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Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Oconto, on Monday introduced an E-Verify plan for the state.
“By requiring E-Verify, Wisconsin will ensure it does not participate in abusive labor practices that take advantage of illegal aliens, depress wages for union and non-union labor, and attract human trafficking,” Wimberger said in a statement. “Gov. Evers expressed concern recently that he might be accused of violating federal immigration law. This bill should ease his concerns, since employees and contractors will need to be pre-screened to be lawfully employed.”
Wimberger’s plan would require anyone hired for a state job, or anyone who lands a state contract worth more than $50,000 to use the federal E-Verify program to ensure workers are legally eligible for their positions.
E-Verify makes sure that people are legally allowed to work in the United States. That means either US citizens, or people who are in the country legally.
Wimberger said Wisconsin needs to act because Congress hasn’t.
“Congress failed to address a gap in our immigration law by making E-Verify use optional, rather than mandatory,” Wimberger explained. “Because of this, bad actors can plausibly deny their exploitation of illegally-hired cheap immigrant labor, since the law does not compel them to do anything beyond the bare minimum to confirm the employment status of their workers.”
Gov. Evers has said he wants to protect migrant workers in Wisconsin, specifically from the Trump Administration’s crackdown on illegal immigrants. Though the governor hasn’t said just what he plans to, or would like to do.
Wimberger said Wisconsin would not be the first state with its own E-Verify program. He said Minnesota, Indiana, and Pennsylvania have them as well.
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