Arizona is demanding that Utah uphold its recently enacted law that will mandate employers to use the E-Verify system as a means of ensuring its workers are legal. The child identity theft protection law will go into effect on July 1, 2010 and is aimed at reducing the prevalence of job-related child identity theft in Utah. Arizona, which recently passed the toughest immigration law in the history of the U.S., is concerned that illegal immigrants may leave Arizona to escape the new law and travel to Utah if the bill is not upheld or implemented as scheduled, according to Right Side News.
Arizona recently passed a law that will allow law enforcement officers to question any person they believe may be an illegal immigrant without cause or suspicion. The controversial law has lawmakers concerned that illegal immigrants will follow the historical trend of moving to Utah when new immigration reform is passed. Utah offers services to illegal immigrants that many other states do not, such as driving privilege cards and an in-state college tuition program, making the state highly desirable for immigrants, according to Right Side News.
The law is intended to ensure workers are legal and to protect children who have fallen victim to job-related identity theft at the hands of illegal workers, causing their credit scores to be ruined and impacting future financial stability. The law passed after activist groups, labor unions, and Tea Party members put pressure on the governor to provide protections to children, who are falling victim to job-related identity theft at a high rate in Utah, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. Governor Gary Herbert argued that the new law should be voluntary rather than mandatory and take effect one year from the scheduled date, said Right Side News. If the law is upheld, Utah will become the fourth state to require businesses to use E-Verify to confirm legal status, reports the CIS.
To date, 50,000 children have fallen victim to job-related identity theft from illegal aliens and 16 percent of identity theft in Utah is job-related, Right Side News reports. Child identity theft often goes unnoticed more so than adult identity theft because they do not have lines of credit and therefore no reason to request or monitor a credit report. Criminals can use a child's identity to secure a job, loan or medical services.