The ACLU’s R.I. branch had sought to prevent the state from requiring its vendors to use the immigration-status database
PROVIDENCE – An R.I. Superior Court judge has let stand Gov. Donald L. Carcieri’s executive order requiring that state contractors and the state government use E-Verify to verify the immigration status of their workers.
“Requiring vendors doing business with the state to utilize the Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify program helps protect the integrity of our government system and promotes public confidence,” Carcieri said in a statement. “Therefore, I am extremely pleased with this decision.”
The dispute goes back to March 2008, when Carcieri imposed the E-Verify mandate as part of a broader effort to crack down on illegal immigrants: Executive Order 08-01, “Illegal Immigration Control.” (READ MORE) In July, the R.I. Department of Administration sent notices to all vendors registered with the state, giving them 45 days to certify that they and any subcontractors were registered with and using the E-Verify system.
But the legality of that action was challenged in September by the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island, in a lawsuit filed on behalf of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence and two professors at Rhode Island College (RIC). (READ MORE)
The ACLU argued that Carcieri’s order violated both the R.I. Administrative Procedures Act (APA), which requires state agencies to provide advance public notice and an opportunity for public comment before adopting any rules affecting the public, and the state’s Separation of Powers amendment. It also argued that E-Verify itself was too flawed to be put to such widespread use.
“Since its launch, the E-Verify program has been riddled with significant flaws,” the ACLU said. The system “returns inaccurate information regarding the immigration and employment status of new hires – and particularly lawful foreign-born workers – at more than a minimal rate,” the advocacy group continued. “Studies have also shown that the program has a substantial rate of employer abuse, leading to discrimination against potential employees perceived as ‘foreign.’”
In a Sept. 15 ruling, R.I. Superior Court Judge Mark A. Pfeiffer rejected the plaintiffs’ concerns about the reliability of E-Verify as “seemingly … not material” to the legal issues, and found it unlikely that Carcieri had “violated the Separation of Powers Doctrine by encroaching on the powers of the General Assembly to enact laws regarding state contracts.” (READ MORE) But the judge agreed with the ACLU that the Department of Administration “more likely than not” had “illegally circumvented” the APA.
Pfeiffer therefore ruled that the state could proceed with implementation of the executive order – but only after holding public hearings on the new rules and issuing guidelines for their enforcement, as required by state law.
But the state Department of Administration – acting on an “emergency” basis – resumed its implementation of the order in mid-October, weeks before the mandatory public comment period was slated to begin on Dec. 3.
The ACLU responded by seeking both a contempt-of-court citation against the governor – arguing that he had improperly used the emergency provisions of the APA to circumvent the judge’s September ruling, via an end run “Bill Belichick would be proud of” – and a restraining order barring the administration from implementing E-Verify until it had completed the process required by the judge and state law.
Pfeffer rejected those arguments, finding that the state had “in no way, shape or form” violated his earlier order, and allowing the state’s implementation of E-Verify to proceed. (READ MORE)
The ACLU pledged to continue to seek a permanent injunction blocking the state’s use of E-Verify. And in arguments before the court, it suggested that even the state’s final regulations, issued after the public comment period was held, were “tainted” by the administration’s previous attempts to implement E-Verify.
In a 13-page ruling issued Friday, Pfeiffer found that, regardless of the validity of the earlier rules, “the permanent regulation which incorporates the E-Verify requirement was not tainted by the emergency regulation.” He declined to address the validity of state’s emergency regulations, which expired when the final rule took effect on Feb. 18, except to say that “the court has not been persuaded that the predicate for the emergency regulation was erroneous.”
In his conclusion, Pfeiffer wrote: “The Governor has the authority to issue the Executive Order. The Chief Purchasing Officer has the authority to promulgate the E-Verify regulation. There is no persuasive record evidence that the emergency regulation tainted the final regulation. Finally, the Plaintiffs have not met their burden of proof that any contract has been substantially impaired as a result of the Executive Order and/or the final E-Verify regulation.” Therefore, he said, “this Court denies the plaintiffs’ prayer for declaratory relief and a permanent injunction.”
Going forward, the executive branch of state government will continue to require its vendors to use E-Verify, the governor’s office said in a statement yesterday afternoon.
E-Verify – an Internet-based immigration-status database – is operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Citizenship and Immigration Services in partnership with the U.S. Social Security Administration. To learn more, visit www.dhs.gov.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island – the Rhode Island affiliate of the nationwide ACLU – is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that aims to defend the constitutional and civil rights of all Rhode Islanders. To learn more, visit www.riaclu.org.
For information from the R.I. Governor’s Office, visit www.governor.ri.gov.
Information about the R.I. Superior Court – including recent court orders and decisions – is available from the R.I. Administrative Office of State Courts at www.www.courts.state.ri.us.
