Aliens - not the ones from outer space

In case you hadn't noticed, Miami is a land of foreigners. Being born here, I sometimes feel like a stranger in a strange land. Everyone is from somewhere else - and usually very far away where there is a different language, different customs, senses of family, community and beliefs.

The law is not blind to the presence of what are know, quite stupidly, as "aliens." I could go into the whole etymology of why people are referred to aliens, but that's for the online dictionary to handle (Oxford online, by the way, has a particularly good history). Anyhow...

Not surprisingly, the laws on our books distinguish between those who are here legally and those who are not. Both sets of people impact us and our rights, as well as their own. If you are a foreigner, you should be glad to know that the law expressly and unequivocally provides that no trade or profession can be denied to you simply by virtue of the fact that you are not a U.S. citizen. That's §455.10 Fla. Stat. for any of you doubters out there.

By contrast, the law also provides that there are civil and criminal penalties applicable to those persons who hire "aliens" not here legally. It says, in pertinent part:

"It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to employ, hire, recruit, or refer, either for herself or himself or on behalf of another, for private or public employment within the state, an alien who is not duly authorized to work by the immigration laws or the Attorney General of the United States. "

So, as you can see, it applies both to public and private employers. It also says that your first violation is a civil fine, then it becomes a criminal misdemeanor for a repeat offender. It gets better. After that, you start getting charged for each illegal immigrant as a separate offense.

As an employer, you are charged with confirming the legality of your employees' immigration and citizenship status. If you have any doubts about a particular employee's status, you should speak with the employee and contact a lawyer knowledgeable about immigration matters.

Take heed, lest some of your favorite staffers end up deported and you end up in the pokey.