Quakers Seek Aliens Exemption

The American Friends Service Committee filed suit in federal court today seeking a religious exemption to new immigration laws that require employers to fire undocumented aliens.

Steven G. Cary, chairman of the board of directors, said the group, commonly known as Quakers, was acting on behalf of “the dispossessed and the undocumented,” those who have been driven from their countries by war and economic deprivation. The lawsuit seeks to exempt the Friends as an employer from the employer sanction requirement of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. It contains the threat of fines up to $10,000 for employers who fail to verify documents or fail to fire employees who don’t produce documentation.