Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) are pushing legislation that would force all employers to use the federal government’s flawed E-Verify program before hiring any workers. This may sound simple, but making E-Verify mandatory would actually jeopardize the jobs of millions of Americans, expand red tape for businesses, cost taxpayers billions, and fail to identify undocumented workers more than half the time. What’s worse, it won’t actually fix the broken immigration system.
MANDATORY E-VERIFY LEGISLATION: JUST THE FACTS
Summary of the Legal Workforce Act (Smith Bill) (NILC, June 2011)
Summary of the Accountability through Electronic Verification Act (Grassley Bill) (NILC, June 2011)
WHAT’S THEIR REAL AGENDA? MASS DEPORTATION
MANDATORY E-VERIFY IS NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME
“Findings of the E-Verify Program Evaluation,” report conducted for the federal government showing 54% error rate for undocumented workers who go through E-Verify (Westat, December 2009)
Employment Verification: Federal Agencies Have Taken Steps to Improve E-Verify, But Significant Challenges Remain (Government Accountability Office, December 2010)
Quotations from Lawmakers: State Policymakers Critique E-Verify (NILC, Jan 2011)
MANDATORY E-VERIFY WOULD COST AMERICAN TAXPAYERS
The True Costs of E-Verify (Center for American Progress, June 2011)
MANDATORY E-VERIFY WOULD DESTROY AMERICAN AGRICULTURE
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack Holds a News Teleconference on Immigration (May 2011)
“Farmworkers and the Food System Will Suffer Under Smith’s Mandatory Employment Verification” (Farmworker Justice, July 2011)
“E-Verify is E-Normous Problem for Agriculture” (American Farm Bureau Federation, June 2011)
MANDATORY E-VERIFY WOULD HURT AMERICAN WORKERS
“Reversal of Fortune,” article on labor opposition to E-Verify (National Journal, May 2011)
Statement from AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on the Legal Workforce Act (June 2011)
AFL-CIO Letter to Yakima Mayor Micah Cawley (AFL-CIO, June 2011)
"The Republican Plan to Wreck the Economy" by Eliseo Medina (The Hill, June 2011)
MANDATORY E-VERIFY WOULD EXPAND RED TAPE AND COSTS FOR BUSINESSES
‘Free’ E-Verify May Cost Small Business $2.6 Billion: Insight (Bloomberg, Jan 2011)
E-Verify Creates Burdens for Small Businesses (NILC, June 2011)
Small Business Owners Warn Mandatory E-Verify Would Be Bad for Businesses, Urge Comprehensive Immigration Reform Instead (Main Street Alliance, June 2011)
MANDATORY E-VERIFY IS A BIG BROTHER NIGHTMARE
“E-Verify Is Big Government Overreach, Say Libertarian and Conservative Leaders,” recording of press call (CEI, June 30, 2011)
“We Should Trust, But Not E-Verify” (National Foundation for American Policy, July 2011)
Coalition Letter Against Mandatory Implementation of E-Verify (Competitive Enterprise Institute, March 10, 2011)
The New—Cardless!—National ID (Cato, June 2011)
"E-Verify is a Stealth National ID" by Bob Barr (The Barr Code, June 2011)
MANDATORY E-VERIFY WOULD OVERWHELM THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
The Facts on Employment Verification: Current Proposals are Unworkable for SSA, Threaten Progress in Reducing Disability Claims Backlog (National Watermelon Association, March 2008)
Statement of Tyler Moran, Policy Director, National Immigration Law Center: House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security Hearing on the Social Security Administration’s Role in Verifying Employment Eligibility (NILC, April 2011)
COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM IS THE FAIR, AND PRACTICAL SOLUTION
New Report Highlights Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CAP, Jan 2010)
Voter Support for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (Lake Research Partners, November 2010)
Public Opinion on Immigration Reform (America’s Voice, June 2010)
