Atlasian Coalition Of Labor Occupations (A.C.L.O) Headquarters

[Fmr. Representative Encke]

Emegency A.C.L.O Notice

HB 18-29: Your Employees Must Be Citizens Act
Fellow members, I urge you to fight this bill in any form you can. The fact of the matter is that this bill prevents naturalized residents; Green Card holders, Asylum members, permitted temporary workers, and undocumented immigrants from holding occupations. The vague language could harm a host of many hardworking Atlasian residents, ultimately resulting in their expulsion from their hard earned jobs. The most egregious of this whole debacle is that our fellow A.C.L.O member(s) have supported this measure. I cannot stress that such a measure will not affect Atlasian citizens wages, only punishing the various groups in Atlasia not yet acquiring that status. I urge for this bill to be defeated or we will take solidarity in industrial action.

The bill's title is unfortunate, and should probably be changed, but nothing in the bill implies that anyone other than undocumented immigrants is affected. Also note that with the Come Out of the Shadows Act, undocumented immigrants have been given the opportunity to apply for conditional nonimmigrant visas that authorize them to work and travel. That act was passed in early 2017, so any illegal immigrants residing in Atlasia have been given ample time to gain legal status.

[Fmr. Representative Encke]

I fear I have to side with the Congresswoman here. The Employees Must Be Legal Act is overall a positive bill.

We should encourage businesses to hire legal inmigrants who get all the rights of labour in this country, not illegal inmigrants who can easily be exploited by their bosses.

I have always been of the opinion that we must have a tough line against illegal inmigration, but to compensate we need to loosen inmigration restrictions and allow those same inmigrants to come in legally. To that effect I also echo Jimmy's concerns even if I would personally vote differently.

Finally to clarify just in case, the above is a statment I am doing as a private citizen and not endorsed or authorized by the ACLO.

To add on to what Tack said, I'll stress yet again that the situation in Atlasia is not the same as the situation IRL! Under the Come Out of the Shadows Act, illegal immigrants present in Atlasia prior to the bill's passage can come forward and apply for a conditional nonimmigrant visa that allows them to legally work and travel in Atlasia. Per the GM report released last March, over 3 million undocumented immigrants have come forward to apply for said visa. If these workers are as important as Jimmy argues, then they should easily be able to qualify for the visa, since the applicant will be able to "Attest to having made contributions to the U.S. through employment, education, military service, or other volunteer/community service (with exemptions for minors, persons with disabilities, the elderly, or other unusual circumstances)."