AN ORDINANCE
TO AMEND CHAPTER 16, ARTICLE 1 OF THE TOWN OF SUMMERVILLE CODE OF ORDINANCES BY ADDING SECTION 16-14 ENTITLED HIRING OF ILLEGAL ALIENS TO PROHIBIT THE HIRING OF UNAUTHORIZED ALIENS, PROVIDE DEFINITIONS, JUDICIAL PROCESS, REPEAL CONFLICTING REVISIONS PROCESS AND EFFECTIVE DATE
Whereas, Federal law requires that certain conditions be met before an alien may be authorized to be lawfully present in the United States. Those conditions are found principally at United States Code Title 8, Section 1101 et. Seq., and;
Whereas, United States Code Title 8, Section 1324a prohibits the knowing employment of unauthorized aliens; and United States Code Title 8, Section 1324a(h)(2) permits state and local governments to suspend the business licenses of those who employ unauthorized aliens, and;
Whereas, the presence of illegal aliens places a fiscal burden on the Town, increasing the demand for, and cost of, public benefits and services, and;
Whereas, crimes committed by illegal aliens in the Town harm the health, safety and welfare of U.S. citizens and aliens lawfully present in the United States, and;
Whereas, the employment of unauthorized aliens in the Town displaces authorized United States workers and adversely affects their wages, and;
Whereas, in 1996 Congress amended the Immigration and Nationality Act to require the federal government to verify the immigration status of any alien upon the request of a state, county, or municipality, for any purpose authorized by law. United States Code Title 8, Section 1373(c). The federal government has established several systems to accomplish this obligation, including the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program and the Law Enforcement Support Center (LESC) and;
Whereas, this ordinance is in harmony with the congressional objectives of prohibiting the knowing employment of unauthorized aliens, and;
Whereas, the Secretary of the U. S. Department of Homeland Security has specifically praised and encouraged those states and localities that require employers to participate in the E-Verify Program and;
Whereas, the Town of Summerville shall not construe this ordinance to prohibit the rendering of emergency medical care, emergency assistance, or legal assistance to any person.
BE IT ORDAINED, by the Mayor and Council members of the Town of Summerville, in Council assembled, that the Code of Ordinances of the Town of Summerville be amended by adding Section 16-14 as follows:
Sec. 16-14. Illegal Aliens.
A. It is the policy of the Town to discourage business entities from knowingly recruiting, hiring for employment, or continuing to employ a person who is an unauthorized alien to perform work within the town.
B. Definitions: For the purposes of this ordinance, the following terms and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to them herein, and shall be construed so as to be consistent with state and federal law, including federal immigration law.
1. Business Entity means any person, group of persons, partnership or corporation that engages in any activity, enterprise, profession or occupation for financial gain, benefit, or livelihood, and shall include all such activities, enterprises, professions, or occupations, whether performed in one or more establishments by one or more corporate or other organizational units, including departments or establishments operated through leasing arrangements, whether for profit or not for profit. The term business entity shall include but not be limited to contractors, subcontractors, self-employed individuals, partnerships, and corporations. The term business entity shall include both business entities that are required to obtain a license or permit to conduct business in the Town of Summerville and businesses that are not required to obtain a license or permit to conduct business in the Town of Summerville.
2. Work means any job, task, employment, labor, personal services, or any other activity for which compensation is provided, expected or due, including but not limited to all activities conducted by business entities.
3. E-Verify Program means the electronic verification of employment authorization program of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act of 1996, P.L. 104-208, United States Code Title 8, Section 1324a, and operated by the United States Department of Homeland Security (or successor program established by the federal government).
4. Business License means any license, permit, occupation tax registration, business registration, or registration certification issued to a business entity by the Town of Summerville.
5. Town means the Town of Summerville.
6. “Contractor” means a person, licensee, subcontractor or business entity that enters into an agreement to perform any service or work or to provide a certain product in exchange for valuable consideration. This definition shall include but not be limited to a subcontractor, contract employee, or a recruiting or staffing entity.
7. “Director” means the Director of the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, or his designee.
8. “Unauthorized alien” shall have the same meaning as 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1324a(h)(3) and means with respect to the employment of an alien at a particular time that the alien is not at that time either:
(a) An alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence; or
(b) Authorized to be so employed by the United States Immigration and Nationality Act or by the United States Attorney General.
The Town shall not conclude that a person is an unauthorized alien unless and until an authorized representative of the Town has verified with the Director of the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, following an investigation conducted by that department under the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act which finds that based on information obtained from the federal government, pursuant to United States Code Title 8, Subsection 1373(c), the person’s citizenship or immigration status is unauthorized.
9. “Employment Eligibility Verification” means the verification by an authorized representative of the Town of Summerville that a person providing work or services on behalf of a business entity licensed by the town is lawfully present in the United States in an immigration status for which such work has been authorized. Verification is made by obtaining and adopting the findings of an enforcement action conducted by the Director of the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation pursuant to the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act.
