Montana House votes down harsher penalties for employers hiring immigrants in US illegally
Sponsored by Rep. Lukas Schubert, R-Evergreen, House Bill 536 proposed new penalties for individuals and businesses that employ immigrants in the U.S. illegally, including the revocation of state-issued licenses, such as drivers' licenses and hunting licenses. Currently, employers that violate unlawful employment laws are subject to a fine of up to $300.
The bill would have also created a private right of action, allowing individuals to sue if they believed a competing company employed immigrants here illegally.
It failed 50-49 during its second reading in the House on March 24.
Pew Research Center estimated that unauthorized immigrants make up less than 1% of Montana's workforce, but Schubert maintained that immigration remains a top issue for the state.
"It is critical we attack the economic incentives for illegal aliens to remain in our state and thus cause them to self-deport," said Schubert during a Feb. 21 House Judiciary Committee hearing.
In his opening remarks on the bill, Schubert cited a recent poll conducted by Nonstop Local and SurveyUSA in which 23% of respondents said immigration was their top concern and made an unverifiable claim that 11 to 12 million people had illegally immigrated to the United States under the Biden administration.
The most recent data from the Department of Homeland Security estimates that 11 million immigrants were living in the U.S. without permission in 2022, 79% of whom entered the country before 2010.
The legislation drew harsh criticism from both sides of the aisle, with critics arguing that the envisioned punishments could have disastrous consequences for Montana's business owners.
Karli Johnson, a representative of the Montana Farm Bureau Federation, argued that the loss of a license and the steep fines accrued from lawsuits could quickly bankrupt the typical farm operation, which generates an average annual income of $40,000. While she maintained that the federation opposed illegal labor, Johnson emphasized that farmers and ranchers often hire temporary workers on quick deadlines, potentially making them more susceptible to an unintentional slip-up.
"With this bill, we're asking farmers and ranchers to not only be mechanics, accountants and animal science and crop science experts. We're also asking them to be experts in immigration, and that's really challenging for our folks on the ground," said Johnson.
Schubert responded to opponents' concerns with assurances that the Department of Justice would only pursue convictions for those who knowingly violate the law.
"They are going to try to go after the real offenders because they only have so much resources," said Schubert.
Under the bill, the state would have allocated a two-year budget of $5 million to the Department of Justice. Schubert said the funds would be used to create a three-to-five-person task force to investigate unlawful employment allegations.
But lawmakers on both sides of the aisle balked at the price tag.
"I'm not convinced we have that much of a problem to begin with," said Rep. John Fitzpatrick, R-Anaconda. "And then we're going to put a $5 million fiscal note on a bill that essentially does not have a defined problem."
Rep. Ed Stafman, D-Bozeman, compared the proposed cost to another bill introduced by Rep. Courtenay Sprunger, R-Kalispell, which similarly aims to crack down on unlawful hiring practices. House Bill 226 proposes to do so through regular audits of business's I-9 forms for an average annual cost of $93,000.
Sprunger's bill passed the House in February with an 87-13 vote and is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee on Thursday.
Reporter Hailey Smalley can be reached at hsmalley@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4433.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
30 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Founder of Punjabi Devils motorcycle club with ties to Hells Angels indicted in California, feds say
The founder of the Punjabi Devils, a Bay Area motorcycle club with ties to the Hells Angels, was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury on a slew of weapons-related charges after investigators found a small arsenal of guns and explosives in his home, officials said. Jashanpreet Singh, a 26-year-old Lodi resident, will face charges of dealing firearms, unlawful possession of a machine gun and possession of an unregistered rifle after he allegedly attempted to sell weapons to an undercover police officer in June, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District of California. Along with the rifle, revolver, three assault weapons and machine gun converters that he allegedly tried to sell to an undercover agent, federal prosecutors said a subsequent search of Singh's residence uncovered a variety of lethal weaponry — including another machine gun, a silencer, what appeared to be a Claymore mine and a hand grenade. Singh was originally slated to face charges in San Joaquin County on July 21, but he failed to appear in court. Two days later, he booked a flight from San Francisco to India that was scheduled on July 26, according to a news release. On that day, FBI agents met him at the airport and arrested him before he could board his flight. In a criminal complaint filed against Singh last month, a federal agent said an investigation into Singh revealed that he founded a subsidiary 'puppet' motorcycle group under the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club called the Punjabi Devils, which the agent described as a '1% motorcycle club,' in Stockton. According to the complaint, the 1% label is worn by motorcycle clubs that are immersed in criminality and indicates unlawfulness as a response to a 1947 American Motorcycle Assn. speech that stated '99% of the motorcycling public are law-abiding; there are 1% who are not.' An attempt by The Times to reach out to the Punjabi Devils Motorcycle Club for comment was unsuccessful. The investigation and arrest was the result of a local, state and federal multiagency effort that federal prosecutors said is a part of Operation Take Back America, a Department of Justice initiative to support the Trump administration's criminal policy objectives of repelling illegal immigration, dismantling cartels and transnational organizations and charging individuals with 'the most serious, readily provable offense,' according to an Office of the Deputy Attorney General memo from January. The news release also cited another federal effort: Project Safe Neighborhoods, which promotes the coordination of federal, state and local law enforcement to reduce violent crime and gun violence, according to the Department of Justice website. If convicted as charged, Singh faces up to 25 years and $510,000 in fines, federal prosecutors said.
