Seven immigration bills die in House committee

By Myung Oak Kim, Rocky Mountain News

February 22, 2006

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_4486487,00.html

Seven Republican bills targeting illegal immigrants and, in some cases, their employers, were killed Tuesday along party-line votes, signaling the difficulty of finding common ground on the issue.

The 11-member Democrat-controlled House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee committee heard testimony from 43 people about a variety of issues related to illegal immigration. More than 200 people attended the hearing at the Colorado Capitol.

Ten Republican bills were discussed during the eight-hour hearing. One was postponed. Only two of them passed.

One would require an audit of a 2003 state law restricting the use of foreign identification to get state licenses. The other would prohibit a bail bonding agent from posting bail for a suspect known to be in the U.S. illegally. Both are headed to the appropriations committee....

Rep. Dave Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs, said he was not surprised by the committee votes.

"I expected it," Schultheis said. "Why? Because there's been no initiative taken with this issue from the other side."...

More than a dozen anti-illegal immigrant activists, including members of the Colorado Minutemen, Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform and Defend Colorado Now urged the committee to pass every bill.

"If we collectively care about our country's future, we must realize that our country was founded on the rules of law," said Fred Elbel, a leader of a proposed November ballot measure that would deny most government services to illegal immigrants. He said the bills would help in "strengthening protections against the illegal alien invasion of our country."...

During an exchange with a day labor center director, Schultheis was asked whether he assumes that someone who doesn't speak English is here illegally.

"If you don't speak any English, you don't have a basic understanding of English, therefore you're not legal," Schultheis said....

10 bills under consideration

The House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee considered 10 bills addressing illegal immigration. Here's a summary:

• HB 1101: Requires employers seeking a public contract to prove they do not employ illegal immigrants; allows the state to revoke the professional licenses of employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants; requires police to check the immigration status of suspects.

Defeated 11-0*

• HB 1062: Requires school districts to collect and report citizenship information about students; says no legal action would be taken against students and families of illegal immigrants.

Defeated, 6-5

• HB 1082: Allows civil lawsuits against employers for acts committed by illegal immigrant employees, on or off the job.

Defeated, 6-5

• HB 1133: Prohibits public contracts with companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants; prohibits an illegal immigrant from gaining resident status to get in-state college tuition.

Defeated, 6-5

• HB 1134: Train and authorize local and state law enforcement to identify, process and possibly detain suspected illegal immigrants encountered during patrols.

Defeated, 6-5

• HB 1286: Requires food establishments to verify the immigration status of employees through a federal pilot program; prohibits a food establishment from getting a health department license if it hasn't applied for the program.

Defeated 5-5 (Rep. Paul Weissmann, D-Louisville, excused)

• HB 1290: Requires employers to learn how to verify the work eligibility of current and future employees and fire those found not to be eligible.

Defeated, 6-5

• HB 1306: Requires the state auditor or a contractor to study the implementation of the Secure and Verifiable Identity Document Act.

Passed, 11-0

• HB 1131: Prohibits a bail bonding agent from posting bail for a defendant known to be in the U.S. illegally.

Passed, 11-0

• HB 1343: Prohibits public contracts with firms that knowingly employ illegal immigrants; requires contractors to certify that its workers are legal residents. Also sets up a tip line to field reports of suspected violations.

Postponed

Read the complete article.