Federal data base important to new law

Arizona’s new law aimed at curbing the hiring of illegal aliens will rely on a federal data base that may not be as secure as some proponents have hoped.

And Gov. Janet Napolitano has also warned that adding all Arizona employers to that data base might temporarily strain the system.

The data base is the federal Basic Pilot Program, BPP, which traces its origins to a 1996 illegal immigration reform act.

Workers are entered into the Basic Pilot Program when they apply for a job, provide certain forms of identification and fill out Form I-9.

The employer is charged with verifying the information is correct by looking at such things as Social Security cards and driver’s licenses. Employers may photocopy the documents, but aren’t required to.

If they do copy them, they are must hold on to the copies for three years after hiring an individual or for a year if the individual is later let go.

The workers keep the originals.

There are three lists of acceptable documents that employees can submit.

Applicants must submit one document from either the A list or B list. But they must submit one from the C list.

On the A list there are such things as a passport or certificate of citizenship or naturalization. From the B list there are such things as driver’s license, school ID card with a photo, voter registration or school report card.

The C list includes such things as a Social Security card, certified birth certificate or a Native American tribal document.

Napolitano raised the question of whether the Basic Pilot Program is large enough to handle the data.

As she signed Arizona’s new employer sanction bill, she wrote to congressional leaders that currently there are only about 15,000 businesses nationwide in the BPP.

“With this new state mandate, Arizona will add 130,000-150,000 businesses to the BPP which could strain the system.

Arizona’s new law, House Bill 2779, would impose a 10-day suspension of a business’ license for hiring illegal immigrants. Second-time violators would have their businesses licenses revoked permanently.

Napolitano, who has said immigration is a federal responsibility, said she signed the state bill because Congress has refused to act.

The governor said she plans to call the state Legislature back into session to address some flaws in the bill, including one typographic error.

The bill appropriated $100,000 to the state attorney general for enforcing the provisions, which she called “woefully inadequate funding.”

The Legislature has until Jan. 1 to make corrections before the new law takes effect.

jlamb@gvnews.com | 547-9749