By Wally Kennedy
wkennedy@joplinglobe.com
During a ceremonial signing of a new immigration bill on Monday in Joplin, Gov. Matt Blunt said the state of Missouri could not wait for the federal government to respond to what has become a serious national problem.
“This significant legislation will protect the safety of Missouri families and the security of our jobs from the threat of illegal immigration, and I am pleased that Missouri’s legislators responded to my call for action where Washington has failed to act,” Blunt said.
He said the United States is, for the most part, a nation of immigrants and that we “welcome legal immigrants to come here, learn our language and work here,” but that the rule of law with regard immigration must be enforced.
House Bill 1549 enacts into law policies Blunt proposed to crack down on illegal immigration, including prohibiting illegal immigrants from obtaining a license to drive. A press release issued by Blunt’s office characterized the bill’s provisions “as some of the strongest legislation in the country to fight illegal immigration.”
Flanked by state legislators from across Southwest Missouri, Blunt said the bill requires verification of lawful presence in this country for every individual arrested for incarceration.
It also prevents the creation of sanctuary cities in the state; requires verification of legal employment status of every public employee; allows for cancellation of state contracts for contractors if they hire illegal immigrants; requires public agencies to verify the legal status of applicants before providing welfare benefits; criminalizes the transportation of illegal immigrants for exploitative purposes; and enacts provisions to punish bad-acting employers who hire illegal immigrants.
But the fallout could have serious economic consequences for the state, according to Adolfo Castillo, president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Castillo said he has not had an opportunity to read the bill, but understands that it mirrors similar legislation adopted last year in Oklahoma.
“Oklahoma HB 1804 affected the Oklahoma economy. It caused a mass exodus of legal and illegal immigrants that left the state,” he said. “It left a lot of companies without workers and the state received less revenue from the Hispanic community. It cost the state revenue from local businesses.”
Whether the Missouri legislation causes the same thing to happen here, he said, remains to be seen.
“That’s an unknown. But we have a pretty basic idea of what happened in Oklahoma and the Missouri legislation is the same thing,” he said. “There is the potential for an economic impact in this area because of the poultry and pig productions. Those companies hire a lot of immigrants.”
Castillo, like Blunt, said the federal government had an opportunity to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill.
“It offered a workable solution, but in the end it was defeated. The guest-worker program that would have been part of the solution is not a reality today,” he said. “People like to simplify this issue, but it is a very complex issue. There are workers willing to work and business people who need these people. Instead of finding a way to make this legal, they are punishing them both.”
But Castillo said the bill has been signed into law.
“It is the law. You have to respect the law whether it’s good or bad,” he said.
Blunt said the bill will not result in discrimination against Hispanics or contribute to the profiling of Hispanic individuals by law enforcement.
Last summer, the governor directed all state law-enforcement agencies to verify the immigration status of anyone presented for incarceration. As a result of that directive, Blunt said the state has identified 250 illegal aliens since then, including some European and Chinese immigrants who were in this country illegally.
Local News
Related Photos
Related Links
Discussion
Gov. Blunt: New illegal immigration bill among ‘strongest legislation in the country’
- Local News
-
-
Jasper County to start enforcing newly adopted nuisance ordinance
Jasper County has received 15 complaints based on a new nuisance ordinance adopted earlier this spring, members of the County Commission said Tuesday. John Bartosh, presiding commissioner, said he and the other commissioners reviewed the complaints during a meeting last week with workers at the Jasper County Health Department.
-
Neosho School Board votes to boost custodians’ salaries
Action taken Monday night by the Neosho Board of Education on salaries was designed partly to retain custodians. The measure approved by the board gives custodians, with a starting salary of $8.77 an hour, a 10 percent raise.
-
Mike Pound: Carthage holding parties for a good cause
When my wife told me that we were going to host a party, I had only one question: Why? My wife might be the party-hosting sort of person, but I am not. She said this party was for a good cause. She also told me that our friends Lana and Bill, Lee Ann and Rob, and Amy and Jimmy were going to help host it.
-
Proposal would reduce 20th Street to two lanes
A design proposal that would convert much of 20th Street into two lanes instead of four from Main Street to Campbell Parkway to make room for streetscape and green features did not draw much public support on Tuesday.
-
Local runners show support for Boston in cross-country relay
After completing the Boston Marathon on April 15, Ashleigh Beyersdorfer made her way through the throngs of runners to retrieve the bag she had checked in and was on her way to meet up with her family when she heard the explosions.
-
MSSU board to complete terms of president’s departure
The Board of Governors of Missouri Southern State University will meet Wednesday to complete the terms of the agreement that terminated President Bruce Speck’s contract, board Chairwoman Sherry Buchanan said.
-
State’s key witness testifies in murder trial
The fate of Dustin Boggs may ultimately depend on the credibility of Arturo Council. If jurors believe Council, then Boggs, 25, could be convicted of first-degree murder in the 2012 stabbing and shooting death of his ex-girlfriend, Danyel Borden, 21, at his trial this week in Ottawa County District Court.
-
Swimmers attempt to set world record
Even before the instructor had finished giving his direction to the class of young swimmers, 4-year-old Alexa DeBerry had dunked herself underwater and had come up giggling.
-
Missouri moves to lift ban on foreign farm owners
Weeks before a Chinese conglomerate agreed to buy Smithfield Foods Inc. in the largest such takeover of a U.S. business, Missouri lawmakers quietly approved legislation removing a ban on foreign ownership of agricultural land.
-
Neosho Board of Education approves 10 percent raise in effort to keep custodians
School custodians are receiving the biggest percentage raise among salaries approved Monday by the Neosho Board of Education.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Jasper County to start enforcing newly adopted nuisance ordinance
