S.B. COUNTY: Immigration check proposed for food workers
10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Applicants for San Bernardino County food handler cards would have their immigration status checked under a proposal introduced Tuesday by Supervisor Neil Derry.
Employees who work at restaurants and other food-service jobs would be required to go through the federal E-verify system before receiving their cards, Derry said.
The county Department of Public Health requires that food-service employees be trained and tested on food safety laws. They receive a certificate once they pass the test.
Derry is also proposing that the county require restaurants to show that their employees have been screened through the E-verify system.
The regulations would apply countywide. The public health department is responsible for issuing permits for employees in cities in the county and its unincorporated areas.
Derry said he believes many food-service jobs are being taken by those in the country illegally.
"Our citizens should have the first opportunity for those jobs," he said, citing highunemployment rates, especially for teenagers.
Derry brought up the issue at the Board of Supervisors meeting, asking that county Chief Executive Officer Greg Devereaux have his staff research the issue.
Board Chairwoman Josie Gonzales and Supervisor Gary Ovitt didn't take a stance on the proposal but agreed that Devereaux should return to the board with a report looking into the ramifications of such a regulation. Supervisors Brad Mitzelfelt and Janice Rutherford were absent.
E-Verify is an electronic system that allows companies to check potential hires against Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security records to see whether they are eligible to work in the country.
Several cities -- including Murrieta, Temecula, Hemet, Menifee and Lake Elsinore -- and a handful of states have adopted ordinances and laws through which they deny business licenses to firms that refuse to participate in the E-Verify program.
San Bernardino County already uses the program for potential hires and for firms with which it contracts, county spokesman David Wert said.
Emilio Amaya, executive director of the San Bernardino Community Service Center, an immigrant-assistance agency, said he believes the proposal is unnecessary and a waste of government resources.
