State Commission to Make Reccomendations on Immigration

By Bill Britt

— In the last few months Oklahoma and Arizona have passed hard-hitting immigration laws targeting those who hire illegal aliens,
As of November 1, 2007 it became a felony to provide shelter, transportation or employment to illegal immigrants in the state of Oklahoma.
Under the Arizona statute businesses that employee illegal workers can lose their business licenses and the public at large is encouraged to reportbusinesses they suspect of employing an illegal immigrant. Employers are also required to use E-Verify, a federal online database, to confirm that new hires have valid Social Security numbers and are eligible for employment.
A commission to study illegal immigrations in Alabama was recently formed as a result of legislation sponsored by Alabama State Senator Scott Beason (R) 17th District.
“Illegal Immigration is the most important issue facing the state of Alabama,” says, Beason, who represents Blount, Jefferson and St. Clair counties. The commission scheduled to hold four public hearings around the state has two left one in Hoover and the other in Mobile. Beason has sponsored tough legislation in the past to curtail illegal immigration and says he wants to give the commission time to do its work.
The 21-member commission appointed by the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House is headed by Chairman Jay Reed. Reed is employed also as the Vice President of the Alabama Association of Builders and Contractors. He says his goal as chairman of the commission is to listen to the people of Alabama, the professionals in public health, safety, education and others to find, “What works best for everyone in the state.” Reed says he thinks, “There is a need for immigrant workers in Alabama.” Beason however says he is ready to put forward a bill that would be every bit as strong as the one enacted in Oklahoma.
Others think that states have no choice but to take the issues of illegal immigration into their own hands.
“The Federal Government has limited the options state and local governments have,” says State Representative Cam Ward (R-AL-Rep.). “The only alternative we have is to go after those who hire illegal immigrants.” Ward who represents the western portion of Shelby County and has served for the past 5 years in the Alabama State Legislature says, “I hear more about the issues of Illegal Immigration than any other subject.” Ward who has cosponsored several bills confronting the issues of illegal aliens within the state thinks, “Those (employers) who are hiring cheap labor at below market wages, are causing the problems. We cannot ignore this any longer.” When asked if the Alabama legislature had the will to pass similar laws to the ones in Oklahoma and Arizona he responded “We had better.” As to the punitive nature of those laws Ward said, “If we don't pass those kinds of laws the people of Alabama will punish us (state lawmakers).”
In contrast Reed said he believes Alabama needs guest workers. “We need them, but we need to know who they are, where they are and when they are leaving.” He says that at the commission's recent meeting in Huntsville a woman, who was in the agricultural produce business, told the panel that the price of food would be as high as gas if she could not hire immigrant workers.
There are professional who would disagree with this assessment. Dr. Philip Martin Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California-Davis has concluded that the average household currently spends about $370 per year on fruits and vegetables. If curtailing illegal alien agricultural labor caused tighter labor conditions and a 40 percent increase in wages, the increased cost to the American family would be $9 a year, or about 2.4 cents per day.
Beason is also quick to point out the economics of the illegal immigration situation from a study present to the Alabama Legislature. “The taxpayers of Alabama are paying ten-thousand dollars each year for each illegal immigrant's child to go to school here,” says Beason. “It only cost seven thousand for our children. Why should I pay $3000 more to educate theirs?” Beason points out that there is no hard data on how much Alabama is spending on social service for illegal aliens but he says, “We are going to face a budget shortfall this year and services to illegals is going to be a big chunk.”
In a study published by the Heritage Foundation, in fiscal year 2004, low-skill immigrant households received $30,160 per household in immediate benefits and services (such as welfare. healthcare and other services). In general, low-skill immigrant households received about $10,000 more in government benefits than did a similar U.S. household. This was due largely to the higher level of welfare benefits received by low-skill immigrant households. They also concluded based on the 2004 study that over the next ten years the net cost for benefits to immigrant households will approach $1 trillion nationally. FAIR (Federation for American Immigration Reform) estimates annual costs to Alabama taxpayers for emergency medical care, education and incarceration is currently at $112,000,000 and will increase to $195,000,000 by 2010. Representative Ward last year put forward a bill that would have denied state benefits to those who were here illegally. He has also stated in an editorial, “ It is not fair for someone to reap the benefits of citizenship and not contribute to the system that provides these services,” he wrote. “ If we do not end the increased spending on state social services for non-citizens we will bankrupt our state government's ability to provide benefits to Alabama taxpayers. In a second bill by Ward businesses that hire illegal immigrants would penalize. He said further, “Businesses engaging in such a practice should be severely punished because they are contributing to a black market system where workers are not contributing back in taxes what the rest of the citizens in our state have been doing for years.”
As to whether Alabama should follow the models of Oklahoma or Arizona as suggested by Beason.
Commission Chairman Reed said, “The issues vary from state and what is right for them may not be right for Alabama. We want to make recommendations based on facts not fiction,” says Reed. In his work for the Alabama Association of Builders and Contractors Reed also serves as the head of Hispanic outreach and says he sees no conflict between his job and his work for the commission.
“People tell us that they have a need for workers who will do the jobs that Americans won't do. We need to look a complete solution,” concludes Reed.
Beason, who was the driving force behind the creation of the commission says, “ Until we confront big business and their appetite for endless cheap labor it is going to be near impossible to change the direction of illegal immigration in Alabama.
The commission's last two public hearing will be held in Hover on January, 10 at the Hover Public Library and Mobile, January, 17 at the Mobile Public Library, both events are at 6pm. To insure admittance the public is asked to come at least one half hour early.