The impact would be significant, Carr said, and would likely cause economic slowdown and would affect industries from agriculture to construction to hotels and restaurants. Griffin of the S.C. Farm Bureau echoed this sentiment and said lawmakers must consider this before passing strict laws.

“We have a choice—we can import our food or we can import our workers,” Griffin said. “It sounds simplistic, but there’s a lot of truth there. I’m not for amnesty, but I believe in making folks pay a fine and then allowing them to remain working.” 

A state’s duty
No entity except the federal government has the power to change the naturalization process and so until a time when that may or may not happen, some state legislators believe it is the state’s duty to ensure businesses within its borders are operating legally. They support immigration legislation, even if that means some businesses may be short on workers.

“I think it is far more important that we have the rule of law to apply equally to all persons in the state that we shouldn’t allow businesses—or anyone—to enhance profits at the expense of breaking the law,” said Sen. Jim Ritchie, R-Spartanburg.

“Throughout this debate, it has been unanimous among Democrats and Republicans alike that we support legal immigration and a clear path to achieve that goal. Immigration is an important part of who we are as a nation and it enhances our communities. What we’re focused on is illegal immigration.”

Last session Ritchie chaired a committee that wrote a bill that would regulate immigration within the state on several levels.

The bill passed the Senate, but the House didn’t act.

Ritchie said the bill, “enjoyed pretty broad bipartisan support coming out of Senate,” and that he plans to reconvene the committee next session and do more research before reintroducing the bill. 

Law would punish businesses
As it currently stands, the bill would prevent the state from doing business with any company or contractor that cannot prove the legal status if its workers. The law would punish any person who carried falsified documents and would also hold accountable the person or people who created the false documents.

In addition, the bill would prevent employers from being able to deduct taxes for wages paid to illegal workers and it would also require that any immigrant must provide identification and verify legal status before receiving state benefits, with the exception of public education. Lastly, the bill would allow the State Law Enforcement Division to enter into an agreement to enforce federal immigration laws within the state and would enhance the penalties for anyone transporting illegal aliens into the state.

“The state cannot act on making that clear path to legal immigration an option, or on securing the nation’s borders. But when it comes to state benefits and state contracts, that’s were we have the power and the duty to act,” Ritchie said.
“We want to ensure taxpayer dollars are being used for services from lawful businesses. We want to make sure people who break the law don’t get a competitive advantage over those who follow the law.”

Business alliance forms
The S.C. Chamber of Commerce recently formed an alliance made up of organizations representing industries that rely on migrant labor, including Carolinas Association of General Contractors, the Home Builders Association of S.C., the Hospitality Association of S.C., the Palmetto Agribusiness Council, the S.C. Farm Bureau Federation, the S.C. Poultry Federation and the S. C. Nursery and Landscape Association.

The purpose of the alliance is to work with state legislators to ensure any bill passed would provide businesses across the state with a reliable program to verify the citizenship or legal work status or a potential employee.

“Because businesses should not be the primary enforcers of immigration laws, we are asking for a recognized, reliable verification method, which will allow businesses to determine citizenship or legal work status in a timely manner and at a reasonable cost,” said Marcia Purday of the S.C. Chamber of Commerce.

“Getting immigration reform right for business means getting it right for all South Carolinians. We have to make sure that immigration reform helps push South Carolina forward in growing individual wealth for all citizens.”

Still, Purday admits there are dangers of state-by-state legislation. However, statewide legislation is still much preferred over myriad local mandates, in her opinion.

“A county or municipal piecemeal approach would move South Carolina backward in growing individual wealth by destroying gains in the economy,” Purday said. “Counties and municipalities may conflict with federal laws and state laws, causing confusion and placing an unreasonable liability and financial burden on business owners.”

It may some time before decisions are made regarding local and state immigrant legislation, and it will certainly be longer—perhaps years—before an acceptable answer to the heated debate over immigration is reached on the federal level. Still, businesses must remember the federal laws that are in place and are being enforced.

“Now is definitely a very good time for South Carolina employers to make sure they are compliant with federal regulations, including employment verification,” immigration attorney Newell said.

“Regardless of what the decisions are on the local and state ordinances, the federal government—which we know has the legal right to enforce these laws—has been increasing their enforcement activity.”