Bill would force state contractors to verify workers
Republicans press Reilly on illegal immigration
Employers with state contracts would be required to make sure their workers have valid Social Security numbers by checking a federal online database under a bill proposed yesterday by Senate Republicans to combat illegal immigration.
Responding to a Globe story that showed that contractors on publicly funded projects hired workers with fake Social Security numbers, Senate minority whip Bruce E. Tarr and Senator Scott P. Brown of Wrentham said their bill would bar such companies from doing business with the state.
``It's absolutely absurd that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts would be a partner in the illegal act of employing someone who has no authority to be in this country," said Tarr. ``There's very strong sentiment in Massachusetts that we shouldn't be an accomplice to a criminal act."
Currently, federal law requires all employers to examine the documents, such as green cards or Social Security cards, that establish an employee's identity and eligibility to work in the United States. But the law only requires that the documents ``appear to be genuine" and stresses that employers are not expected to be ``document experts."
Those loose standards, say construction industry specialists, enabled contractors to use undocumented workers on projects that received millions of dollars from the state, including construction of dormitories at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth and the building of the new Middlesex County Jail. Globe reporters who checked the Social Security numbers of the workers on the public projects found that some were obviously fraudulent, including one used by a laborer that was 666-66-6666 and others that belonged to dead people.
The bill that Republicans plan to unveil today at the State House would also require Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly to enter into an agreement with the US attorney general to help investigate possible violations of federal immigration law and enforce it.
Reilly said Monday that it was not his responsibility to crack down on Massachusetts employers that hire undocumented immigrants, and that he would continue his policy of taking no action against the companies.
In addition, the legislation would impose a $5,000 fine or incarceration for up to five years for workers who use false identification documents to get state-funded jobs.
The federal government already imposes penalties on employers who knowingly hire undocumented immigrants but does not penalize the employees, Tarr said.
Prospects for the bill, which is expected to be filed by tomorrow, are difficult to gauge. Although there are only six Republicans in the Senate, compared with 34 Democrats, Tarr said the issue of illegal immigration has stoked passions on both sides of the aisle, and he hoped it would gain passage before the legislative session ends Aug. 1.
The Senate has already passed, as part of its budget, a Republican measure that would crack down on illegal immigration by requiring Reilly's office to set up a hot line to receive complaints about companies that hire undocumented immigrants and to report the firms to federal authorities. The Senate and House are in negotiations over that proposal.
But the measure being unveiled today goes considerably further and targets undocumented workers on state-funded jobs.
``We want to act right away, because we don't want another minute to go by when we're part of this activity, with regard to hiring employees that are illegal," said Tarr, of Gloucester.
The proposal drew praise from John M. Pourbaix, executive director of Construction Industries of Massachusetts, the industry's trade and lobbying group. He said his members would accept a requirement that they check Social Security numbers as long as the process is simple.
``It would be an additional step, and it would be an additional cost, but if it was easy to use and they could get a quick response, I think the contractors would absolutely comply with that," Pourbaix said, although he emphasized that he has not yet spoken with his members. ``If it's burdensome, that would be problematic."
The bill would require employers with state contracts to check Social Security numbers on databases of valid numbers run by the Department of Homeland Security or the Social Security Administration or private databases, Tarr said.
Homeland Security has already launched an initiative, known as the Basic Pilot Program, that allows employers to verify a worker's status using online databases. But that program is being used by only a small number of companies nationwide. Dunkin' Donuts has begun participating and has put up signs in shops alerting customers that employees have been screened.
No state in the country mandates that employers substantiate that their workers are legal, according to the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C. Georgia recently passed a measure that would do so by July 1, 2007.
David R. Guarino, a spokesman for Reilly, said his boss will look at the bill when it is filed but feels that ``the flow of illegal immigrants into our country and the failure of our federal government to enforce our immigration laws is a national problem that requires a national solution."
``If there's a meaningful role for the state to play, of course, we'll assist," Guarino said.
Reilly, a Democratic aspirant for governor, has faced intense criticism in some circles for holding to a position he established in 2001, when he said he would aggressively fight for the rights and wages of immigrant workers, legal or not, and promised not to report them to federal authorities. He also said he would enforce wage and labor laws against companies, but not act against them for employing undocumented immigrants. Enforcing regulations that require companies to pay workers the prevailing wage, he said, was his most effective tool for combating the hiring of undocumented immigrants.
Governor Mitt Romney has also not seen the bill introduced by fellow Republicans but supported the idea in principle, said Eric Fehrnstrom, his spokesman.
Saltzman can be reached at jsaltzman@globe.com; Abraham at abraham@globe.com. 