June 26, 2008 1:11 PM
Below is the Long Island immigrant Alliance statement made on behalf of over 15 groups that participated in a joint press conference with Legislator Jon Cooper:
"We applaud today's announcement by Legislator Jon Cooper that he will withdraw his E-Verify bill, legislation that would have a devastating impact on local workers and families. We are looking forward to continuing our work with Mr. Cooper to roll back divisive measures such as IR 1479, and to fight all attempts to pit citizens against new-comers. The Long Island Immigrant Alliance is speaking today on behalf of immigrant organizations, labor unions, businesses, religious groups and other community stakeholders who stand here today, united in our opposition to E-Verify and to other proposals advanced by county legislators, such as the SSN Verification System, that are anti-worker and anti-business.
E-Verify is a deeply flawed federal employment authorization system that undermines workers rights, complicates business compliance with the myriad of laws that regulate them, and renders the worker vulnerable to racial profiling and employment discrimination.
From a worker's perspective, getting a negative report from E-Verify is extremely detrimental. The arduous process of correcting an inaccurate E-Verify result is a difficult and painful procedure that unnecessarily and unfairly burdens workers seeking gainful employment. This tactic is used to undermine union organizing drives and makes the job of organized labor more difficult.
From a business perspective, E-Verify not only increases administrative costs through its implementation, but it also increases the likelihood of costly lawsuits which are not what businesses need to be focusing on in these difficult economic times. It is certainly not an appropriate response to the economic downturn that we are facing on Long Island.
E-Verify and other divisive anti-immigrant proposals take us away from our moral responsibility and commitment to forming a stronger, more united community. Politicians seize on E-Verify for its politically expedient value: it lulls the citizenry into thinking that rules and regulations targeting the most vulnerable populations on Long Island are the ticket to greater prosperity. They are not. Immigrants are not to blame for the problems on Long Island.
The American economy's vitality and resilience is largely the result of the energy that immigrants from all walks of life contribute to solving the problems we face. Long Island does not need ill-conceived rules and regulations that exacerbate tension and hatred. Long Island needs an economy that lifts all boats, the native-born as well as the foreign-born, the new Americans as well as the native Americans, the immigrant as well as the citizen. The solution to our economic woes today rests in our ability to level the playing field, insure worker protections, decent wages and economic opportunities for all so that we can all achieve the American dream."
You can also read Newsday's coverage of it here.