• About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
Thursday, March 23, 2023
The Iowa Torch
  • Home
  • State Government
  • Federal Government
  • Local Government
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • State Government
  • Federal Government
  • Local Government
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Opinion
The Iowa Torch
The Iowa Torch
No Result
View All Result
Home State Government

Iowa Senate Panel Approves Bill Requiring Iowa Businesses Use E-Verify

A bill that requiring Iowa's businesses to use E-Verify to screen out illegal immigrants who are not eligible to work, passed out of an Iowa Senate subcommittee

Shane Vander HartbyShane Vander Hart
January 25, 2021
in State Government
Reading Time: 4 mins read
Iowa Senate Panel Approves Bill Requiring Iowa Businesses Use E-Verify

From left: State Senators Kevin Kinney, D-Oxford, Julian Garrett, R-Indianola, and Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig.

DES MOINES, Iowa – SF 84, a bill that requires Iowa’s businesses to use E-Verify to ensure they don’t hire illegal immigrants who are not eligible to work, passed out of an Iowa Senate subcommittee. 

RELATED POSTS

Reynolds signs two bills addressing transgender children

School restroom bill heads to Reynolds’ desk

Iowa House sends government reorganization bill to Reynolds’ desk

The bill provides several enforcement mechanisms and penalties, including a business having its licenses permanently revoked if it has a second offense.

State Senators Julian Garrett, R-Indianola, Kevin Kinney, D-Oxford, and Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, made up the committee. Garrett and Schultz approved the bill, while Kinney opposed it. 

During public comment, all who spoke during the subcommittee hearing opposed the bill. No public comments were available online.

Brad Hartkopf, the public policy director for the Iowa Association of Businesses and Industry, opposed the bill. “We don’t look at this as an immigration issue. This bill we really see it as a through the lens of business as being a mandate imposed on businesses,” he said.

“There is no state contiguous to Iowa that has a blanket mandate for private sector use e-verify. I think Nebraska and Missouri require it for some private employers who utilize tax incentives, but all the states that have a blanket mandate are confined to the deep south or some states in the West, including Arizona and Utah,” Hartkopf stated. 

He added they want to see the federal government address this and put every state on a level playing field. 

Tom Chapman, executive director of the Iowa Catholic Conference, said they do not oppose E-Verify but believe federal government issues should be left to the federal government. 

Dustin Miller representing the Greater Des Moines Partnership and Iowa Chamber Alliance, also opposed the bill. 

“The E-Verify system has a lot of challenges that (are) flawed enough it’s really worrisome that the mandate on business could lead to penalties for employers,” he said.

Miller was also concerned about the penalties the bill offers. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Ericka Johnson, representing the Iowa chapter of the American Friends Service Committee, also opposed this bill. 

“What this seems like is an attempt to, you know, rather than actually working to push the federal leaders to reform our immigration system in a way that benefits our economy, and treats immigrants and refugee workers with the dignity and respect they deserve, it’s a divisive anti-immigrant proposal that will end up harming minority communities in Iowa,” she said. 

Representatives from the Iowa Conference of the United Methodist Church, Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Iowa Federation of Labor, United Electrical Workers, and Laura Chesser, an immigration attorney, also spoke out against the bill. 

State Senator Kinney said that he opposed the bill and would not sign-on the legislation because he did not believe it was accurate enough. He cited reports from the ACLU and the Cato Institute. He said he supported similar legislation in the past but noted that illegal immigrants sometimes purchase a social security number from someone who has died. He said if there is no further checking, that person would pass. Kinney was also concerned about people who are flagged incorrectly. 

“There’s a lot of individuals that if they are flagged there’s not the mechanism within E-Verify to correct that wrong hit,” he said. 

Kinney suggested fingerprinting everyone. “Everybody’s fingerprints are their own. There are no other fingerprints out there. So if there is a question, they can just go and run the fingerprints,” he concluded. 

State Senator Schultz said he sees the bill as a way to level the playing field in Iowa as some businesses use E-Verify and others, he noted, “flout the law.”

“They’re getting away with a competitive advantage that they should not have. I’d like to see the playing field level between employers,” he said. 

Schultz supported Iowa helping enforce immigration law.

“It is up to it is up to the states to decide whether or not they want to nullify federal law by ignoring it, or if it is something in the best interest of the state to go ahead and help enforce it. Some areas, I believe we should just let the feds take care of their own business. This is one that I think going back to leveling the playing field and making sure that everybody is operating in a similar manner benefits the state, from river to river,” he stated.

