THE ISSUE: S.C. immigration legislation.

OUR OPINION: Verification standards likely to put legislation to legal test.

South Carolina has done what more and more states are doing or considering: taking action to curb illegal immigration. State laws are aimed at doing what the federal government appears unwilling or unable to do.

A majority of lawmakers in Columbia are joined by the governor in praising the legislation that cleared the General Assembly in the 2008 session.

After months of wrangling over how to verify the legal status of individuals, lawmakers went with the e-verify system, which requires employers to check legal status of workers through the Department of Homeland Security or through a South Carolina driver’s license.

Included also are penalties for those businesses that knowingly employ illegals or hire illegals without getting verification.

The legislation also:

* Authorizes SLED to enter into agreements with U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security that allow state and local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration laws. It also establishes a hotline, Web site and database for reporting and tracking alleged violations of immigration laws. In addition, it requires jails to verify legal status of inmates.

* Requires state and local agencies to verify lawful status of anyone over the age of 18 who applies for public benefits, with some exceptions for emergency-related situations.

* Allows local governments to pass stricter immigration laws but prevents local governments from prohibiting law enforcement from enforcing state or federal immigration laws.

Sanford said of the bill: “We’ve said from day one that while we’re a nation of immigrants, we’re also a nation of laws — and that South Carolina shouldn’t be in the business of sanctioning illegal activity with a wink and a nod.”

As a nation of laws, our system likely will put the new S.C. law to the test.

Leaders such as House Minority Leader Harry Ott of Calhoun County says the legislation may not stand up to scrutiny. He cites the state verification standards that are more stringent than federal law, contending that could lead to finding the legislation unconstitutional.

Ott, a farmer, and others, particularly in agriculture, worry about the impact of the state legislation on farming in the state. They don’t support illegals working in the state but worry that the verification mandate will put farmers at greater risk than other businesses for unknowingly hiring an illegal or being unable to get enough verified workers.

S.C. Farm Bureau President David Winkles writes: “What we have is a state law that is different from federal law and could unintentionally cause business owners and farmers to violate federal employment laws. In the Legislature’s efforts to throw voters a line to resolve immigration issues, it has instead provided just enough rope so business owners and individuals can hang themselves.”

He cites a federal mandate to verify legal status within three days of hiring, while the new state law “is ambiguous as to how long employers have to process their requests through the system. I can see a case when someone in good faith processes his request for verification under the new state law only to find out that he has violated federal law.”

Winkles also has concerns about the limited types of verification documents allowed in the new state law, only a state issued driver’s license, ID card, or related documents as opposed to the variety of documents currently allowed on the federal I-9 verification form.

“People can readily obtain authentic looking fake driver’s licenses and ID cards,” Winkles said. “It happens all the time. While it narrows the identification choices small businesses and farmers can use when they hire new employees, there is nothing in the new law that assures illegal immigrants will be discovered by checking these documents.”

And Winkles cites concerns beyond the farmer. “Many of our members are urban or suburban families who support our efforts to keep agriculture locally produced and to preserve rural lifestyles in South Carolina. I’m fearful that this new law puts individuals and families at risk of violating the law. The way I read it, anyone who hires an individual, a non-contractor to work for them, whether it’s to routinely cut the grass, help with housekeeping, babysitting, or to do odd jobs around the house, risks hefty state penalties and fines if they employ that person without complying with this new law.”

South Carolina has moved forward on necessary legislation to ensure that people living and working in the state are here legally. The test will come in determining whether the state’s lawmakers have done so in a fashion that will pass legal muster. Federal action remains necessary in addressing illegal immigration.

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