The Hattiesburg American Editorial, 4/21/8
Gov. Haley Barbour knew the immigration reform bill the Mississippi Legislature passed earlier this year was a bad bill. It was rushed through both chambers, spurred more by xenophobia, prejudice against Hispanics and job worries than anything else.
The Republican governor should have vetoed the bill and sent it back to the Legislature for more work. Instead, he caved and signed it into law.
As it presently stands, larger companies will be required, starting in July, to check the eligibility status of potential new hires by running their names through an electronic verification system being developed by the federal government. Problem is, though, eVerify is still in its pilot stages, and it has kinks. Initial testing has shown it to not be completely accurate.
Yet, employers would be taking a big chance to not comply with an erroneous report. The bill provides serious financial penalties for companies that hire illegals, including the loss of any public business.
