SCBIZ Daily Staff

COLUMBIA -- Gov. Mark Sanford urged citizens to make their voices heard about immigration reform by contacting state lawmakers who have been working on different versions of a state bill this legislative session.

Earlier this week, the state Senate gave preliminary approval of an immigration reform plan that would fine businesses up to $10,000 if they knowingly hire illegal workers. Senate leaders called it the toughest immigration bill in the country. Sanford said it's not enforceable.

The Senate bill includes a provision for "SC Verify," which the governor's office says mirrors the same Federal I-9 form verification process.

In a statement Sanford's office said the I-9 process is an ineffective system already employed by the federal government in which fraudulent documents can be used to satisfy the verification requirements. The Senate bill also contains fines that are pre-empted by federal law, and therefore unenforceable, the statement said.

"By stripping out the e-verify requirement last night, the Senate has taken out the single most effective part of this immigration reform bill," Gov. Sanford said. "For anyone who cares about real immigration reform, the time is now for them to e-mail or call their Senator or House member, or better yet show up in person at the Statehouse on Tuesday to tell their elected leaders face-to-face how they feel."

House leaders have said they're committed to including the E-verify requirement in their bill, a component of the legislation that would require private employers to check a valid South Carolina driver's license or use the online E-verify system to validate legal status.

Five states use E-verify in some capacity, including Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Missouri and Georgia.