Tuesday, September 20, 2011

I-9 Employment Verification Reform

We all know there is a problem with illegal immigration.  Well let’s put our heads together and do something about it.  It’s a fact that about 20% of employers in the state of California either pay their employees under the table, or hire illegal aliens at a cheaper rate.  Let’s stop this.  This is only hurting the great State of California for the following reasons: tax revenues are down and thousands of people are unemployed that are here legally and want to work.  It’s real easy to get a social security or identification card on the corner and sometimes a driver’s license through a corrupt employee at the Department of Motor Vehicles.  When a person walks into your business and is looking for a job, how do you verify they are legal?  When this person has an illegal social security card, ID card and/or driver’s license and fills out an I-9 form.  How do you verify this?  The employer does not have access to the Social Security Administration, nor the Department of Motor Vehicles and for a good reason.  So let’s create another database that allows employers to verify. 
It used to be that if a high school student or a college student wanted a summer job or a part time job, it was never a problem.  It used to be that if you wanted a job in California and you wanted to work, it was not a problem.  But take a look around – a college student or high school student can’t even get a job washing dishes.  The jobs are all taken by an estimated 60% of illegal aliens.  Go to your corner fast food restaurant and look around – what do you see?  You don’t see college kids or high school kids – you see illegal aliens.  Used to be if you wanted a summer job, you could go bag groceries, you could work at a gas station, you could wash cars at the local car wash, but take a look around – what do you see?  Undocumented workers.  Now let’s talk about Obama’s “Back to Work” programs.  Freeway jobs, electrical jobs, drywall jobs, any construction-related job from a laborer to an operator – take a look around, what do you see?  Not Californian’s that live here and pays their taxes, you see undocumented workers.  There is only one way to cure this problem and it is to verify.  Verify.  Verify.  Verify.
I know this might be a controversial subject to some people, but that is only the people that are running for re-election or trying to run for election.  That is the problem with this great State of California.  This same system should be implemented for State held elections (this is another blog forthcoming).  I challenge the Governor of the great State of California to step up to the plate and do something about it.  It’s not hard and it’s not costly – it’s only right. 
There should be a system set up to identify legal people to work within the State.  This can be done with one stroke of a pen by the governor to set this type of system up and you would need to do the following:
1.       Use a system like we have already in place - it is called The Contractors State License Board. You would not necessarily have to use this exact agency but to set up a verifying database as they have and make it available to all employers.
2.       You would have to issue an ID to every person that works within the state at a cost of $12.00 per person, the same as a driver license and renew it every (2) years.
3.       The ID would have to have a picture, and a number different than Social Security Number or driver license or ID number.
4.       You would have to provide a certified birth certificate (not hospital issued).  This would also generate revenue as well to the Counties. 
5.       You would have to provide finger prints that have been verified through Department of Justice.  This would also create revenue as well. 
6.       If an unemployed person cannot afford the fees to obtain a card and/or finger printing – the state will issue a one-time voucher that will be re-paid within the first month of employment.  If such money is not repaid by the time of renewal interest shall occur on the balance owed at a rate set by the State and the card shall not be renewed until renewal fee and past balance is paid. 
7.       After all this is verified then a card would be issued.
8.       No temporary, paper ID cards shall be issued. 
9.       In order for an employer to hire an employee they would have to verify on the database that this person has a work card and is current, if not then this person cannot be hired.
10.   There should be in this program a line that allows the employer to state that this employee has been hired, date of hire and the date of termination if employment stops. 
Now here is what should happen if you hire anybody without a card and you don’t verify them or falsify the database or falsify identification cards:
1.       The employer would receive a $150,000.00 dollar fine the first time violation per employee.
2.       The employer would receive a $200,000.00 dollar fine and up to 5 years in state prison per employee.
3.        Anyone who falsifies the database of the cards – it shall be considered a felony and punishable by no less than $75,000.00 fine up to $200,000.00 fine and mandatory jail sentence of no less than 5 years and reimburse the cost to correct the database. 
These are the pros:
1.       This would be a way for the state of California to raise funds without increasing taxes.
2.       The state of California would benefit by issuing these cards with estimated revenue of $242,150,714.00 based upon the 2010 census at a cost of $13.00 per card. 
3.       The revenue would keep coming by requiring these cards to be renewed every (2) years with an estimate of $242,150,714.00.
4.       You would be able to verify and locate dead-beat dads. 
5.       You would be able to verify and locate person(s) that owe back taxes. 
6.       An estimate would be that you would create 7,450,791 jobs for legal citizens. 
7.       Once all the illegal employees are weeded out of the system, your tax revenues will increase by a substantial amount.  Therefore, putting more money into the state’s budget. 
8.       This system can be used in correlation with other systems such as welfare, unemployment, disability, child support, social security, etc. in order to stop fraud. 
These are the cons:
1.       Person(s) that will continually create fraudulent cards / database. 
2.       Employers will continue to pay employees under the table.
3.       For the (2) cons above, the penalties should above should apply and there should be mandatory jail time. 
4.       The costs to set this system up, but the revenue will repay those costs within the first year and will continue to have a yearly revenue by renewals, and new workforce. 

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