Colorado business leaders are worried they’ll be forced into the role of immigration enforcers as a result of legislation that comes out of the special session on immigration.
A portion of the legislation being considered would place the onus for verifying a worker’s immigration status – as well as the validity of any identification documents – on the employer.
Violators would be fined under one proposal. Another would require companies to prove their employees are eligible to work in the United States before they could receive economic-development incentives.
“There’s a huge fear and a lot of emotion floating around this issue,” said Tony Milo, executive director of the Colorado Contractors Association. “Do we want employers to be the immigration policemen?”
And lawmakers who think their votes on reform will give them an edge at the polls in November may have miscalculated the public’s interest.
In interviews from Grand Junction to Cheyenne Wells, people say that water, education, gas prices and the local economy are the real issues directly affecting their communities – and their votes.
“The subject keeps coming up, but people here are more interested in the economy, the drought and the high price of gas,” said Nancy Bogenhagen, publisher of a weekly newspaper covering Cheyenne County. “It’s farm season. There aren’t many people who are looking at politics.”
Milo and other business leaders said they fear the proposed legislation will result in a complex and possibly conflicting net of regulations that they will be unable to navigate.
They’re also concerned that federal systems for verifying status will not be effective or efficient.
“Our concern is that we’re already outpacing the system that is in place on the federal level,” said Kristen Fefes, executive director of the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado.
Landscape companies that hire as many as 200 people a week during the busy spring already struggle to verify applicants’ Social Security numbers through the federal phone and online systems, she said.
“I think it’s going to be an additional burden to any business here in Colorado until we’re clear on what the requirements are, unless they streamline the process,” said Joseph O’Dea, vice president of Concrete Express.
Employers and association leaders say legislation should aim penalties at companies that knowingly flout laws.
Staff writer Karen E. Crummy and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Staff writer Kristi Arellano can be reached at 303-820-1902 or karellano@denverpost.com.
