March 16, 07

NEWS / Expert says ordinance leads to discrimination

SCRANTON ??” If enacted, Hazleton??™s illegal immigration ordinance would cause employers and landlords to discriminate against foreign-looking individuals, an expert witness testified Thursday morning.
Political science professor Dr. Marc Rosenblum, the first expert to testify for the plaintiffs in Lozano v. City of Hazleton, said the Hazleton ordinance sets provisions and punishments on employers more stringent than the federal government. Fearing the ordinance??™s penalties, businesses will trample on potential employees??™ due process rights as a result, he testified at the William J. Nealon Federal Building.

While the ordinance would effectively discourage the hiring of illegal immigrants, it would also encourage ???defensive hiring??? practices, meaning foreign-looking workers, especially Latinos, would be less likely to be hired or not hired at all, he testified.

???If you look or sound Latino, you??™d be scrutinized more,??? he said, though he admitted on cross-examination to never specifically studying what the effects would be in Hazleton.

He also questioned the accuracy of the database Hazleton??™s ordinance would encourage employers to use to screen for undocumented workers, the Basic Pilot Program. The ordinance would require violators to sign up for the program, which is offered at a low cost by the federal government, normally as a voluntary workplace compliance system.

Citing a study compiled by the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan congressional agency, he added, ???A significant percentage of employers required more documentation from people who looked and sounded foreign.???

While Rosenblum thought Hazleton??™s encouragement of the Basic Pilot Program positive, it should not be used in conjunction with stricter punishments on employers than the federal government already issues, he said.

The ordinance also states that employers can avoid punishment if they voluntarily sign up for the program, calling it a ???safe harbor.??? But the GAO report found that identity theft easily fooled the system, which already lacked accuracy.

???Well, I don??™t think I??™d say it offers them a safe harbor,??? Richard Stana, the report??™s author, told The Citizens??™ Voice on Dec. 17 of the ordinance??™s use of the pilot program.

On cross-examination, city attorney Kris Kobach, an immigration law expert, pointed out that Rosenblum??™s studies are not based on primary data he gathered but rather analysis of statistics collected by government agencies.

Kobach also asked Rosenblum about recent improvements made to the accuracy of federal immigration databases, some of which he was not aware. Rosenblum formerly held a position on the staff of Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., who favors legalization of many undocumented immigrants, Kobach also noted.

Kobach cited portions of studies finding the Basic Pilot Program actually decreases discrimination by employers.

???It would decrease some forms of discrimination and increase others,??? Rosenblum responded, adding that the use of the program combined with the strict and swift punishments in the Hazleton ordinance would provoke discrimination.

The Hazleton ordinance gives businesses three days to produce documents proving legal working status of an employee when a violation is alleged. Under federal government penalties, employers have eight days, Rosenblum testified.

Once produced, the documents would be checked with a federal database for verification. Most businesses, the plaintiffs argue, are more likely to simply fire the employee.

wmalcolm@citizensvoice.com
BY WADE MALCOLM
STAFF WRITER

Tags: legalization, document,