Kyle Zawacki's Avatar

Kyle Zawacki

@ky-zawacki.bsky.social

Legislative Director, @acluofmichigan.bsky.social Former (and forever an) educator All posts are my own

125 Followers  |  193 Following  |  19 Posts  |  Joined: 22.11.2024  |  1.646

Latest posts by ky-zawacki.bsky.social on Bluesky

Ultimately, HB 4061 is a flawed and unnecessary measure that will lead to discrimination, economic harm, and administrative burdens without meaningfully improving immigration enforcement. (/fin)

13.03.2025 14:44 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

6. Punishing individuals with a felony perjury charge and up to 15 years of imprisonment for a false statement on an employment verification form is an extreme and disproportionate penalty. Applying such a severe penalty to administrative paperwork in the employment process is extremely punitive.

13.03.2025 14:44 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

5. Immigration enforcement is primarily a federal responsibility. HB 4061 forces Michigan businesses into a role that should be handled by federal agencies, leading to potential conflicts with federal law and exposing employers to unnecessary legal risks.

13.03.2025 14:44 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

4. E-Verify requires the collection and transmission of sensitive personal information, raising serious concerns about data security and the potential for misuse. The system has been subject to breaches in the past, putting workers at risk of identity theft and fraud.

13.03.2025 14:44 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

3. Verification mandates disproportionately impacts communities of color and immigrant workers which leads to an increase in workplace discrimination. Employers may be more likely to engage in unlawful profiling or preemptively avoid hiring individuals perceived as immigrants

13.03.2025 14:44 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

2. Burden on Workers and Employers - Mandating the use of E-Verify and additional verification processes imposes an undue burden on both workers and businesses. With E-Verify’s history of errors, wrongful employment denials for U.S. citizens and legal residents can impact employment and staffing.

13.03.2025 14:44 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

1. E-Verify is plagued by incorrect information. Data from E-Verify’s own website from FY 2023 showed that more than 58,000 people who were initially deemed β€œnot work authorized” later had their status changed to β€œwork authorized” after contesting their initial designation.

13.03.2025 14:44 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

In total, we had six major concerns:

13.03.2025 14:44 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

This bill poses serious risks to civil liberties, privacy, and economic fairness in our state.

13.03.2025 14:44 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

M, on behalf of the @acluofmichigan.bsky.social, I testified in opposition to HB 4061 - a bill that would require public employers and subcontractors to participate with the error prone E-Verify system when determining their work eligibility.

13.03.2025 14:44 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Michigan LGBTQ+ Webinar Addressing Recent Executive Orders Β· Equality Michigan Join Equality Michigan and the ACLU of Michigan on Wednesday, February 5 at 6:30 p.m. for a webinar where Jay Kaplan, LGBTQ Project Staff attorney at the ACLU and Emme Zanotti, Director of Advocacy at...

Join Equality Michigan and the ACLU of Michigan on Wednesday, February 5 at 6:30 for a webinar where we will walk through what we know and don't know about the executive orders, bills in the Michigan legislature, and strategies we are deploying to fight back.

www.mobilize.us/equalitymi/e...

03.02.2025 15:00 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

The Michigan House of Representatives introduced legislation that will block Michiganders’ fundamental right to vote. #mileg 🧡

29.01.2025 22:51 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Denying transgender students the right to meaningfully play sports or access a bathroom or locker room is cruel and harmful.

Trans students belong in sports, our communities, and every aspect of public life.Β Β  #mileg

29.01.2025 22:05 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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#LameDuck

18.12.2024 18:52 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Big thanks to both Reps. @caglanville.bsky.social and @verostaterep10.bsky.social for their leadership on this package!
#mileg #FreedomToRead #RightToRead

04.12.2024 18:40 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

While states across the country are grappling with challenges to intellectual freedom and efforts to censor library materials, HBs 6034 and 6035 give Michigan the opportunity to lead by example in preventing these attacks.

04.12.2024 18:40 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

The bills prohibit the removal of materials based on the religion, race, gender, sexual orientation, or other personal characteristics of the author or the content’s viewpoint, ensuring that personal biases or ideological pressures do not erode public access to information.

04.12.2024 18:40 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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When free speech is valued, environments are needed to safeguard diverse ideas. Libraries are THE critical spaces to house these freedoms.

House Bills 6034 and 6035 ensure that public and district libraries remain true to this mission.

#mileg #FreedomToRead #RightToRead

04.12.2024 18:40 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Michigan House TV

Heading over to testify in Michigan's House Government Operations Committee in SUPPORT of HBs 6034 and 6035 which will protect district and public libraries from chilling attacks on freedom of speech in library collections.

You can watch here starting at NOON:
www.house.mi.gov/VideoPlayer?...

04.12.2024 16:42 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

β€œSupport of this package is by no means endorsement of adultery, but rather support for cleaning up outdated, unenforced statutes,” Zawacki told lawmakers.

04.12.2024 14:24 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Kyle Zawacki, legislative director of the ACLU of Michigan, called the adultery ban a β€œrelic of a bygone era” that β€œperpetuates stigma and discrimination” and undermines government transparency by clogging up the state’s penal code with unenforced crimes.

04.12.2024 14:24 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Sodomy, adultery bans latest β€˜zombie’ laws under scrutiny in Michigan | Bridge Michigan Democratic lawmakers are reviving efforts to remove long-dormant criminal penalties for consensual sex acts. Can they get it done in lame-duck?

Yesterday I testified in Senate Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety Committee on the need to remove another zombie law: adultery as a felony.

Read @bridgemichigan.bsky.social's coverage here:
Sodomy, adultery bans latest β€˜zombie’ laws under scrutiny in Michigan bridgemi.com/michigan-gov...

04.12.2024 14:24 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

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