House Republicans, led by Reps. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Elton Gallegly (R-CA), and Steve King (R-IA), recently introduced a new bill, the Legal Workforce Act, that would require employers to verify the immigration status of potential employees over a federal E-Verify electronic system.
The proposed bill would gradually phase out the I-9 forms that businesses currently use to verify legal workers, and impose mandatory participation on most employers to check new workers? legal status through a government database.
The Current E-Verify System
The E-Verify program was originally established in 1997 as a pilot program created to prevent illegal immigrants from being hired. Currently, employers are required to complete Form I-9 for new hires, but they may volunteer to use the E-Verify program as a free, quick way to verify an individual?s immigration status.
The current system has been criticized as inaccurate for failing to keep up-to-date on changing names due to marriage and changes in citizenship status.
Changes Under the Proposed Bill
Under the proposed bill, employers would be required to enroll in E-Verify by a deadline based on number of employees. Businesses with smaller workforces will not be required to implement the system until up to 2 years after, if ever, the bill is enacted. Employers of farm workers are given 3 years to comply. The bill only applies to new hires and would not apply to seasonal farm workers returning to the same employer.
The bill would also impose criminal penalties on individuals for giving fraudulent identification numbers in an E-Verify screening.
Support and Opposition to the E-Verify Bill
Rep. Smith, who introduced the bill, says it would identify illegal workers and also help to alleviate the high unemployment rate by ensuring all businesses are hiring legal workers.
The bill has long been opposed by the agricultural industry, concerned that the new bill would decimate the agricultural workforce because most US citizens will not seek such labor-intensive jobs.
Immigrant rights groups also oppose the bill, citing reports that the current E-Verify system is flawed with inaccuracy and would have the effect of barring qualified workers from jobs. Others claim that the system will burden small business owners with prohibitive costs and will encourage employers to move into the cash economy.
State E-Verify Legislation Across the Country
Although the federal E-Verify system is currently voluntary, many states have passed legislation mandating business owners to utilize the system.
Recently, the Supreme Court upheld an Arizona law requiring all business in the state to use E-Verify or lose their business licenses. Other states that have passed similar E-Verify laws include Alabama, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Mississippi, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah and Virginia.
If the proposed federal bill passes, however, it will pre-empt state E-Verify laws.
Although there seems to be strong state support for the new E-Verify bill, only time will tell whether it will come to fruition.
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Source: http://www.legallanguage.com/legal-articles/e-verify-check-immigration-status/
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