Idaho has a problem with persons who are in our state illegally. It is a $150,000,000 a year problem. And they come here mainly for the jobs and have been doing so for decades.
I believe we need these workers in our state, but they need to be here legally. And we need our federal government to devise a system where the companies of our state can get the workers they need to fill the jobs they have open.
However, we do need to address this complicated problem with the limited tool and avenues we have available. I believe a good first step is the Arizona legislation they passed in 2007 known as House Bill 2779. That bill would penalize an employer for knowingly hiring an illegal alien using a three strikes your out approach. I’ve meet personally several times with the bill’s author, and have visited the Arizona / Mexico border twice.
The version of that bill I drafted was House Bill 497. House Bill 497 also uses a three strikes your out approach with the maximum penalty being a one year suspension of a business license. Congress has limited the states to using only a “business license penalty” concerning this issue.
When Arizona first passed this legislation, before the ink was dry the headlines in their newspapers read “Illegals Leave State In Droves.” The concept works, and it can work without being overly burdensome on Idaho businesses. House Bill 497 was drafted in such a way so that businesses who do not knowingly hire illegal aliens could ignore the new law. House Bill 497 minimizes any new red tape on Idaho businesses.
The bill still needs to get done. The problem is not getting any better, it is getting worse. I’ve been working on this issue for three years. And each year I have yet to get the bill out of a committee. The special interests that oppose this bill are powerful.
Surveys show that up to eighty percent of Idahoans want the legislature to do something about the problem. With your help, and enough public support, we can get something done in the 2011 legislative session.