Posted on 09/17/2008 2:23:19 PM PDT by Delacon
Unless Congress steps in, on November 30, E-Verify is set to expire. E-Verify is a system that allows employers to verify electronically whether their newly hired employees are legally authorized to work in the United States. E-Verify should be re-authorized.
A Valuable Voluntary Program
Through E-Verify, participating employers can check the work eligibility status of new personnel they are hiring through an online service that compares information from an employee's I-9 form against Social Security Administration (SSA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) databases. This service is provided free to employers (though the individual companies must bear the cost of providing the infrastructure and people to enter the data). So far this year, E-Verify has processed over 4 million eligibility checks. The system has proven to be quite effective, and SSA and DHS continue to work to improve service, reliability, and privacy protections.
An estimated 82,000 employers have enrolled in the program, and some states, such as Arizona, have passed laws requiring all employers to use E-Verify. Additionally, in June 2008 the President signed an executive order that directs all federal departments and agencies to require contractors (as a condition for obtaining future federal contracts) to agree to use an electronic workers' employment eligibility verification system. DHS designated E-Verify as the system of choice. According to DHS, the number of employers signing up to use the system is growing by about 1,000 companies per week.
In addition, DHS has established a new partner program called IMAGE, which builds on E-Verify. Companies registered in E-Verify are eligible to participate. IMAGE includes audits, internal training (on issues such as document fraud), and establishing protocols for responding to "no-match" letters from SSA. In return, they receive recognition from DHS as a company employing best practices in workplace verification. Industries that historically have a high percentage of unlawfully present persons (e.g., non-U.S. citizens who do not hold a legitimate work visa) in their workforce will find this program particularly helpful in complying with workplace and immigration laws. DHS already has 37 major private partners participating in the program. Without E-Verify, DHS will have to discontinue this valuable initiative as well.
Over the years, the program has gained wide support. This past July, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Employee Verification Amendment Act of 2008 (H.R. 6633), which simply re-authorized E-Verify for an additional five years. The vote was 407–2. Since then, the bill has sat idly in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate has not voted on the Employee Verification Amendment Act of 2008 because of an addition in the Senate measure introduced by Senator Robert Menendez (D–NJ). The Menendez bill proposes unrelated reforms that would allow government to rollover unused work visa allocations into the next year so that employers do not lose the opportunity to hire the foreign workers they need.
Menendez is right that America's visa system may need reform. There is, however, no consensus in the Congress of what those reforms should look like. Congress should debate visa reforms as a separate issue.
Keeping Things Simple
If Congress does not reauthorize E-Verify by November, the program will expire and will no longer be available to employers. There is no reason why re-authorization of E-Verify should be held up. The program, while not perfect, is a useful tool in helping combat unlawful employment. Congress should re-authorize E-Verify.
James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., is Assistant Director of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies and Senior Research Fellow for National Security and Homeland Security in the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation.
And someone should ask McCain and Obama where they stand on e-verify.
btt
ping
Hi,To give you some insight into the personalities of these two gentleman, here are the email responses I received:What, specifically, are you doing to extend the e-verify program.
Reference: http://www.heritage.org/Research/Immigration/wm2066.cfm
Please respond via email. Don't waste my taxpayer dollars sending a written response via the USPS.
Thanks!
upchuck
[home adress]
[phone number]
From Lindsey Graham at 4:40pm:
Thank you for taking the time to contact me. I appreciate the opportunity to hear from you.Gee, that was kind of bland an unremarkable, wasn't it? Kinda like Graham himself.In spite of the high volume of mail I receive daily, I look forward to reviewing your correspondence and providing a personal response as soon as possible.
As we continue our work in the 110th Congress, I look forward to supporting our troops in the War on Terror, providing the men and women of the National Guard and Reserves with improved health care, strengthening Social Security, protecting American jobs, lowering the tax burden on American families, and making the federal government more accountable and efficient.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if I may be of further assistance to you or your family, and if you need immediate assistance, please call my office at 202-224-5972. If your correspondence pertains to a scheduling request, please fax your request to (202) 224-3808.
Sincerely,
Lindsey Graham
And now, for a refreshing change of pace, from Jim DeMint at 4:41pm:
Dear Mr. [upchuck],Granted, both of these responses came from auto-responders. But at least DeMint's was on topic and answered (sorta) my question.Thank you for contacting me to express your support for E-Verify as it relates to immigration reform. I appreciate hearing from you on this issue.
As you may know, E-Verify is a voluntary Internet-based employment eligibility verification system operated by the Department of Homeland Security in partnership with the Social Security Administration. Established by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA), the program allows employers to electronically verify the work authorization and social security number validity of newly hired employees. The current E-Verify program extension is set to expire in November of this year.
In order to enforce current law regarding the hiring of employees, we must equip employers with the necessary means to verify an individual's eligibility for hire. I believe extending the program is necessary to help keep employers accountable and adhering to the law in their hiring practices. You may be pleased to know that I recently signed a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, urging him to take up and swiftly pass a bill reauthorizing E-Verify before we adjourn this year.
I believe America is a land of hope and opportunity. But, the price of participation is to obey the law and enter our country through legal channels. Our security depends a great deal on effectively managing immigration, and I will continue to support efforts to maintain the rule of law, ensure the safety of our homeland, and uphold the sanctity of American citizenship.
Thank you again for sharing your concerns with me. Please feel free to contact me in the future about any issue important to you or your family. It is an honor to serve you and the people of South Carolina.
Sincerely,
Jim DeMint
United States Senator
Lindsey Graham should be ashamed.
Did they? I wouldn't think it would be too hard for a Senator or Congresscritter to have staffers look at each email and quickly indicate its nature and hit a button to send an appropriate response. Keywords can help somewhat, but can't very well distinguish between letters favoring or opposing particular policies.
Auto-responders can be programed to look for keywords and send the appropriate response. I suspect that is what Senator DeMint has.
Lindsey light-loafers on the other hand...
Don’t know their positions on this, but in my searching, did find out that Palin opposed the Real ID Act for Alaska
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: (202) 675-2312, media@dcaclu.org
WASHINGTON – Yesterday, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin returned a bill to the legislature that would prevent the state from funding implementation of the federal Real ID Act. By neither signing nor vetoing the bill 20 days after overwhelming passage in the legislature, Governor Palin allowed the bill to become law, effective August of this year. Real ID is a federal mandate imposing a national ID card on all Americans through their state drivers’ licenses.”.....
http://www.aclu.org/privacy/gen/35470prs20080529.html
ping
I sent messages to all my congress critters. I expect form letters from all of them, but since I live in South Texas, many of my rep’s constituents probably have relatives that swim across; hell, maybe he does, too. I don’t expect a lot of action out of him. He’s a democRat and I’ve never voted for him, although I might if he’d get something done on this.
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