The Immigration Lawyer’s Blog

The Associated Press reported today that the ACLU has filed a lawsuit against Rhodes Island Governor Dan Carcieri to prevent him from enforcing an executive order requiring private employers to electronically check the immigration status of new hires.

Governor Carcieri

Carcieri’s order requires state police and prison officials to identify illegal immigrants for possible deportation. It also forces state agencies and companies doing business with the state to use a federal database to check the immigration status of new employees. Companies that refuse to comply could lose their state contracts.

The lawsuit, filed by the state branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, challenges an executive order that Carcieri signed in March to clamp down on illegal immigration.

The ACLU argues that the database, E-Verify, disproportionately identifies foreign-born employees as ineligible to work and that the database could encourage employers to discriminate against workers who appear foreign.

Carcieri spokeswoman Amy Kempe said,

[T]he governor was within his legal authority to require state contractors to use the database. She said the ACLU’s lawsuit lacked merit and called it an attempt to meddle with Carcieri’s ability to enforce federal law.

Governor Carcieri has said that Rhodes Island’s estimated 20,000 to 40,000 illegal immigrants are a financial drain on schools, hospitals and state government.

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