C. This section shall not apply to the hiring of an independent contractor by a business entity, or to the intermittent hiring of casual labor for domestic tasks customarily performed by the residents of a dwelling. Such independent contractors or laborers are not employees within the meaning of this section. This section shall be interpreted to be fully consistent with United States Code Title 8, Section 1324a, and with all other applicable provisions of federal law and with Sec. 41-8-10 et Al. Code of Laws of South Carolina.
D. It is unlawful for any business entity to recruit, hire for employment, or continue to employ, or to permit, dispatch, or instruct any person who is an unauthorized alien to perform work in whole or part within the Town. Every business or person that applies for a business license to engage in any type of work in the Town shall sign an affidavit, on a form designated by the Town or prescribed by the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act, attesting under penalty of perjury that the business and, or person, does not knowingly utilize the services of, engage or hire any person who is an unauthorized alien; and further, the licensee shall affirm and attest that as a condition of issuance for a business license the applicant accepts and agrees to the provisions of this section and shall fully cooperate with the enforcement of this section as provided herein. Upon request, the Town will provide business license applicants or licensees with information pertaining to the requirements of the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act and federal law regarding the unlawful employment of unauthorized aliens and unfair immigration related employment practices.
E. Enforcement – 1. The Town of Summerville Business License Department shall enforce the requirements of this section in cooperation with and in deference to the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act. For purposes of this section, an enforcement action is an action undertaken by the Town to ascertain the lawful employment of any person within the Town as may be determined by the Director of the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation pursuant to an investigation under the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act.
2. An enforcement action shall be initiated by means of:
(a) A written signed complaint filed with the Town Business License Department submitted by any town official, business entity, or individual, whether or not a resident of the town; or
(b) As part of an audit; or
(c) As a result of notice of an investigation and/or findings from the Director of the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation pursuant to the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act.
3. A complaint filed with the Town Business License Department shall include specific allegations describing the alleged violation including, but not limited to, the date and location where an alleged violation occurred. For purposes of this section, “the alleged violator” means a licensee and “the actions constituting a violation” include allegations which create in the mind of a reasonable person that the licensee engages in unlawful business practices in violation of this section, federal law and/or South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act.
4. A complaint which alleges a violation solely or primarily on the basis of national origin, ethnicity, religion, or race shall be deemed invalid and shall not be enforced nor shall same constitute grounds to conduct an audit.
5. Upon receipt of a written complaint alleging that a licensee has failed, neglected or refused to comply with this ordinance, federal law, or the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act, or upon receipt of specific information which would lead a reasonable person to conclude that there exists cause to investigate the compliance of a licensee, the business license division will cause an investigation to commence by forwarding the complaint, audit results, or information to the Director of the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation for further investigation pursuant to the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act.
6. If the Director’s investigation of a complaint or the results of an audit by the Director show that the licensee:
(a) Complied with 8 U.S.C. 1324a; or
(b) Has otherwise complied with the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act; then
Further enforcement action by the Town shall be immediately concluded and any complainant and licensee notified thereof in writing.
7. If an investigation of a complaint or the results of an audit conducted by the Director of the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, pursuant to the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act, show that the licensee is in violation of the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act the Town shall, exclusive of monetary penalty, subscribe the same license suspension or revocation penalty upon the licensee as is imposed upon the licensee by the Director under Section 41-8-50 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, and such suspension or revocation shall run concurrently with the penalty imposed upon the licensee by the Director and shall not be reinstated until the licensee has complied with the requirements of the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act to the satisfaction of the Director, of which such compliance shall be verified by the Town Business License Department before reinstatement will be authorized. Any license reinstatement by the Town shall be subject to the same probationary period(s) and requirements as set forth by the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act. No penalty shall be imposed by the Town until the Town has received notice from the Director that a penalty has been prescribed and is currently in effect against the licensee by the state.
8. Appeals: An appeal from a finding by the Director of the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation shall stay the enforcement or assessment of penalties by the Town until such time as the appeal is concluded. The results of any appeal of the Director’s findings shall be conclusive on the Town and no action to impose a penalty shall be taken by the Town until the Town has received notice from the Director that the results of the finding have been affirmed and a penalty has been prescribed and is currently in effect against the licensee by the state.
9. Penalties: The exclusive remedies for violation of this section are as provided herein.
(a) In addition to the monetary penalties set forth in Section 8-50, Code of Ordinances of the Town of Summerville, the penalty for violation of this section shall consist of suspension or revocation of the business license of any business entity which has been found to be in violation of the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act.
