We need short respectful letters to the Georgia Labor Commissioner before Thursday AM!

Public Hearing Thursday morning in Atlanta.

All: It is, and has been since 1986, a federal offense to knowingly employ an illegal alien. ( See USC 8 1324) It is also a federal offense to work in the U.S. without authorization and/or legal immigration status.

It is a federal crime to lie on an I-9 employment form …as it is to use fraudulent documents.

The state and local governments here in Georgia are all employers…( I know, DUH.)

Last year we all worked very hard to get Georgia state Senator Chip Rogers’ Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act ( SB 529) through the legislature and signed into law. We win…Jerry Gonzlaez, Sam Zamarripa, Teodoro Maus and the rest of the illegal alien/open borders lobby lose.

So did the criminal employers who fought us on SB 529. One of the things SB 529 does is to require that contractors doing any state business use the available federal tools to verify that their newly hired employees are eligible to work in the United States.

Section 2 ( Basic Pilot Program) provides that on or after July 1, 2007, all public employers and those working on public contracts must begin to register and participate in the federal work authorization program. This program is operated by the Department of Homeland Security and verifies the legal status of a person to be employed in the United States

Doing so is a great start on stopping taxpayer dollars from going to illegal labor and opening up jobs for us pesky Americans..at American wages.

SB 529 is going into effect on July 1, 2007….just two months from now. It is easy to understand what SB 529 does if you just remember this: It merely dictates that existing federal law must be obeyed and enforced in Georgia. I know…what a concept.

I am telling you all of this because now that the state of Georgia is required to obey the law in SB 529…a lot of people are trying very hard to convince the powers that be on the state level that compliance with the law is somehow unfair, extreme, mean-spirited, yada, yada, yada…

This Thursday, May 3 at 10:00 AM the Labor Commissioner will hold a public hearing in Atlanta to get public feedback – including from the employers who do business with the state – on the proposal that the Labor Department comply with SB 529, and federal law.

Part of that proccess says that all contractors doing business with the state sign a sworn affidavit that they are enrolled in and using the federal Employment Eligibility Verification program…now called Basic Pilot.

False swearing is also a crime.

WE NEED LETTERS TO THE LABOR COMMISSIONER SAYING THAT THE AFFADAVIT IS A GOOD IDEA AND THAT HE MUST ENTHUSIASTICALLY ENFORCE THE LETTER AND THE SPIRIT OF THE LAW – SB 529…we need them to go out before end of business Wednesday, May 2.

My own letter is posted below. The announcement from the Labor Commissioner’s office is linked here.

PLEASE E-MAIL a short letter to the Labor Commissioner – be polite – to this address: commissioner@dol.state.ga.us
————–

Commissioner of Labor – Georgia April 8, 2007
Mr. Michael L. Thurmond
commissioner@dol.state.ga.us
Re: New rules SB 529/Public Hearing

Commissioner,

I write to urge you and your office to stand firm and hold the legal ground against the sure to come resistance from the powerful business lobby to meeting the requirements set forth in the Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act (SB 529) going into effect on July 1, 2007.

As you know, SB 529 does nothing more than require compliance with long existing federal law, including requiring the state of Georgia and its contractors as employers to do the same.

Under the language of 8 USC 1324, it is a federal felony to employ workers who lack federal authorization for employment in the U.S. This applies to people who lack legal immigration status because of entering the United States illegally or having overstayed a visa.

The free and easily accessed Basic Pilot Program ( Employment Eligibility Verification – EEV) has been available nationwide since 2004 and has recently been upgraded to insure even more accuracy when used by employers who strive to comply with federal, and now state, law.

The requirement that Basic Pilot be used to verify employment eligibility of all newly hired employees by the state of Georgia and contractors doing any business with the state is designed to insure that taxpayer dollars do not go to pay wages to (newly hired) black market labor.

Use of the affidavit designed to require contractors to swear that they are using the EEV, under penalty of false swearing – a felony – is a very effective tool aimed at compliance with Section II of SB 529. Your office should be congratulated for implementation of the affidavit process.

The citizens of Georgia, myself included, are watchfully confident that your office will continue to approach enforcement of both the letter and spirit of the law – and the sworn affidavit – with vigor and enthusiasm.

It is my intention to attend the public hearing on May 3, 2007 to say as much.

Respectfully,

D.A. King
Marietta

President, The Dustin Inman Society
www.TheDustinInmanSociety.org