Axios
an hour ago
- Axios
Scoop: Dems are trying to stop a "nasty" internal battle in Texas
Texas' mid-decade redistricting has left members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus scrambling to fend off what some predict would be one of the most brutal battles in the group's history, Axios has learned. Why it matters: A new map would put the group's chair, Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), and one of its longest-serving members, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), in the same district. Lawmakers fear it would be a bloodbath if they both run. "It'll be a nasty race, probably," said one House Democrat, who, like others quoted in this story, is a Progressive Caucus member who spoke on the condition of anonymity to offer candid thoughts about the group's sensitive internal dynamics. The race would be yet another front in Democrats' bitter civil war over age: Casar is 36 and seen as one of the party's rising stars, while Doggett is 78 and was first elected in 1994. "It's a mess," said a senior House Democrat, who told Axios that lawmakers are "carefully" nudging Doggett to bow out. State of play: Texas Republicans have embarked on a rare mid-decade redrawing of their state's congressional maps at the urging of President Trump. Their aim is to pack the state's House Democrats into as few districts as possible to maximize the number of Republican seats in the state. Under the proposed map, five new seats that are either solidly or lean Republican would be squeezed out, leaving Casar and Doggett to fight for just one Austin-based seat. What we're hearing: Several lawmakers noted Doggett was the first House Democrat to call on President Biden to withdraw his bid for reelection last year over concerns about his age and fitness. "This will be an opportunity for Lloyd to kind of take his own advice," said the first House Democrat, who warned Doggett would "taint his legacy" by running and that Casar "will win." A third House Democrat told Axios: "He was one of the first people to call for President Biden to step aside for new leaders, and I think this may be one of those moments." A fourth said that "30 years is more than enough time" in Congress, and Doggett is "a terrific legislator, but so is Casar. And Casar is just getting started." Between the lines: "This is a perfect example of how long-serving members in our party are not willing to make room for the next generation of leaders," said the fourth House Democrat. "Others wish [Doggett would] step aside," the lawmaker added. "That would show leadership in a time when we desperately need it." The other side: "Promoting this type of division and infighting is exactly what Republicans want. Greg and I are both committed to working together to stop this outrageous gerrymandering," Doggett said in a statement. "While CD37, in which I had already filed for reelection, continues under the new map to contain two-thirds of my current constituents, my focus remains on protecting our democracy from Trump using redistricting to elect more Republicans." "I hope all my CPC colleagues will also make that effort their top priority. As to President Joe Biden, I did speak out when others were silent, not about his age, but his ability and electability." Zoom out: Democrats have vowed to fight the proposed map, including potentially with a lawsuit and by breaking quorum in the state Legislature, but those efforts would likely be long shots. Like Doggett, Casar has said his focus is on stopping the redistricting. His spokesperson did not provide comment on this story. "Congressman Doggett and I are united in fighting back against this illegal map," Casar said Wednesday on CNN. Zoom in: Doggett, in his own CNN appearance on Thursday, began making the case for his reelection. "We do need young leaders, but we don't need everyone in our team to play the same position," he told host Manu Raju. "Some are strong on social media. Some are strong in dealing with the details of these bills and how to fight back against the Trump administration." Flashback: Republicans have twice before targeted Doggett, redrawing his district and forcing him to run in a different, majority Hispanic district. Each time, new constituents returned him to Washington. The bottom line: At the end of the day, "they both have the right to run," said the senior House Democrat, adding that the issue is "very sensitive."
