Senate Passes Nation’s Strongest Illegal Immigration Reform Bill
Senate Passes Nation’s Strongest Illegal Immigration Reform Bill
Ritchie Revives Immigration Reform
Columbia, SC – Senator Jim Ritchie (R-Spartanburg) and the South
Carolina Senate passed the “toughest illegal immigration reform bill
in the nation.” The bill passed is a tight net of enforceable
provisions that will capture willful violators. The bill contains the
most stringent fines in the nation, which are designed to drive illegal
aliens out of South Carolina.
The bill creates the South Carolina Verify method, a state verification
system with aggressive enforcement provisions that will be monitored and
checked by South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and
Regulations. As opposed to federal E-Verify, SC Verify gives the state
the authority to enforce citizenship requirements and scrutinize the
legal status of all South Carolina workers. The new state verification
system is the first of its kind in the nation.
“This bill establishes the most aggressive illegal immigration reform
law in the nation,” says Senator Ritchie. “It provides for E-Verify
along with S.C. Verify, which enables state government to investigate
and penalize businesses that hire illegal aliens and does not allow
employers to hide behind the federal I-9.”
Senator Ritchie has spent the last two years promoting the importance
of this issue to South Carolinians. Earlier this session, Senator
Ritchie introduced legislation that for the first time included private
employer verification as part of illegal immigration reform.
“I am happy to let our citizens know that thanks to the perseverance
of Senators Ritchie, Campsen and Sheheen, the Senate has passed the
toughest illegal immigration bill in the nation with stringent rules,
audits and penalties,” says Senate President Pro Tempore Senator Glenn
McConnell (R-Charleston). “ We have sent a signal to illegal
immigrants that their presence in South Carolina will not be met with
indifference, but instead with strong laws and vigilant enforcement.”
The bill will receive a final vote in the Senate tomorrow before being
sent to the House of Representatives for consideration.
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