(b) The suspension of a town business license shall be the same license suspension or revocation penalty upon the licensee as is imposed upon the licensee by the Director under Section 41-8-50 et. Seq. of the South Carolina Code of Laws, and such suspension or revocation shall run concurrently with the penalty imposed upon the licensee by the Director. However, no penalty shall be imposed by the Town until the town has received notice from the Director that a penalty has been prescribed and is currently in effect against the licensee by the state.
(c) Any license reinstatement by the Town shall be subject to the same probationary period(s) and requirements as set forth by the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act.
10. The Town shall enroll and participate in the E-Verify Program.
11. As a condition for any award of any town contract or grant to a business entity, the business entity shall provide documentation confirming its enrollment and participation in the Employment Eligibility Verification Program as provided by the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act.
F. Prohibition of Discrimination
1. The Federal Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1954, as amended, the South Carolina Human Affairs Law, as amended, the South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act., as amended, among other federal and state laws and regulations prohibit employment discrimination. Employers must treat all employees the same when completing employment eligibility verification documents. Employers may not set different employment eligibility verification standards or require different documents to be presented by different groups of employees.
2. An allegation of discrimination may be filed by an individual who believes he or she is the victim of employment discrimination by contacting the appropriate state and federal agencies.
G. Applicability and effective date – This ordinance shall become effective upon second and final reading.
H. Severability – If any part of this ordinance is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional, illegal, or invalid for any reason, it shall be construed to have been the legislative intent of the Summerville Town Council to pass this ordinance without such unconstitutional, illegal or invalid provision, and the remainder of this ordinance shall be deemed and held to be constitutional, lawful and valid as if such portion had not been included. If this ordinance or any provision thereof is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be inapplicable to any person, group of persons, property, kind of property, circumstances or set of circumstances, such holding shall not affect the applicability thereof to any other persons, property or circumstances.
Approved and adopted this day of , 2010.
___________________________
Berlin G. Myers, Mayor
ATTEST:
__________________________
Lisa L. Wallace, Clerk/Treasurer
First Reading:__________________
Second Reading:_______________
Ratified:______________________
LETTER FROM A RETIRED BORDER PATROL AGENT: This letter sent to Tennessee Senator Bill Frist from a retired border patrol agent, and it has more common sense than all the bull being spewed from the Senate, with the exception of a few sensible representatives.
Dear Senator Frist: There is a huge amount of propaganda and myths circulating about illegal aliens, particularly illegal Mexican, Salvadorian, Guatemalan and Honduran aliens. #1. Illegal aliens generally do NOT want US citizenship. Americans are very vain thinking that everybody in the world wants to be a US citizen. Mexicans, and other nationalities want to remain citizens of their home countries while obtaining the benefits offered by the United States such as employment, medical care, instate tuition, government subsidized housing and free education for their offspring. Their main attraction is employment and their loyalty usually remains at home. They want benefits earned and subsidized by middle class Americans. What illegal aliens want are benefits of American residence without paying the price.
#2. There are no jobs that Americans won't do. Illegal aliens are doing jobs that Americans can't take and still support their families. Illegal aliens take low wage jobs, live dozens in a single residence home, share expenses and send money to their home country. There are no jobs that Americans won't do for a decent wage.
#3. Every person who illegally entered this nation left a home. They are NOT homeless and they are NOT Americans. Some left jobs in their home countries. They come to send money to their real home as evidenced by the more than 20 billion dollars sent out of the country each year by illegal aliens. These illegal aliens knowingly and willfully entered this nation in violation of the law and therefore assumed the risk of detection and deportation. Those who brought their alien children assumed the responsibility and risk on behalf of their children.
#4. Illegal aliens are NOT critical to the economy. Illegal aliens constitute less than 5% of the workforce. However, they reduce wages and benefits for lawful US residents.
#5. This is NOT an immigrant nation. There are 280 million native born Americans. While it is true that this nation was settled and founded by immigrants (legal immigrants), it is also true that there is not a nation on this planet that was not settled by immigrants at one time or another.
#6. The United States is welcoming to legal immigrants. Illegal aliens are not immigrants by definition. The US accepts more lawful immigrants every year than the rest of the world combined.
#7. There is no such thing as the "Hispanic vote." Hispanics are white, brown, black and every shade in between. Hispanics are Republicans, Democrats, Anarchists, Communists, Marxists and Independents. The so-called "Hispanic vote" is a myth. Pandering to illegal aliens to get the Hispanic vote is a dead end.
#8. Mexico is NOT a friend of the United States . Since 1848 Mexicans
http://ozarkssentinel.com/missouri-ahead-of-the-game-in-dealing-with-illegal-immigrants-p1034.htm
Report from Cochise County, Arizona
By T.J. Woodard
Being an avid AT reader, and living on the Arizona border in Cochise
County, I thought I would provide those who wish to be informed some
insight into the truth about the state of the U.S.-Mexican border -- at
least in this part of the state.