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Extortion, yoga, moldy food: Inside Ghislaine Maxwell's life behind bars in Tallahassee
Although the meeting with the Department of Justice isn't occurring there, eyes are turning to the state capital's federal women's prison that houses Ghislaine Maxwell, former girlfriend to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and herself a convicted sex trafficker. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is meeting with Maxwell at the federal courthouse in downtown Tallahassee July 24 in an effort to find any stones that might've been left unturned in the high-profile Epstein case. The DOJ is hoping to uncover names of other accomplices that were involved in the sex-trafficking scheme, and Maxwell might be investigators' best source of information. In December 2021, Maxwell, 63, was convicted of luring and grooming teenage girls to be sexually abused and exploited by Epstein — the wealthy financier who died by suicide while in custody and awaiting trial in 2019. The meeting with the DOJ was originally said to be taking place at the prison, but instead Maxwell spent a day beyond the steel bars she's now been living behind. Maxwell has been in Tallahassee for three years The disgraced British socialite was transferred to Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee in 2022; Florida was a state where some of the crimes for which she was convicted occurred. For three years, Maxwell worked to entice young girls to visit Epstein's Palm Beach residence, "to engage in sex acts with Epstein, after which Epstein, Maxwell, or another employee of Epstein's would give the victims hundreds of dollars in cash," as previously reported. FCI Tallahassee, at 501 Capital Circle N.E., is a low-security federal correctional institution for women with a men's detention center. It houses over 1,200 altogether, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons database. Just last year, Maxwell was moved to the prison's "honor dorm" for being on her best behavior. The cushier living quarters are reserved for 30 to 40 of the best-behaved inmates, and because there are so few occupants, she is almost guaranteed her own room with more storage. Maxwell spends her time behind bars teaching etiquette, yoga Inmates housed inside the federal institution have access to a variety of "leisure time activities" and classes. People can participate in everything from yoga, Pilates, "arts and crafts programs to intramural team sports such as softball, basketball, and volleyball," according to FCI Tallahassee's handbook. In 2023, Maxwell reportedly started teaching an etiquette class, according to The Daily Mail. She also taught a yoga class and held a position at the prison library. Apprenticeship programs in cooking, painting, woodworking among others are also offered at the prison. Extortion attempt leaves Maxwell fearing for safety in prison Two years ago, Maxwell ran into issues with two women known within the prison walls as "Las Cubanas." Maxwell is a vegan and arranged for a kitchen worker to sneak her extra fruit, vegetables and tofu in exchange for items she bought with her commissary orders, as previously reported by The Daily Mail. The violent inmates found out and threatened to tattle unless Maxwell spent her entire commissary limit on items for them. The convicted sex trafficker reported the duo for trying to extort her, landing them 47 days in solitary confinement. But when they were released back into the prison's general population, fears of retaliation rose, leading Maxwell to refuse using the shower stalls and to be assigned a guard to escort her to and from her prison library job. In response to the threat, the pair was moved to a different unit, but a source told the Daily Mail the two have a reputation within the prison's walls for being mean and holding a grudge. Inspector General report details horrific conditions inside women's prison The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General conducted an "unannounced inspection" this May 2022 and released the full 50-page report later in the fall. Inspectors were met with "alarming" conditions, including inmates being served moldy or rotten food and living with "black substances" on walls and ceilings, as previously reported. Food was found to pose an immediate risk to inmates' health, as rotten food was consistently served and stored in areas with rat droppings and insect infestation. In a survey, more than half of inmates noted that they are frequently served outdated food. The prison dorms weren't any more desirable with "black substances" growing and collecting in various areas feminine products being used in places to soak up water from cracks and leaks consistently found throughout the living spaces. "According to inmates, in advance of a BOP correctional audit performed just prior to our unannounced visit, staff had painted over the housing unit ceilings that contained the black substance," the report said. Elena Barrera is a reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat, a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida. She can be reached at ebarrera@ Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa.
