MEDIA ADVISORY July 11, 2012

Bill Byrne for Cobb County Chairman 2012
30 Fairground St. SE
Marietta, GA 30060
(404) 272-0564
Fax: (770) 684-4236
E-mail: bill @ byrneforchairman.com

Bill Byrne announces his intent to protect American and legal immigrant workers on public-funded jobs in Cobb County: will expand federal IMAGE certification to include all public contractors at all levels as county Chairman. Questions Tim Lee’s wisdom on illegal immigration

Today, Bill Byrne announces his support for requiring that all workers on taxpayer funded jobs in Cobb County be proven as eligible to work in the United States through certification of all public contractors by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers (IMAGE) program.

“Insuring that the workers we hire on projects funded by the Cobb taxpayers are in the U.S. legally is not only basic, common-sense, sound fiscal policy, but the right thing to do to help ease unemployment here in Cobb and Georgia. Official unemployment in Cobb is above 8% and nearly 9% statewide” notes Byrne. “When I am Chairman, I will do everything possible to guard against any hiring of black-market labor on public jobs, including the construction of courthouses and schools” says Byrne.

Illegal workers secure jobs through fraudulent means such as presenting false documents, completing fraudulent benefit applications and stealing people’s identity. To combat unlawful employment and reduce vulnerabilities that help illegal aliens gain such employment, ICE announced the Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers (IMAGE) program in July 2006. This program assists employers in targeted sectors develop a more secure and stable workforce. It also enhances fraudulent document awareness through education and training.

“In May, Tim Lee publicly signed an agreement with federal ICE officials on IMAGE certification for Cobb County. It is mind-boggling to me that he is now refusing to take the next logical step and allow a public vote on a planned ordinance that would require that all Cobb contractors and subcontractors working on public-funded projects be certified by ICE with the IMAGE program” Byrne said.

“When I am Chairman, all contractors will be IMAGE certified after January 2014” promised candidate Byrne.

“Most of us can clearly see that our budget problems, our taxes, our children’s education, our health care and our quality of life are not somehow separate issues from Georgia’s illegal immigration crisis” remarks Byrne. “We also see that illegal employment is the root cause of illegal immigration. More can be done at the local level to deter both crimes.”

“Honest business owners welcome the level playing field created when we do everything possible to get illegal labor out of the workplace and to that end, we must use all the tools available to us” ended Byrne.
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