State Senator Garrett said E-Verify is straightforward to use. 

“I have talked to a number of Iowa employers who use E-Verify. As I mentioned, there are over 5000 of them, every single one of them that I’ve talked to has said it’s very simple to use. It’s just one additional step added on to things they already have to do,” he said.

Garrett added that it is tougher to get around the system. It requires a picture ID (driver’s license, state-issued ID, passport, etc.) and a second form of identification like a social security card. 

He also said this is an issue of fairness.

“I have always felt that allowing people to hire people in the country illegally in violation of federal law is unfair to almost everybody else. It’s unfair to other businesses who obey the law and have to compete with other with their competitors who are cutting their costs by hiring people who will work for substandard wages. That’s unfair. If you are a person looking for a job, and you have to compete with people who will work for substandard wages, that’s also unfair,” Garrett said.

He also pointed out a shift in how the Biden Administration will handle immigration law enforcement compared to the Trump administration.

“It appears that the new administration is going to drastically open up the borders in comparison to what we’ve had. So if we do nothing, we’re probably very likely going to see an influx of new people coming in who are not here legally,” Garrett explained. 

SF 84 will go to the Iowa Senate Judiciary Committee for a vote.

Listen to the full subcommittee hearing below:

Tags: 2021 Iowa Legislative Session89th General AssemblyAmerican Friends Service CommitteeBrad HartkopfDes Moines Greater PartnershipDustin MillerE-VerifyEricka JohnsonIllegal ImmigrationIowa Association of Business and IndustryIowa Catholic ConferenceIowa Chamber AllianceIowa SenateJason SchultzJulian GarrettKevin KinneyTom Chapman
ShareTweetShare
ADVERTISEMENT
Previous Post

Axne to Continue Serving on House Financial Services Committee

Next Post

Bill Requiring Full-Time In-Person Learning Option Advances in Iowa Senate

Shane Vander Hart

Shane Vander Hart

Shane Vander Hart is the editor of The Iowa Torch.

Related Posts

white tiled wall with men s restroom sign
State Government

School restroom bill heads to Reynolds’ desk

March 20, 2023
Iowa lawmakers approve prohibiting ‘gender transitioning procedures’ for minors
State Government

Iowa lawmakers approve prohibiting ‘gender transitioning procedures’ for minors

March 9, 2023
State Government

Iowa Senate passes government reorganization bill

March 8, 2023
State Government

Government reorganization bill advances in the Iowa Senate

February 27, 2023
State Government

Reynolds signs bill fixing 2021 property tax error

February 22, 2023
Reynolds signs bill creating education savings accounts
State Government

Reynolds signs bill creating education savings accounts

January 24, 2023
Next Post
Bill Requiring Full-Time In-Person Learning Option Advances in Iowa Senate

Bill Requiring Full-Time In-Person Learning Option Advances in Iowa Senate

Ernst Expresses Concern About Trump’s Upcoming Senate Impeachment Trial

Ernst Expresses Concern About Trump's Upcoming Senate Impeachment Trial

Sign-Up For Our Daily Updates

Get The Iowa Torch right in your inbox!

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!

Recommended Articles

Ernst Expresses Concern About Trump’s Upcoming Senate Impeachment Trial

Ernst: Biden’s inflation and energy costs are crushing Iowans.

July 18, 2022
Iowa Firearms Coalition releases first ad promoting proposed amendment

Iowa Firearms Coalition releases first ad promoting proposed amendment

September 14, 2022
Des Moines Extends COVID-19 Measures In Response to Holiday Season

Des Moines to Resume In-Person City Council Meetings in June

April 13, 2021

Popular Stories

  • Iowa’s New Unemployment Rate Holds Steady, Overall Rates Rise

    Horn: It’s time for employers get serious about Iowa’s untapped workforce

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • School restroom bill heads to Reynolds’ desk

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Ernst: Biden’s WOTUS whiplash.

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Regents Board President pauses new DEI programs at Iowa’s public universities

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Iowa House sends government reorganization bill to Reynolds’ desk

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

The Iowa Torch

The Iowa Torch​ is a for-profit, news organization that focuses on political news as it relates to Iowans

Categories

  • Education
  • Federal Government
  • Iowa History
  • Local Government
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • State Government
  • Uncategorized
  • Uncategorized

Newsletter

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!

© 2022 The Iowa Torch, a publication of 4:15 Communications, LLC.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • State Government
  • Federal Government
  • Local Government
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Opinion

© 2022 The Iowa Torch, a publication of 4:15 Communications, LLC.