JEFFERSON CITY — A bill barring immigrants without legal status from sending money overseas is moving through the Missouri House of Representatives.
Currently, proof of legal immigration status is not needed to send money via wire transfers in Missouri. House Bill 2412 would require this verification. It would also enact a civil penalty (25% of what was transferred plus fees) if an undocumented person were to initiate a foreign remittance transfer.
Carlos Rich, who works with immigrants in southwest Missouri, predicts that 5,000 immigrants in the area would be affected by this bill. One man, who asked to be identified as Cristobal, is one of them.
Originally from Guatemala, Cristobal has been in the U.S. for 13 years with undocumented status. He said he sends about 50% of his salary, working in food service, to his family back home.
"I'm here alone fighting for life, to maintain my family over there. I've been here for 13 years," he said.
Missouri State Treasurer Vivek Malek also drew on his own experience as an immigrant to reflect on this bill. To him, money made in the United States belongs in the United States. He said immigrants should contribute to prosperity here.
"I think it's very important to make sure that this bill is a very common sense approach in the sense that we are all for legal immigration but very much against illegal immigration," Malek said.
The Treasurer's Office also emphasized the harm it believes foreign remittances by undocumented immigrants can cause the local economy, such as by undermining labor laws or driving down wages.
Rep. Ben Keathley, R-St. Louis, is the sponsor of this bill and said it would be enforced through Missouri's financial institutions.
"Right now, we have no way to really track this," Keathley said. "We don't want money leaving our state and we certainly don't want to be a state that encourages being a financial zone for illegal activity."
Rep. Marty Joe Murray, D-St. Louis, who is a part of the House Financial Institutions Committee, which heard the bill on Wednesday, said he strongly opposes it and raised concerns about privacy and discrimination.
"This legislation would force immigrant status checks into private financial transactions, placing unnecessary burdens on families or small business owners," Murray said. "We can support public safety without undermining trust or compassion."
Rep. Doug Clemens, D-St. Louis, said this will hurt small businesses, especially small shops like bodegas or convenience stores. He also mentioned his apprehension toward a potential lack of protection of people's personal data. Malek said it's simply providing legal verification, the same protocol to having to get a driver's license in Missouri.
"Right now immigration is a hot button topic," Clemens said. "The problem with that is that we're going to hurt real human beings, we're going to hurt businesses, we're going to destroy our economy by playing these games."
Cristobal said that the inability for undocumented immigrants to send family money cause a lot of people to suffer, including his family.
"How are they going to have enough to eat, to maintain themselves, or in case of a sickness if I can no longer send money?" he said.
In Missouri, foreign remittance funds are currently not taxed. Federally, a 1% federal remittance taxed was imposed starting Jan. 1.
