As an African-American female citizen of Cobb County, I was very disturbed to read that the ordinance failed that would have required businesses that contract with our county verify the legal status of their workers. I was shocked that Commissioner Lisa Cupid appeared not to have read or understood the ordinance and especially that she voted “No.” Did she not understand the magnitude (of the problem) of the area she represents? The high percentage of unemployed African Americans that reside in her area, and the high percentage of illegal residents in her area that work every day, attend schools — illegals that work with Cobb County businesses that don’t pay taxes or bring revenue to us?
This ordinance has life, and we should not overlook it. If some don’t want it, perhaps you have something to hide. I read that our county legal staff spent hours negotiating the language of the ordinance with D.A. King and they had no problems with the input. ICE needs to do their job.
The county should be bold and watch our money and issue fines to stop paying wages to illegal workers. E-Verify can work in our county with enforcement tools such as the ordinance the commission voted down. It is needed and I feel the ordinance is with merit. It has economic value!
Beverly A. Johnson-Finley
Austell
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We already have strict federal and state laws requiring every employer to examine and verify the eligibility of all hires. Cobb County has carried those laws forward into all of its contracts, requiring all bidders to submit an affidavit swearing their compliance with the Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act. One must wonder which contractors would be fool enough to violate the federal laws, state laws and their sworn affidavit with the county to risk employment of illegals.
IMAGE is a voluntary federal program which prescribes a set of practices for employers to follow to improve their ability to screen for fraudulent documentation presented by illegals. The program includes training and self-auditing processes which, if followed, should relieve the federal government of some of their auditing responsibilities. IMAGE is a good program and, hopefully, will be adopted by most employers.
However, the county’s proposed ordinance to mandate an employer’s participation in a voluntary federal program can only be viewed as arrogant, bureaucratic and intrusive. The existing laws and regulations are more than sufficient enforcements. Comm'r Cupid voted very intelligently.