SPRINGFIELD -- Gov. Matt Blunt traveled around the state on Monday to announce four more legislative proposals to fight illegal immigration.  He held news conferences in Springfield and Joplin before going to other parts of the state.

  The governor's plan would require all public employers to use a legal worker verification system, would impose new monetary sanctions against contractors who hire illegal immigrants, would criminalize the transportation of illegal immigrants, and would ban the creation of sanctuary cities in Missouri.

  Blunt has already called for legislation that would prevent illegal immigrants from obtaining driver’s licenses and tough new penalties for anyone who tries to help them get one.
----

Edited news release from the governor's office:

“Enforcing immigration laws should be primarily federal responsibility, but Washington has failed to act which means Missouri must make up for Washington ’s failure and protect Missouri against illegal immigration,” Gov. Blunt said.  “While I strongly support lawful immigration and Missouri welcomes legal immigrants, I have taken significant steps to fight illegal activity in Missouri .  Under my plan, no city in Missouri will give sanctuary to illegals, we will verify the legal employment status of every public employee, contractors will forfeit large sums of money if they hire illegal workers and transporting an illegal immigrant will be a crime.  We may not have the support of the Congressional leadership in Washington , but with the support of Missouri ’s General Assembly we will enact some of the nation’s toughest laws to fight illegal immigration and further protect Missourians from this threat.”

 Strong Prohibitions Against “Sanctuary Cities”

  Blunt wants a law to prohibit local governments from adopting policies limiting the ability of local officials from communicating with the federal government about potential immigration violations.  The law would prohibit what some call “sanctuary cities” and would protect Missourians by preventing the creation of local zones of lawlessness.

 Public Employees Must be Legal Employees

  Blunt has already implemented a new hiring procedure in state government to verify employees’ worker eligibility to ensure tax dollars do not support illegal labor.  The governor wants the same checks to be required for every public employer in the state.  He wants a law mandating public employers use E-Verify, a program administered by the Department of Homeland Security.  The new law would apply to counties, cities, school districts, and any other public entity. E-Verify is free to use and only takes a few minutes.  Employers can obtain additional information about E-Verify by visiting www.dhs.gov/E-Verify.

 Zero Tolerance for Contractors that Employ Illegal Workers

  Blunt wants laws to enhance his zero-tolerance policy for state contractors who hire illegal immigrants.  Early this year, after a coordinated bust of illegal workers employed by Sam’s Janitorial Services, a former state contractor, Blunt immediately terminated the contract and signed an executive order for a statewide ban on contractors who knowingly hire illegal workers.

  Under current rules, anyone found to be employing illegal labor loses their contract and becomes ineligible to receive future contracts. However, in most cases, the state cannot withhold funds for already completed work.  Blunt wants a law to let the state to withhold 25 percent of compensation owed to any contractor found to be using illegal labor and to penalize employers from unlawfully exploiting illegal labor.

 Criminalize Transporting Illegal Immigrants

  The governor wants a law to criminalize the transportation of illegal immigrants for purposes of human trafficking, drug trafficking, prostitution or illegal labor. The proposal would protect Missourians from the dangerous business of transporting people with no regard for the safety of Missourians.