Senate wants hot line on undocumented hiring

Employers who hire undocumented immigrants could find themselves the target of a new hot line if state senators get their way.

Late yesterday, the Senate approved a budget amendment requiring the attorney general to set up a hot line to let people report employers they suspect of hiring illegal immigrants. The attorney general would be required to forward those reports to federal investigators.

Senator Richard R. Tisei, Republican of Wakefield, proposed the amendment.

He said that some employers take advantage of illegal immigrants, paying them poor wages and putting them in dangerous working conditions. Employers who follow the law also are harmed because employers who break the law get an unfair advantage, he said.

``I do think it's important that the state send a clear signal that we're not going to turn a blind eye to employers who don't play by the rules," Tisei said.

Advocates for immigrants say that people can already report employers to federal immigration officials. They accused state lawmakers of political showboating.

``It's taking [action in] advance of the federal debate and doing things that are unnecessary," said Ali Noorani, executive president of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition.

The Senate approved a second amendment that would require that the immigration status of suspects be revealed when they are arraigned, instead of waiting until a conviction.