on May 10, 2005. The Real ID Act of 2005 stipulates that federal agencies will not accept a driver’s license or state-issued card for identification purposes after May 11, 2008.
This issue raises several concerns that candidates need to address. Both Kulongoski and Saxton say more needs to done to improve Oregon’s illegal immigration situation, but neither fully addresses the issue. Both have released statements defining their stances on concerning this issue, but neither stance is supported with substantial evidence as to how the plans will be implemented.
This issue is especially timely because, according to the Associated Press, on Tuesday America’s official population passed the 300 million mark, many say that it is a result of a growing number of immigrants and their children. Toward the end of the day, President Bush welcomed the landmark, lauding it as “further proof that the American Dream remains as bright and hopeful as ever.”
Saxton’s first stances on illegal immigration proved costly to his campaign. He suggested in a debate that children illegally residing in the United States should be denied access to public schooling, but later apologized when he learned that doing so would conflict with federal law. He now supports giving state troopers more flexibility to enforce immigration laws. He also opposes state sanctions at this time, instead suggesting that the federal government should provide an accessible way for employers to verify the legal status of their potential employees. Saxton also opposes allowing illegal immigrants to gain citizenship, but supports the federal government establishing the guest worker program to help employers who face worker shortages.
Currently the Social Security Administration says that employers are able to verify social security numbers online by entering employees’ names and social security numbers, according to the Social Security Act of 2005. The SSA Web site provides a step-by-step process on how to register employees after they are hired, but employers are restricted from entering in numbers belonging to employees who are not currently employed. The SSA also recommends employers not “take punitive action against an employee whose name and social security number do not match social security records.” The administration advises employers to not act on the discrepancy, saying that the system’s information on immigration status may be faulty so acting on it could subject the employer to anti-discrimination or labor law sanctions.
Despite the penalties employers face for hiring illegal immigrants, $250 to $10,000 in fines for each employee hired and up to six months in jail, as of now there is no widespread verification process that checks whether employers are hiring illegal immigrants. Although Kulongoski says he supports tougher sanctions against employers who hire undocumented workers and believes that stricter laws involving immigrants needs to start at the state level, he neglects to explain how he plans on changing the laws.
According to the PEW Research Center, 49 percent of the public favor increased penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants and 42 percent believe that a different action should be taken. Since the mid-1970s two critical issues have repeatedly arisen concerning this issue: “What kind of documentation should a prospective hire have to present to show they are a U.S. citizen or a legal immigrant and what should an employer have to do to verify that the documents are genuine.”
This issue is very important for the future of the state of Oregon and it should not be taken lightly. We need the question of how they plan to implement these proposals answered before we can decide on this issue and on our candidate.
Candidates must clarity immigration viewpoints
Daily Emerald
October 18, 2006
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