South Carolina City Councilwoman Pushes to Have Local Immigration Laws Enforced

A Clemson, SC city councilwoman is proposing a measure to enforce new state laws regarding the employment of illegal immigrants at local businesses.

Margaret Thompson planned to introduce a measure to enforce the new laws on Monday at her last meeting as a member of the Clemson city council. 

The new immigration laws, which will go into effect in three stages, state:

• On January 1, 2009: companies that have contracts with the state or local government must begin verifying their employees' immigration status
• On July 1, 2009: the law extends to companies with 100 employees or more
• On July 1, 2010: the law extends to all companies, regardless of size

Thompson, a big supporter of the new laws, which were passed by the General Assembly earlier this year, had this so say about the matter:

"As an elected official and citizen, I have fallen on deaf ears with our administration about strengthening our new immigration law here on the local level. When a business comes in to either renew their business license or apply for a new one, the business will sign an affidavit that it will follow and comply with all South Carolina immigration laws."

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