Illegal immigration.

WORKING DRAFT
2008
STATE OF
WYOMING
08LSO-0072

HOUSE BILL
NO.
HB0062

Illegal immigration.

Sponsored by:
Representative(s) Illoway, Martin, Petersen and Zwonitzer, Dn. and Senator(s) Anderson, J., Cooper and Fecht

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to
illegal immigration;
establishing an offense for
transportation
or
concealment
of illegal aliens; providing a penalty; requiring certain employers to verify the citizenship status of employees; requiring
state
agencies and political subdivisions to verify the citizenship status of applicants for certain public benefits;

requiring a repo
r
t;
providing a cause of action against entities employing illegal aliens as specified;
authorizing the attorney general to negotiate a memorandum of understanding regarding immigration with the appropriate federal agency; establishing rules for the communication of information related to immigration status; requiring the determination of the immigration status of certain prisoners; authorizing the establishment of the fraudulent documents identification unit in the division of criminal investigation; requiring certain document
ation
for the issuance of a driver's license or identification card
; requiring rulemaking;

and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of
Wyoming
:

Section 1.
W.S. 6
‑
5
‑
214 and 9
‑
16
‑
101 through 9
‑
16
‑
104
are created to read:

6
‑
5
‑
214.

Transportation or concealment of i
llegal aliens.

(a)

No
per
son shall
transport, move
or attempt to transport in the s
tate of
Wyoming
any alien knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that the alien has come to, entered or remained in the
United States
in violation of law, in
furtherance
of the illegal presence of the alien in the
United States
.

(b)

No person shall
conceal,
harbor
or shelter from detection any
alien in any place within the s
tate of Wyoming, including any building or means of transportation, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that the alien has come to, entered or remained in the United States in violation of law.

(c)

Any person violating this section shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a
felony
punishable by imprisonment for no
t less than one (1) year
nor more than two (2) years
,
a fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00)
nor more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00)
, or both.

CHAPTER 16
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

9
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16
‑
101.

Definitions.

(a)

As used in this
chapter
:

(i)

"Public employer" means every department, agency or instrumentality of the state or a political subdivision of the state;

(i
i
)

"Status verification system" means an electronic system operated by the federal government, through which an authorized
official of an agency of the state of Wyoming or of a political subdivision of Wyoming may make an inquiry, by exercise of authority delegated
pursuant
to
8 U.S.C. § 1373
, to verify or ascertain the citizenship or immigration status of any individual within the jurisdiction of the agency for any
purpose authorized by W.S. 9
‑
1
6
‑
1
02.
"
Status verification system
"
includes the electronic verification of work authorization program of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act
of 1996, P
.
L
.

104-
208, Division C, Section 403(a);
8 U.S.C.
§
1324a, and
operated by the United States department of homeland s
ecu
rity, known as the basic pilot p
rogram, or any equivalent federal work authorization program d
esignated by the United States department of homeland s
ecurity or any other federal agency authorized to verify the work authorization status of newly hired employees,
pursuant
to the Immigration R
eform and Control
Act
of 1986
, P
.
L
. 99-603
;

(iii)

"Subcontractor" includes a subcontractor, contract employee, staffing agency or any contra
ctor regardless of its tier;

(iv)

"Unauthorized alien" means an alien as defined in
8 U.S.C. §
1324a(h)(3).

9
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16
‑
102.

Status verification system.

(a)

Every public employer shall register and participate in the status verification system to verify the work authorization status of all new employees.

(b)

No public employer shall enter into a contract for the physical performance of services within this state unless the contractor registers and
participates
in the status verification system to verify the work authorization status of all new employees.

(c)

No contractor or subcontractor who enters a contract with a public employer shall enter into such a contract or subcontract in connection with the physical performance of services within this state unless the contractor or subcontractor registers and participates in the status verification system to verify information of all new employees.

