Georgia Fruit And Vegetable Growers Association Urges Growers To Act On Immigration Bill
March 3, 2011 In a letter to Georgia Growers, Georgia Fruit And Vegetable Growers Association (GFVA) executive director Charles Hall says anyone with an interest in immigration policy should contact their legislators as soon as possible and ask them to vote “no” on House Bill 87 (Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011).
On Thursday, March 3, the Georgia House of Representatives will vote on House Bill 87, which requires all Georgia companies with more than five employees to use the Federal E-verify program when hiring new W-2 employees, including seasonal workers. There are also other provisions in the bill imposing potential fines and criminal charges on the employer, even when the employee may have I-9 documents.
In the letter, Hall says that GFVGA is concerned because:
- E-verify adds another bureaucratic layer for companies to do business in Georgia. To use e-verify someone in your office has to be trained and registered to use this federal, Internet-based system. The instruction manual for e-verify is 82 pages long. For companies with HR departments this may not be a problem, but for a small business this is an additional burden.
- Some of the provisions in the legislation could charge a business owner with fines or criminal charges even if their employee has proper I-9 documents.
- The cost of enforcing this legislation will be passed on to local city and county governments. Kentucky prepared a fiscal impact statement showing that this type of immigration law would cost that state a net $40 million a year in new costs for local jails, state prisons, the foster-care system, the administrative offices of the courts, and public defenders. This sum does not include additional police personnel costs. It is estimated the number of undocumented workers in is 455,000 as compared to Kentucky at 50,000. That $40 million could be $360 million for Georgia.
- · Many legislators counter that agriculture has H-2A available if there is a worker shortage. H-2A is available but there is a 60 day lead time for a petition for workers, advertising, housing, and transportation requirements. These regulations do not allow for a quick response to a worker shortage.
To find out how to contact your legislator, click here.
source: Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association
