Republican lawmakers have introduced a bill that would classify the hiring of illegal aliens as an unfair labor practice, expanding the authority of the National Labor Relations Board to investigate employers and labor unions involved in the practice.
The measure is led by Republican Senators Jim Banks of Indiana and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. Their proposal, titled the Putting American Workers First Act, adds new language to the National Labor Relations Act stating it is an unfair labor practice “to employ (including to recruit or hire) as an employee any individual who is an unauthorized alien.”
The bill also specifies that firing an illegal alien “shall not be evidence of animus” in labor disputes.
Banks said the legislation aims to protect U.S. workers.
“Hiring illegal aliens drives down American wages and pushes our workers out of good jobs,” he said in a statement. “If employers won’t follow the law, we’ll use every tool we have to make sure they face consequences.”
The Washington Times reported that supporters say employment opportunities continue to draw illegal immigrants to the United States and argue that tougher enforcement at the job level could reduce the available workforce.
Under current law, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducts audits, civil investigations, and criminal cases involving employers who hire illegal aliens.
The new bill would add a separate federal enforcement track by giving the NLRB authority to investigate and prosecute such cases.
The legislation includes protections for businesses that use E-Verify or a comparable federal verification system.
It states that an employer does not commit an unfair labor practice if it hires an illegal alien after making “a good-faith effort to verify that the individual is an acceptable potential employee.”
Labor unions are also addressed in the proposal. The bill would make it an unfair labor practice for a union to represent an illegal alien for collective bargaining purposes unless the union made a comparable good-faith verification effort.
Some unions have supported organizing campaigns involving illegal migrants. A few have described themselves as “sanctuary unions,” signaling they will not voluntarily assist federal authorities in enforcement actions involving their members.
Illegal aliens in the United States were estimated at more than 14 million in 2023. Pew Research Center data show that about 9.7 million were in the workforce, representing roughly 5.6 percent of all workers.
President Donald Trump closed out his observance of Thanksgiving with a pair of Truth Social posts on Thursday attacking immigration policy under the previous Biden administration, Minnesota Democrat Gov. Tim Walz, and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.
Trump wrote that the "official United States Foreign population stands at 53 million" before asserting that most "are on welfare, from failed nations, or from prisons, mental institutions, gangs, or drug cartels."
Trump has vowed to impose stricter immigration controls following Wednesday's attack by an Afghan immigrant on National Guard troops on duty in the nation’s Capital, a short distance from the White House. One soldier has died from her wounds, and another remains hospitalized in critical condition.
Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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