Immigration violators could lose biz licenses

June 27, 2008

Virginia businesses face a new law that could strip away their corporate existence for repeated violations of federal immigration law. 

The 2008 General Assembly passed legislation – now signed by the governor – that authorizes the State Corporation Commission to terminate a corporation’s existence if the corporation is convicted under federal law for “a pattern or practice of employing unauthorized aliens in the Commonwealth.”

Despite the usual business stance of opposing non-federal immigration laws, the Virginia Chamber of Commerce chose not to fight this proposal because it would punish only the most blatant violators.  “It gets at the people who completely ignore the law,” said the chamber’s Keith Cheatham during the 2008 session.

The Peabody Corporation of Newport News may be the only Virginia business that would have been affected by this law in recent years.  The family-owned commercial fishing business and its owners pleaded guilty last year to federal immigration violations and forfeited $6 million in allegedly illegal profits. 

The FBI had videotaped one Peabody owner telling applicants that they needed to get fake identity documents if they wanted to work on the company’s boats.  The government claimed that the fishing fleet employed at least 126 illegal aliens between 2003 and 2006.

Under the new legislation that takes effect in July, the authority of any business entity to operate in Virginia may be revoked by the SCC upon a federal conviction of hiring or continuing to employ illegal aliens.  Businesses have a duty to immediately report any such conviction to the SCC and file a copy of the conviction record.  A revoked business entity would not be eligible for reinstatement for at least one year.

Seasonal workers needed

Meanwhile, many Virginia businesses needing seasonal workers are going begging, according to reports.  A fourth generation crab processor in Hampton complains that he cannot get people to pick crab meat for him.  “All these businesses have nowhere to turn but bankruptcy,” said Claire Guthrie Gastañaga, a Virginia lobbyist for Latino organizations.

While the federal government works to forge a new immigration law package, businesses in the seafood, landscaping, and tourism industries are unable to get seasonal workers, Gastañaga said.  The problem is the lapse in a temporary worker provision, a visa program for seasonal workers.  Congress has not acted to extend the program arguing that it should be part of the overall package.

“We need comprehensive immigration reform that secures our borders, ensures that temporary workers are not exploited, and meets the needs of the economy,” said Gastañaga. 

Written by Peter Vieth  |  Filed Under Immigration 

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