WASHINGTON   –  U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08) today sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder demanding stricter enforcement of immigration laws.  Her complaint comes on the heels of incidents in St. Francois and Ozark counties in which illegal aliens had been detained by county sheriffs and then ordered released by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

“If immigration law was aggressively enforced by the federal government, we could remove a tremendous incentive to hire illegal aliens as construction workers,” Emerson said. “Not to mention that it is always important to protect the Missourian who are part of our legal workforce.  They are skilled and dedicated, and they deserve the opportunity to work at these good jobs in our communities.”

The text of Emerson’s letter is below.

February 19, 2010


The Honorable Eric Holder
Attorney General
United States Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530

Dear Attorney General Holder:

In the last year, there have been two instances in my district where local law enforcement officials apprehended illegal aliens at worksites only to be ordered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to release them back into the community.  This is a misguided policy which only encourages more illegal aliens to enter our country to find work. However, there is another factor that is also a key contributor to our illegal immigrant problem – illegal employment.

In my district and around the nation contractors and other employers continue to hire illegal aliens with substandard pay and labor conditions. This takes away opportunity for willing and able American workers, especially in this difficult time when unemployment is around 10 percent. Unfortunately, it appears there has been little or no enforcement of employers who illegally employ undocumented workers.

In order for our federal government to stem the tide of illegal immigration, we must not only secure the border, we must also ensure employers are discouraged from hiring illegal aliens instead of American citizens.  I request that the Justice department investigate this problem to ensure our government uses the full weight of the law to discourage and eliminate corporations, contractors and other employers from hiring illegal aliens.

Thank you for your consideration of this request. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at 202-225-4404.