(d)

The discharge of any
United States
citizen or permanent resident alien employee by an employer
within

this
state, who, on the date of the discharge employed an unauthorized alien in this state shall be considered an unfair empl
oyment practice. The discharged
employee shall have a private cause of action against the employing entity for the unfair employment practice. An employer wh
o
is found to have violated this
subsection
shall be liable to the aggrieved employee for:

(i)

Actual loss of compensation and benefits sustained by the employee plus an additional two percent (2%) of that amount as liquidated damages from the date of discharge
of the employee
until either the date the employee has
begun
, or been offered in writing,

employment
at an equivalent
or higher
rate of compensation
, up to a maximum period of one hundred eighty (180) days from the date of discharge, plus reasonable
interest
from the date of discharge until the date of payment of the liability; and

(ii)

Reasonable attorney fees and costs.

(e)

An employer wh
o
, on the date of a discharge under subsection (d) of this section, was curr
ently enrolled in and used the basic pilot p
rogram or other electronic status
verification
system to verify the employment authorization of its employees in Wyoming shall be exempt from liability under subsection (d) of this section.

(f)

The provisions of this section shall be enforced without regard to race or national origin.

(g)

The department of
employment shall prescribe forms and promulgate rules and regulations
necessary for the administration of this section.

9
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16
‑
103.

Public benefits.

(a)

Except
as provided by subsection (c) of this section or where exempted by federal law, each agency or political subdivision of this state shall verify the lawful presence in the United States of any natural person fourteen (14) years of age or older who has applied for state or local benefit
s as defined in 8 U.S.C. §
1621
(c)
, or for federal public benefits
as defined in 8 U.S.C. §
1611
(c)
that are administered by an agency or political subdivision of this state.

(b)

The provisions of this section shall be enforced without regards to race, religion, gender, ethnicity or national origin.

(c)

Verification of lawful presence under the provisions of this section shall not be required
for
:

(i)

A
ny purpos
e if
lawful presence in the
United States
is not restricted by law, ordinance or regulation;

(ii)

Assistance for h
ealth care items and services that are necessary for the treatment of an emergency
medical condition, as defined in 42 U.S
.C. § 13
9
6
b(v)(3) if the items or services are not related to an organ transplant procedure;

(iii)

Short term, noncash, in-kind emergency disaster relief;

(iv)

Public health
assistance
for immunizations with respect to diseases and for testing and treatment of symptoms of communicable diseases whether or not such symptoms are caused by a communicable disease; or

(v)

Programs, services or assistance such as soup kitchens, cri
sis counseling and intervention
and short-term shelter
s
which:

(A)

Deliver in-kind services at the community level including through public or private nonprofit agencies;

(B)

Do not condition the provision of assistance, amount of
assistance
or cost of assistance on the income or resources of the recipient; and

(C)

Are necessary for the protection of life or safety.

(d)

For v
erification of
the
lawful presence
of an applicant in the United States,
the agency or political subdivision required to make such verification shall
provide notary public services at no cost to the applicant and
require that the applicant execute an affidavit under penalty of perjury that:

(i)

He is a
United States
citizen; or

(ii)

He is a qualified alien under the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, and is lawfully present in the
United States
.

(e)

For any applicant who has executed an affidavit pursuant to paragraph
(d)(ii) of this section
, eligibility for benefits s
hall be determined through the systematic alien verification of e
ntitlement program
operated by the
United States
department of homeland s
ecurity or a successor program d
esignated by the
United States
department of homeland s
ecurity. Until such eligibility
verification
is made,
an affidavit executed
pursuant to subsection (d) of this section may be presumed to be proof of lawful presence in the
United States
for the purposes of this section.

(f)

Any person who knowingly makes a false or fraudulent statement of representation in an affidavit executed pursuant to subsection (d) of this section shall be subject to c
riminal penalties under W.S. 6
‑
5
‑
303(a). If the affidavit constitutes a false claim of
United States
citizenship under 18 U.S.C.
§
911, a complaint shall be filed by the agency or political subdivision which required the affidavit
with the
United States
a
ttorney for the district in which the affidavit was executed.

