The Houston Chronicle ran a great op-ed about sensible immigration policy this weekend. The author, my good friend and CEO of Marek, Stan Marek, explained the concept we call “ID and Tax” very well.
“Once an employer receives a Social Security no-match letter and finds that an employee is not authorized to work in the United States, rather than lose that employee to the shadow economy, they and the employee work with the Department of Homeland Security to secure a work permit. If the worker has been in the U.S. for at least five years and can pass a criminal background check, the employee is issued a tamper-proof ID with fingerprints and a five-year work permit. The employer pays for both the background check and ID. The worker would not be eligible to vote or collect welfare, but he or she could now hold a job legally without fear of deportation. And they’d be able to get a driver’s license,” Marek said.
Marek explained that law enforcement supports this policy because it will allow undocumented workers to obtain drivers licenses and report crimes. Hospitals support it because undocumented workers will able to obtain workers comp instead of showing up at emergency rooms uninsured. It would also increase national security by helping the federal government identify who is here and allowing them to focus DHS resources on the border crisis.
Stan Marek is right. This sensible policy will benefit our economy and increase national security.
It would provide a solution to the issue of worker misclassification where employers file workers on 1099s, avoid taxes, and undercut and underbid those who are following all the rules. It would grow our taxable legal workforce at a time of record-low unemployment while Texas businesses need more workers.
Check out the op-ed, and please join us in contacting your lawmakers and asking them to pass sensible immigration policy, or “ID and Tax.”
May God bless you, and may He continue to bless America.