One of the most anarchistic organizations in the United States is (ACORN) Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Acorn like La Raza and other radical groups, derive money out of the public trough, unknown to taxpayers. Acorn cloaked in secret, with deceptive and questionable practices regarding the mortgage debacle are now involved in the Census headcount. Now with the 2010 census eminent, we know that ACORN will be instrumental in working as census enumerators. This is absolutely outrageous as hundreds of the individual involved is now being investigated by the Justice Dept. This Census data is used to distribute Congressional seats to states, to make decisions about what community services to contribute, and to distribute $300 billion dollars in federal funds to local, state and tribal governments annually.
The major problem is that 40 million illegal aliens-- so states the Heritage Foundation, have to be counted, even though its a travesty of our immigration laws. It's a fact that "SANCTUARY STATES" have massive populations of illegal aliens and families and therefore get more seats in Congress. I doubt if our Constitutional forefathers expected that the Census would be manipulated to support the en masses of illegal foreign nationals. Adding to the disgusting scenario is the fact that ACORN is involved in this nationwide count, when fraudulent voting registrations were apprehended by the authorities. Until alleged criminal activities have been investigated, the Acorn organization should be exempt from any dealings with the Census.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SHOULD HAVE NO RIGHTS, NO REPRESENTATION IN OUR NATIONS CAPITOL. No illegal alien should be able to tap into government welfare benefits, until they go through legal channels. That means no AMNESTY--no path to citizenship until they self-deport to their country of birth. Then apply like all law-abiding immigrants who wait in line. Ideally the Census is the ideal tool to catch, arrest and detain all those have been found to be in this nation illegally--since the Senate killed E-Verify.
Read their awful immigration grades at NUMBERSUSA. Call Washington to stop this parody of our laws: 202-224-3121
E-Verify is simple, free, Web-based system that works by electronically comparing new employee information taken from the Form I-9. It works, and maybe that’s why the open border zealots have amassed against the application ? Opponents of E-Verify have resorted to charges that it is full of errors, when in truth it has an average a 99.5 success rate. More than 425 million records in the Social Security Administration’s database and more than 60 million records in the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration data base can then be verified.
In March E-verify was further enhanced by using a picture tool that helps patriotic businesses to identify citizens and legal residents workers. It allows an employer to compare identical photos – the worker's photograph on the EAD or green card against the image stored in USCIS’ databases, which contains nearly 15 million images of individual documents. The tool is designed to help an employer determine whether the document presented reasonably relates to the individual presenting it and contains a valid photo.
Typos and similar problems are cured on line, so legal workers usually only have problem only if they changed their names or citizenship status--but failed to inform Social Security of the change. Others have to do something more to establish that they are lawfully authorized to work by approaching the SSA. While certain individuals do nothing--disappearing into the woodwork. It works! So--THE PEOPLE--should make it a permanent addition to our arsenal against illegal aliens stealing jobs of Americans. If a business hires illegal labor and have not used E-verify, they should be subject to severe penalties. Two legislators have remained instrumental in trying to dismantle E-Verify, the REAL ID act, police enforcement (247(g) and ICE raids. Sen. Harry Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Remind your Senators and Congressman--who they work for? Washington switchboard. 202-224-3121 Reid's Carson Office: 775-882-7343/ Vegas: 702-388-5020
House Speaker Pelosi: 202-225-0100 / San Francisco: 415 556-4862
E-Verify is simple, free, Web-based system that works by electronically comparing new employee information taken from the Form I-9. It works, and maybe that’s why the open border zealots have amassed against the application ? Opponents of E-Verify have resorted to charges that it is full of errors, when in truth it has an average a 99.5 success rate. More than 425 million records in the Social Security Administration’s database and more than 60 million records in the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration data base can then be verified.
In March E-verify was further enhanced by using a picture tool that helps patriotic businesses to identify illegal foreign workers. It allows an employer to compare identical photos – the worker's photograph on the EAD or green card against the image stored in USCIS’ databases, which contains nearly 15 million images of individual documents. The tool is designed to help an employer determine whether the document presented reasonably relates to the individual presenting it and contains a valid photo.
Typos and similar problems are cured on line, so legal workers usually only have problem only if they changed their names or citizenship status--but failed to inform Social Security of the change. Others have to do something more to establish that they are lawfully authorized to work by approaching the SSA. While certain individuals do nothing--disappearing into the woodwork. It works! So--THE PEOPLE--should make it a permanent addition to our arsenal against illegal aliens stealing jobs of Americans. If a business hires illegal labor and have not used E-verify, they should be subject to severe penalties. Two legislators have remained instrumental in trying to dismantle E-Verify, the REAL ID act, police enforcement (247(g) and ICE raids. Sen. Harry Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Remind your Senators and Congressman--who they work for? Washington switchboard. 202-224-3121 Reid's Carson Office: 775-882-7343/ Vegas: 702-388-5020
House Speaker Pelosi: 202-225-0100 / San Francisco: 415 556-4862