(g)

An agency or political subdivision may adopt variations to the requirements of this section if the agency or political subdivision can demonstrate that the variation improves the efficiency of or reduces any delay in the verification process or to provide for the adjudication of unique individual circumstances where the verification procedures in this section would impose a hardship on a legal resident of this state.

(h)

No
agency or political subdivision of this state
shall
provide any state, local or federal benefit as defined in 8 U.S.C.
§
§
16
1
1 or
1621
in violation of the provisions of this section.

(j)

Each agency or political subdivision subject to the provisions of this section shall provide an annual report to the governor, the speaker of the house and the president of the senate
with respect to its compliance with the provisions of this section. Each agency or political subdivision shall monitor the systematic alien verification of entitlement program for errors and significant delays and report any recommendations that would ensure that the systematic alien verification of entitlement program is not erroneously denying benefits to legal residents of
Wyoming
. Any error discovered
pursuant
to this subsection shall also be
reported to the
United States
department of homeland s
ecurity.

9
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16
‑
104
.

Memorandum of understanding; communication of immigration status
.

(a)

The attorney g
eneral is authorized and direct
ed to negotiate the terms of a memorandum of u
nderstanding between the state of
Wyoming and the United States department of justice or the United States department of homeland s
ecurity, as provided by
8 U.S.C. § 1357(g)
, concerning the enforcement of federal immigration and custom laws, detention
s
and removals and investigations in the state of Wyoming.

(b)

The memorandum of u
nderstanding negotiated pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall be signed on behalf o
f this state by the attorney general and the g
overnor or as otherwise required by the appropriate federal agency.

(c)

No local government, whether acting through its governing body or by an initiative, referendum or any other process, shall enact any ordinance or policy that limits or prohibits a law enforcement officer, local official or local government employee from communicating or cooperating with federal officials with regard to the immigration status of any person within this state.

(d)

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no government entity or official within the state of
Wyoming
may prohibit or in any way restrict any government entity or official from sending to, or rec
eiving from, the
United States
department of homeland s
ecurity information regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual.

(e)

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person or agency may prohibit or in any way restrict a public employee from doing any of the following with respect to information regarding the immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual:

(i)

Sending information related to immigration status to, or requesting or receiv
ing such information from the
United
S
tates
department of homeland s
ecurity;

(ii)

Maintaining information related to immigration status; or

(iii)

Exchanging such information with any other federal, state or local government entity.

(f)

The provisions of this section shall allow for a private right of action by any natural or legal person lawfully domiciled in this state to file for a writ of mandamus to compel any noncooperating local state governmental agency to comply with such reporting laws.

Section 2.
W.S. 7
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13
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104
,

9
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1
‑
618 by creating a new subsection (c), 31
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7
‑
111
by c
reating new subsections (g) through (k)
and 31
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8
‑
101
by creating new subsections (c) through (f)
are amended to read:

7
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13
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104.

Record of prisoners;
citizenship
.

(a)

The department of corrections shall keep a complete record of the background and current status of all prisoners sentenced and confined in any state penal institution. The administrator of the institution where a prisoner is incarcerated, the division of criminal investigation, and the clerk of court and sheriff of the county from which the prisoner is committed shall, at the request of the department or the board of parole, furnish any information in their possession relating to the prisoner or the offense committed.

(b
)

When a person charged with a felony or with driving or having control of a vehicle while under th
e influence pursuant to W.S. 31
‑
5
‑
233 is confined, for any period, in a county jail or a state penal institution, a reasonable effort shall be made to determine the citizenship status of the person.

If verification of lawful status
cannot
be made from documents in the
possession
of the prisoner, verification shall be made within forty-eight (48
) hours through a query to the law enforcement s
uppo
rt
c
enter of the
United States
department of h
o
meland s
ecurity or other office or agency designated for that purpose by the
United States
department of homeland s
ecurity. If the lawful immigration status of a prisoner cannot be verified, the administrator of the institution or other officer shall notify the
United States
department of homeland s
ecurity.

9
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1
‑
618.

