May 01, 2008 09:01 pm
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By Debbie Robinson
news@joplinglobe.com
Missouri Treasurer Sarah Steelman, a Republican gubernatorial candidate, outlined her proposed policy for dealing with illegal immigration at a news conference Thursday afternoon at the Jasper County Courts Building in Joplin.
“It’s a big problem, because the federal government has failed to take any action,” Steelman said.
A bill making its way through the Missouri Legislature, she said, would prohibit public assistance and driver licenses for illegal immigrants.
“As governor, I would sign that,” Steelman said.
She said the bill also would prohibit cities from acting as sanctuaries for illegal immigrants and would require public employers to verify that they are hiring legal residents.
Steelman listed additional steps that she supports to address the hiring of illegal immigrants by Missouri companies.
One would be to ensure that law-enforcement agencies are provided grants for training in dealing with illegal immigrants, she said.
She said she also would push for measures that would remove the economic incentives that companies gain when they hire illegal immigrants.
“I would impose stiff penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants,” Steelman said. “Those employers are getting away with not paying taxes on those workers, and they’re stealing jobs away from other Missourians.”
Steelman cited a Virginia law that weeds out and deports illegal immigrants who are on sex-offender lists or otherwise convicted criminals. She said she would favor such a measure in Missouri.
Another measure she supports would be prohibiting matriculation cards issued by the Mexican government that can provide quasi-legal status for illegal immigrants entering the United States.
Steelman said she would ban illegal immigrants from obtaining bank accounts that give them access to obtaining legal identification.
She also said she would implement provisions that would prompt tax audits of illegal immigrants who file tax returns. In Missouri, she said, about 5,000 already have been identified.
Her main focus, Steelman said, is on employers who hire illegal immigrants.
“It’s not fair to employers who hire people who are legal,” she said.
She estimated that 65,000 illegal immigrants are living in the state.
“All those things are happening because the federal government failed to take action,” Steelman said.
Primary contest
State Treasurer Sarah Steelman will vie in the August primary for the GOP nomination for governor against U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof, Scott Long and Jennie Schwartze Sievers. Steelman was elected state treasurer in 2004 after serving six years in the state Senate.
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