Monday evening’s meeting of the Springfield City Council played to a large audience as the council debated a petition which calls for the city to enforce a law prohibiting businesses from hiring illegal workers.
The proposed ordinance would require any employer doing business in Springfield to use the federal E-Verify computer program to check the eligibility of all current and potential workers.
Under the petition, any business found to employ an unlawful worker could see its city business license suspended.
Jerry Wilson, of Ozark and a leader in the area Minuteman organization, said unscrupulous employers can fulfill the letter of the law by accepting fraudulent documents at face value. Mandating the use of E-Verify would ensure those documents were at least run through a federal database.
Joe Robles, a Springfield insurance agent, told the council the petition would hurt small business and said the petition would send a message to illegals that they are not welcome here – a sentiment many in the audience found perceptible. One business owner from Springfield said, following the meeting, “Of course they’re not welcome here. We have too many Americans out of work and employing an illegal is, illegal. We need to start enforcing taht law here in Springfield.
Council will have the opportunity to adopt the petition in two week. Should they decide not to, it will appear on the ballot for a decision by voters.

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