The Republican-controlled West Virginia Senate Judiciary Committee is moving to water down an E-Verify bill to excuse more businesses from being required to use the system for hiring migrants.
In fact, Republican state Sen. Eric Tarr tried to convince his colleagues to table House Bill 4198 entirely but was overruled, according to WVRC West Virginia.
Tarr tried to convince the committee that small business operators need more latitude to hire cheap migrant labor. Tarr claimed that he feels the bill is meant to “entrap businesses” adding, “That’s what this feels like when I read it as a business owner.”
State Senate Judiciary Chairman Tom Willis is also hoping to undercut the bill, saying that it needs more work and pushing it into a subcommittee for Republican state Sen. Patricia Rucker to make revisions.
“I say that we’re not putting this into subcommittee with an intent to kill this bill. We’re putting this into subcommittee with the intent to clean it up so we have a good product that is good for West Virginia,” Willis said.
Like other states with similar legislation, the West Virginia E-Verify bill would strengthen requirements for employers to run new hires through the system to confirm eligibility for legal employment.
HB 4198 would require all private businesses and state governments to use the system for new hires. The bill does not exempt businesses by size, like in other states, and would require all “employers” to use the system for all hires.
The bill was passed in the state House on a 48-46 vote with some Republicans voting with Democrats to support businesses looking to escape the requirements.
For his part, Willis insisted that the state Senate is not bowing to illegal migrants.
“There’s no question that this committee is a committee dedicated to legal immigration and against illegal immigration,” Willis exclaimed.
Tarr worried that the bill is too expansive and involves too many employers. He insisted that if he hired a neighbor to help with his elderly parent for a night, he might be ensnared by the E-Verify rules and would be subject to the $500-per-day fines.
Republican state Sen. Ryan Weld said that he also feels the bill is too harsh on employers.
“We are dealing with legislation that could result in significant fines for people that could have their business taken away from them for not complying with something that, in your mind, wasn’t structured 100% perfect — in my mind is unbelievably poorly drafted,” Weld said.
The GOP establishment in West Virginia has taken similar actions as those in other states. Republicans in Idaho have also moved to undercut and water down E-Verify bills, giving employers cover to continue hiring illegals.
Idaho and West Virginia are not alone. Republicans in Montana, Wyoming, and Oklahoma are also finding GOP lawmakers at loggerheads as some work to implement President Trump’s agenda, while others seek to slow walk immigration reform in response to the pleas from the business community to safeguard their ability to hire cheap migrant labor.
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