Elgin must ensure no undocumented workers

Your article of Sept. 20, "Elgin to audit more illegal workers," gives the impression that the city was enforcing the new policy of January 2008, which states that all contractors must certify to the city that all of its employees are legal and the city may conduct random audits. This new policy was to answer voters' concerns about illegal aliens being paid with Elgin tax dollars.

The Association for Legal Americans (AFLA) was told that illegal temporary workers supplied by a temp agency were working on a city project and we asked councilman John Prigge if he would check it out. We were told that the city had never assigned anyone to oversee this policy and that no record of the legality of these workers was ever received or checked. Seems the Elgin council duped Elgin's voters into believing that they finally wanted to do something about Elgin's illegal alien problem.

An independent company was called in to run checks but only a month after AFLA asked the question.

AFLA suggested the city issue work badges for temporary and contract workers. Our city employees are required to have these badges. Why wouldn't it be just good policy to identify them?

The mystery is why the council refuses to act aggressively about Elgin's problems. Our unemployment is high, as is our percentage of low-income residents, and that has a huge effect on our taxpayers and community. Our mayor of the last 10 years needs to finally stop using the federal government as his excuse and start working with other communities in our area to address what can be done with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to try to solve some of these issues.

David White

Vice President of AFLA

Elgin