Posted on 09/13/2011 2:26:19 PM PDT by jazusamo
The House Judiciary Committee will mark up a bill from Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) on Thursday morning that would require all U.S. employers to use E-Verify, the Department of Homeland Security system that checks whether new hires are eligible to work in the United States.
Smith called on President Obama to make E-Verify part of his jobs plan on Monday, arguing the law could open up millions of jobs for legal residents as the unemployment remains above 9 percent. The program checks candidates' Social Security numbers against a federal database to verify they are allowed to work in the U.S.
“A federal E-Verify requirement is needed now more than ever," Smith said in a statement sent to The Hill.
"Nearly 14 million Americans can’t find work but at the same time seven million illegal immigrants work in the U.S. Congress should pass the Legal Workforce Act and the President should sign it into law — unemployed Americans can’t wait any longer.”
Federal contractors are already required to use E-Verify, which Smith characterized as a simple, straightforward way to ensure employers aren't hiring illegal aliens for open jobs in an op-ed published Tuesday in The Hill.
"The 'E' in E-Verify could just as well stand for 'easy' and 'effective.' It takes only one to two minutes to use per new hire and immediately confirms 99.5 percent of work-eligible employees," Smith said.
"Even though E-Verify is not mandatory, many businesses voluntarily use the program. Nearly 290,000 American employers use E-Verify and an average of 1,300 new businesses sign up each week," he said.
While Smith noted that the vast majority — 99.5 percent — of individuals are immediately confirmed as eligible to work, the remaining half-percent remain a major concern for groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union that oppose making E-Verify mandatory. While a portion of those cases are ineligible workers, DHS has also previously acknowledged that some workers are erroneously rejected initially and must petition to have their status reviewed. Critics argue those workers are essentially barred from working through no fault of their own, until DHS corrects the error.
But the program has a long list of supporters, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Restaurant Association and the National Association of Home Builders. The bill has met stiff resistance from agricultural producers, who rely heavily on illegal labor to harvest fruits and vegetables.
Make all members of the Administration, from the POTUS on down, submit their information to e-verify and the publish the results. We want to make sure that everyone on the payroll is eligible to work in the US. :*)
Someone should enter Zero’s name and SS# and video what comes up on the screen.
Especially as Obama is one of the 0.5% whose SSN fails E-Verify!
I second that and #1 just may have a problem. ;-)
We use e-verify. It’s a joke. You can’t run a person’s info until you’ve ALREADY hired them. If you find out they aren’t legal, you are forbidden to fire them, they must go through ‘the process’. After the employee has contacted the authorities, etc., and their info still does not check out, you are told you may legally terminate their employment. I think this is to put the burden on the employer and off the illegal employee. If you keep them and there’s trouble, it’s probably going to be for you, not them.
I wonder what Gov. Perry’s opinion of this is.
A president Rick Perry wouldn’t go for it either:
“During Friday’s debate, Gov. Rick Perry said: “E-Verify would not make a hill of beans’ difference when it comes to what’s happening in America today. You secure the border first, then you can talk about how to identify individuals in an immigration situation.”
See post 8. He’s against it.
Spot on.
“Even though E-Verify is not mandatory, many businesses voluntarily use the program.”
Who could have seen this coming? Gosh, I wonder what else is going to be ‘made mandatory’ for business to operate in the US.
It is not the job of businesses in America to act as immigration patrollers.
E-verify removes the burden from the employer and places it on the government to verify if a worker is eligible.
It is a great tool for getting illegals to self deport.
Nonsense. E-verify is a great tool for businesses and state and local governments to verify that their employees are legally eligible to work in the USA.
It only takes a minute and it relieves the employer from being responsible if an illegal person slips through.
Only pro-amnesty people are against e-verify because they know it works.
Except if the employee is president of the United States of America. Down on “The Animal Farm”, presidential piggies get to live in a E-verified failed farmer's house.
“Nonsense. E-verify is a great tool for businesses and state and local governments to verify that their employees are legally eligible to work in the USA.”
Then why is it being made mandatory? If it’s such a great tool, then businesses will adopt it voluntarily.
“It only takes a minute and it ‘relieves the employer from being responsible’ if an illegal person slips through.”
Why is the employer at all responsible in the first place? This is wrong. An employer should not be held responsible, the person who broke the law should be held responsible.
That the business could be held responsible when they hire someone with falsified documents is completely wrong. The one who is responsible is the person who falsified documents.
“Only pro-amnesty people are against e-verify because they know it works.”
Again, the administration wants to simply tax businesses to do the dirty work that they refuse to do.
What use is E-Verify, when,
1, you can’t fire people who have E-Verify fail.
2, they can’t be deported, per Obama’s ED.
3, it doesn’t catch ID fraud.
So, no, E Verify doesn’t work at all. The only thing it does do is make it very clear that employers, and only employers are responsible, if they defy the administration and dare NOT to use E-Verify when hiring.
The Dems fear such a bill more than they fear a fence being built or more border guards. No jobs, no reason for most of them to be here.Not only does it make it unattractive for them to come but it will be impetus for them to leave.No more demagoguing that we can not deport them all. Many of them will get on the bus themselves.
It works great! If an employee is shown to be here illegally you must fire them. Simple as that!
Your argument about “mandates” are absurd.
Now you no longer have to worry about hiring illegals. If you used E-verify you are in the clear.
You are not fooling anyone. Like I said:
“Only pro-amnesty people are against e-verify because they know it works.”
We will implement it, we will make it almost impossible to stay in America illegally and they will GET OUT!
E-verify works!
Well said. But it isn’t just democrats against it. Rick Perry and some posters on this thread and probably the editorial page of the WSJ to name a few, are also.
If there are kinks in it, which I'm not sure there are, they can be worked out.
Some employers don't want to be forced to use it because they profit by hiring illegals.
“It works great! If an employee is shown to be here illegally you must fire them.”
That’s not how it works, the employee has the right to appeal the process. You cannot legally fire them until their appeals process is over.
“Your argument about “mandates” are absurd.”
A mandate is still a mandate. If the government can force you to use E-Verify, what’s to stop them from forcing you to collect Obamacare? Nothing. You don’t have to ask permission from the federal government to hire someone. At least you didn’t in a free country like America.
“Now you no longer have to worry about hiring illegals.”
Again, E-Verify doesn’t catch those who engage in identity theft. All it does is match a valid SS number with a name. If someone shows up with a name and a valid SS number, E-Verify tells you that the person is cleared for work.
As always, a business that does due diligence will prosper over one that simply relies on the Federal government to do their hiring decisions for them.
“If you used E-verify you are in the clear.”
Why are they guilty in the first place?
“Only pro-amnesty people are against e-verify because they know it works.”
I’ve had experience with E-Verify as an employee who has had to check, and my experience with them was less than underwhelming.
“We will implement it, we will make it almost impossible to stay in America illegally and they will GET OUT!”
Heh. It doesn’t work. That’s the point. All it does is sign over more power to the federal government. That’s why it’s being made a mandate, not something which an employer engages in voluntarily.
Ping!
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