"Illegal immigration is a serious problem in our country and state. Missourians have been waiting on Washington to take action on illegal immigration for years. As Washington has sat idle, problems and frustrations with illegal immigration have only increased," Gov. Blunt said. "To better protect Missouri families, I will work to enact a new law to specifically forbid the issuance of driver licenses to illegal immigrants and to make it a crime to knowingly help any illegal immigrant to fraudulently obtain a driver license."
Gov. Blunt stated he is adamantly opposed to the action of New York's governor who had sponsored a plan to give driver licenses to illegal immigrants.
Gov. Blunt has been proactive in the fight against illegal immigration in Missouri. He directed state law enforcement agencies to verify the immigration status of every criminal presented for incarceration. The governor's administration is also working with ICE for authority under Section 287g of the Immigration and Nationality Act that would deputize state law enforcement officers to enforce federal laws and protect Missourians against illegal immigration. The agreement will allow select troopers, Capitol Police, and water patrol officers to help enforce immigration laws. Gov. Blunt sent a letter earlier this month asking Missouri's Congressional Delegation to support and help expedite his request.
Gov. Blunt has offered his support to local law enforcement and prosecutors in their efforts in the fight against illegal immigration and reminds prosecutors that state law declares employers of illegal immigrants ineligible for state tax credits, tax abatements, or loans. Receipt of tax credits by employers of illegal immigrants is a class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in prison.
In addition he took significant steps to shield taxpayers' money from supporting building projects that employ illegal workers including:
- Conducting random on-site inspections of all projects accompanied by the tax credit recipient to monitor and retrieve documentation regarding the legal status of all workers on the job. The inspections will include direct employees of the tax credit recipient, contracted or subcontracted agents and both general contractors and their subcontractors.
- Performing a Compliance By Written Demand action for all tax credit recipients that requires all workers' proof of legal status including contractors and subcontractors to be submitted within 30 days of the date of the receipt of the written request.
Earlier this year Gov. Blunt ousted Sam's Janitorial Services, a
now former state contractor whose 60-person workforce included 22 illegal workers. A law enforcement action initiated by the governor's administration in coordination with ICE resulted in the arrest of 22 suspected illegal immigrants. Of the 22 arrested, seven were immediately deported, 11 were charged and the status of the remaining four is pending the conclusion of an investigation.
Immediately following this action, Gov. Blunt canceled the state's contract with Sam's Janitorial Services and barred them from doing further business with the state. He also ordered state agencies to enact a no tolerance policy through tough new contract protections.
Gov. Blunt also authored the state's first directive to audit all state contractors to ensure that the contract employees are legally eligible to work in the U.S. and to terminate contracts if it is determined a contractor employs illegal immigrants. He added tough provisions in state contracts to allow the state to immediately cancel contracts if it determines the contractor knowingly has employees not eligible to work in the U.S. and to require contractors to certify that all their employees meet state and federal employment eligibility requirements.
