By Adam Allington, KWMU
St. Louis – Members of the Missouri business community are worried lawmakers' zeal to add new restrictions and penalties for illegal immigrants could hurt the state's economy.
The Missouri Chamber of Commerce hosted a conference on the subject in St. Louis Thursday.
St. Louis immigration attorney Kelly Simon said in the absence of federal immigration reform, many state legislatures are shifting the burden of enforcement onto employers.
"They're having to juggle potentially 50 different state regimens and a federal regime which at any given time may not match, All while carrying on their daily business," Simon said.
The General Assembly is considering more than a dozen pieces of legislation that could affect employers.
Some bills would hold employers responsible for checking immigration status, while also penalizing those who knowingly or unknowingly hire illegal immigrants.