Texas likes cheap labor, so I doubt E-Verify will pass, but I don’t expect them to enforce it even if it does. Although I wonder what would happen if someone reported the use of people working on crews working on roads here illegally to ICE? Would ICE do job site raids on those crews building the Interstates and county roads?
Lawmakers also have introduced bills that would require companies to use E-Verify — a federal government website that helps businesses determine whether an immigrant is legally allowed to work in the U.S. — if they want to bid for state contracts.
House Bill 1308 would require state agencies to only award contracts to businesses that participate in E-Verify. The proposal would also apply to subcontractors hired by a company with a state contract.
The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Carl Tepper, R-Lubbock, would also suspend the business license of any business that contracts with the state if they stopped using E-Verify during their state contract.
As part of Tepper’s bill, people who suspect a state agency has hired an undocumented person can send information to the Texas Attorney General’s office for possible investigation.
Like Tepper’s proposal, House Bill 2744, sponsored by state Rep. Cody Vasut, R-Angleton, would require all state contractors to use E-Verify, and would also impose a $10,000 fine for each undocumented worker a state contractor is caught employing.