Agents to be safeguarded as peace officers; general assistance to state, county or local authorities; investigative duties
; fraudulent documents identification unit
.

(c)

Subject to the availability of funding, the division shall establish the fraudulent documents
identification
unit for the primary purpose of investigating and apprehending persons or entities that participate in the sale or distribution of fraudulent documents used for identification purposes. The unit shall additionally specialize in fraudulent identification documents created and prepared for persons who are unlawfully residing in the state of
Wyoming
. Subject to legislative authorization, t
he division shall employ sufficient employees to investigate and
implement
the fraudulent documents
identification
unit.

31
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7
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111.

Application for license or permit generally.

(g)

Except as otherwise provided in subsection (h) of this section, n
o person shall be issued a driver's license
unless the person is a
United S
tates
c
itizen, national or legal permanent resident alien.

(h)

The provisions of subsection (g) of this section shall not apply
if an applicant presents, in person, valid documentary evidence of:

(i)

Unexpired immigrant or nonimmigrant visa status for admission into the
United States
;

(ii)

A pending or approved application for asylum in the
United States
;

(iii)

Admission into the
United States
in refugee status;

(iv)

A pending or approved application for temporary protected status in the
United States
;

(v)

Approved deferred action status; or

(vi)

A pending application for adjustment of status to legal permanent residence status or conditional resident status.

(j)

If an applicant provides evidence under subsection (h) of this section, a license issued pursuant to this chapter shall be valid only during the period of time of the authorized stay of the applicant in the United States or if there is no definite end to the period of authorized stay, a period of one (1) year. A license iss
ued pursuant to this subsection:

(i)

S
hall clearly indicate that it is temporary and sta
te the date on which it will expire; and

(ii)

May be renewed only upon presentation of valid documentary evidence that the status by which the applicant qualified for the identification is still in effect or has been extended by the appropriate federal agency.

(k)

When an application is made for renewal or replacement of a driver's license, the license shall be presumed to have been issued in accordance with subsection (h) of this section provided that, at the time the application is made, the license has not expired or been
cancel
l
ed
, suspended or revoked. If the division
is notified by a local, state or
federal
government agency of a reasonable suspicion that the individual seeking renewal or replacement is present in the United States in violation of law, the
provisions
of subsection (h)
of this section
apply to the renewal or replacement of the license.

31
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8
‑
101.

Issuance to residents by department; restrictions.

(c)

Except as otherwise provided in subsection (d) of this section, n
o person shall be issued a
n

identification card unless
the person is a
United States
c
itizen, national or legal permanent resident alien.

(d)

The provisions of subsection (c) of this section shall not apply if an applicant presents, in person, valid documentary evidence of:

(i)

Unexpired immigrant or nonimmigrant visa status for admission into the
United States
;

(ii)

A pending or approved application for asylum in the
United States
;

(iii)

Admission into the
United States
in refugee status;

(iv)

A pending or approved application for temporary protected status in the
United States
;

(v)

Approved deferred action status; or

(vi)

A pending application for adjustment of status to legal permanent residence status or conditional resident status.

(e)

If an applicant provides evidence under subsection (d) of this section, an identification card issued pursuant to this chapter shall be valid only during the period of time of the authorized stay of the applicant in the United States or if there is no definite end to the period of authorized stay, a period of one (1) year. An identification card issued pursuant to this subsection:

(i)

Shall clearly indicate that it is temporary and state the date on which it will expire; and

(ii)

May be renewed only upon presentation of valid documentary evidence that the status by which the applicant qualified for the identification is still in effect or has been extended by the appropriate federal agency.

(f)

When an application is made for renewal or replacement of an identification card, the identification card shall be presumed to have been issued in accordance with subsection (d) of this section, but, if the department is notified by a local, state or
federal
government agency of a reasonable suspicion that the individual seeking renewal or replacement is present in the United States in violation of law, the
provisions
of subsection (d)
of this section
apply to the renewal or replacement of the identification card.

Section 3.
This act is effective July 1, 2008.

(END)

1
HB0062