Activists who fight illegal immigration oppose a new California law that bans cities from requiring businesses to use E-Verify, an online program that enlists federal databases to check the immigration status of workers. Several California cities had required businesses to enroll in the program to ensure that they weren’t employing undocumented workers, but these cites no longer are allowed to force businesses to use it, reports the
Los Angeles Times.
"It's very disappointing when you spend all the time, you go to your elected representatives and you get them to do something, and then at the higher level they squash you," said Ted Wegener, founder of the California-based Conservative Activists, which pushed for E-Verify ordinances throughout Southern California.
Cities such as Norco, Temecula, Murrieta, and Lake Elsinore that adopted this requirement are preparing to comply with the new state law, the Times reports.
The state ban received support from the California Chamber of Commerce and the California Farm Bureau Federation, which questioned the accuracy of the databases the federal system used.
For the Conservative Activists’ Wegener, the battle now shifts to the federal level, where Congress is considering a measure proposed by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, that would make a system such as E-Verify mandatory for all employers.
Wegener said he's heard some talk of challenging the state law in court, he doubts that many cities will do so.
"Right now, most of the cities are pretty strapped for money," he told the Times. "So taking on an additional lawsuit? I don't think most of the cities will."
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