I moved to Cochise County after retiring from the Army in 2008 to take a
position working at Fort Huachuca (pronounced "wa-choo-ka," an Apache word
meaning "place of thunder" and referring to the time after the summer
monsoon season). Having lived here in 1991 for eight months while
attending an Army school, I soon realized that the place had changed
considerably in the eighteen years of my absence.
The first thing I noticed was how many border patrol vehicles were on the
roads in the city of Sierra Vista. The Border Patrol has a large station
near here in the city of Naco. There are far more Border Patrol vehicles
in the area than SV police cars. They come in many forms -- trucks for
off-road work, trailers carrying all-terrain vehicles, pickups with
capacity for carrying large numbers of people once apprehended, and even a
staff car for the area chaplain. The Border Patrol presence has grown
substantially, so one would think the border area was nice and safe.
Not so. Within a short time after arriving in southern Arizona while on my
way to work, I noticed eight illegal immigrants on the side of the road.
Fortunately, they were in the custody of capable and attentive Border
Patrol agents. Unfortunately, they were less than a hundred feet from my
daughter's bus stop. She gets personal service to school now, as the
school district refuses to enter the gated community in which we live.
There is a nice wash, a valley into which the rainwater drains during the
monsoons, which provides a nice route for the illegals to follow into the
city, and therefore into their locations for pickup by the vehicles that
will get them farther north.
Later, after I attended a movie on a Friday night, a car passed by me in
the next lane going nearly a hundred miles an hour. It took a few seconds
before I saw the police behind -- way behind -- with lights and sirens,
trying to catch up. Surprise, surprise -- the next morning's paper
discussed a Mexican drug runner being caught by County Sheriff's Deputies.
On several occasions, the Border Patrol's helicopter has flown low and
slow over the neighborhood, rattling windows and shining its spotlight in
our backyard. When this happens, I strap on my pistol, grab a flashlight,
and look and listen. Fortunately, I haven't found anybody within a hundred
yards of the house -- yet.
Working on a U.S. Army fort, one would think we were fairly secure from
these threats. Just not true. Reading the Fort Huachuca newspaper one
morning, I noticed an interesting part of the "community" page. It asked
for volunteers to assist in cleaning up "dumps" on posts where the
illegals would drop their supplies used to cross the border and change
clothing. They do this in order to blend in and not look like they just
spent a day or two crossing the border in the dust and heat of southern
Arizona. The most frightening part of this is that Fort Huachuca is the
U.S. Army Intelligence Center, where the Army trains its intelligence
soldiers -- analysts, interrogators, radio intercept specialists, and
counterintelligence agents -- for operations overseas. If we can't secure
the fort we use to train our intelligence soldiers, how can we secure
anything else?
Much has been discussed about the new law in Arizona making it unlawful to
be in Arizona in violation of federal immigration statutes. However, much
less has been discussed about the shooting of rancher Robert Krentz.
Robert was killed on his ranch on March 28, 2010. His ranch, on which the
family began grazing cattle in 1907 (Arizona became a state in 1912), is a
large, 35,000-acre area in remote Cochise County. It is so remote that the
original Cochise, an Apache leader, used the mountainous terrain near it
to hide from the U.S. Cavalry in the early 1870s. But much less is being
said about the eight illegal immigrants and their load of 280 pounds of
marijuana seized the day before Krentz was killed.
So Arizona should be boycotted because its people would like to keep it
safe? Somebody please explain the logic of that for me. It doesn't take a
bullet from a drug runner's gun to make those of us down here near the
border understand that this is drug-related violence -- and Rob's death
proves it.
It also doesn't take much more reading to see that the drug dealers are a
huge problem with far-reaching capabilities. On April 27, 2010, a large
drug bust took place here in Cochise County. Among those arrested was
Angelica Marie Borquez, the secretary for the Drug Enforcement Division of
the Cochise County Attorney office. Allegedly, Ms. Borquez was tipping off
the drug runners to counter drug operations conducted by the county. She
was so bold that she used the phone in the County Attorney's office to
make some of her calls.
This isn't a blatant effort by drug cartels to obtain control here in
America?
Many have already called Arizona residents racists. They are concerned
that police will profile Hispanics and disproportionally harass them. But
we understand something others in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco don't
seem to remember -- we border Mexico. The fact is that most illegal
immigrants coming across the border here are, well, Mexicans. Those of us
down here facing the danger every day really don't care what some
Hollywood actor has to say about the issue. Nor do we care about what the
Colombian government or the Latino music community thinks of it. We just
want to stay safe.
This is not about race; it's about facts. Use a few of these facts the
next time somebody wants to engage you in discussion about the border.
Tell him you learned these things from somebody who can see Mexico from
his front porch.
T.J. Woodard is a retired Army officer who lives less than ten miles from
the Mexican border. He carries a pistol even in his own house in order to
be prepared to defend his family whenever necessary.