Sand Mountain Reporter

Alabama Sen. Hinton Mitchem is sponsoring legislation in 2010 to crack down on the hiring of illegal workers.

Mitchem and the Senate Democratic Caucus announced their intentions Wednesday to support four bills focusing on illegal immigrants, preventing employers with state contracts from hiring illegals and revoking the business license of employers who violate federal law by hiring illegal workers.

Mitchem is sponsoring legislation aimed at revoking the license of businesses that knowingly hire illegal workers.

“We aren’t after employers who make a mistake in their hiring,” Mitchem said in a statement released Wednesday. “What we are after is those employers who deliberately hire illegal workers rather than Alabamians. If there is a consistent pattern of hiring illegals, then you are not going to do business in Alabama, period.”

The Guntersville legislator along with the Senate Democratic Caucus have two other bills designed to toughen immigration-related laws in Alabama.

Mitchem wants to prohibit illegals from receiving benefits via city, county and state agencies by requiring proof from applicants ages 19 and older that they are in the country legally before obtaining welfare, unemployment compensation and public housing.

“Alabama budgets are in crisis right now, and government at all levels is struggling to provide the services our people depend upon,” Mitchem said. “We have to make absolutely sure that public benefits are going to Alabama citizens only, both to help them and save tax money. Only legal workers are entitled to assistance, not illegal ones.

“Preventing illegals from receiving government assistance is the right thing to do for the taxpayers of our state, who have to foot the bill for these benefits.”

Sen. Zeb Little, of Cullman, is also sponsoring a bill to prevent businesses receiving a state contract from hiring illegal workers.

“At a time when Alabama workers are facing 11 percent unemployment, we need to make sure that state contract jobs and state wages are going to Alabamians and not illegal workers,” Little said. “If you receive a state contract, then you are going to use legal workers.

“We are not going to use state taxpayers’ money to fund the jobs of illegal immigrants. That is wrong, and the caucus will stop that.”

The Senate Democratic Caucus also plans to mandate that any person arrested for driving under the influence or a felony will be denied bail without proof of citizenship or proof they are in the country legally.

“This is just plain Alabama common sense,” Mitchem said. “If Alabama has an illegal immigrant in jail, he should not be freed. Why on earth would you let them go free? If they can't prove that they are in this country legally, then they should stay in jail until they are sent back home.”

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Publisher: Ben Shurett

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