On Monday, an Iowa House panel approved an anti-immigration bill that would authorize individuals to report an employer they suspect of hiring undocumented workers.
Adam Mason, the State Policy Director for Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, believes the bill is similar to the harsh anti-immigrant laws in Arizona and Alabama, and as in those states, is afraid it would lead to racial profiling.
“That’s a huge concern for the Latino community who is here legally,” said Mason.
The legislation was met with opposition from lobbyists and the attorney general’s chief of staff, which cited that implementation of the bill would require the attorney general, county attorneys, and local police to investigate the complaints.
“What the bill does is imposes a substantial burden on the attorney general’s office and the county attorney and presumably on police to do these investigations,” said Iowa Attorney Chief of Staff Eric Tabor.
Included in the bill is a requirement that employers register with and use the federal electronic worker verification system, along with e-verify, the internet-based system that allows businesses to determine the eligibility of their employees to work in the country. Iowa would add itself to the list of the 17 states which currently require employers to use e-verify.
House Republicans supporting the measure believe that it will pass the Iowa House. The bill would then move onto the Senate, where Democrats hold a slim majority.
Some experts like Ben Stone, the Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, believe the verification system to be flawed, and the same to be true about Iowa’s proposed legislation.
“It’s really kind of a clumsy attempt to get the officers of the state of Iowa to get involved in enforcing immigration law, which is really the job of the federal government,” said Stone.
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