News

LANSING – Stepping in where the federal government has failed to act, House Democrats today announced a bold plan to protect Michigan workers' jobs by making it a felony for employers to hire illegal immigrants, requiring employers to document the legal status of their workers, and giving Michigan workers legal recourse when companies replace them with undocumented laborers.

"Every job that goes to an illegal worker is one more job that is stolen from our own hard workers here in Michigan," said State Representative Mike Simpson (D-Liberty Twp.), who sponsored a bill in the legislative package. "Our plan responds to Michigan residents' outrage that the federal government has failed to stop the loss of these precious jobs to illegal immigrants. We have workers in our own communities who need these jobs in order to support their families, and employers who pass them up in favor of cheap illegal labor must be held accountable."

The House Democrats' plan:

•        Makes it a felony to knowingly employ an illegal or undocumented alien or to encourage such a person to enter Michigan with the intent of employing him or her.
•        Requires employers to fill out an I-9 form for all workers, confirming that they have verified their employees' status as legally authorized to work in the United States.
•        Establishes penalties for repeat violators that include suspending or revoking their license to do business in Michigan; levying fines of up to $250,000; and, for the owners of companies that are the worst offenders, imposing prison terms of two to five years.

The plan also gives fired workers who were replaced by illegal immigrants the ability to hold employers accountable in court.

A 2005 estimate by the Pew Hispanic Center of Washington, D.C., found that up to 150,000 unauthorized migrant workers live in Michigan.[1]

"With Michigan struggling under the nation's highest unemployment rate, we must make sure that Michigan jobs go to Michigan workers," said State Representative Kate Ebli (D-Monroe), who sponsored a bill in the legislative package. "Employers who choose to break the law and hire illegal immigrants are hurting our working families, our communities and Michigan businesses that play by the rules. This plan will give Michigan the tools it currently lacks to punish these companies. Creating and protecting jobs for Michigan workers must be our top priority as we work to turn our economy around."