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Workplace Verification (E-Verify)

 

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As an employer, you want to do the right thing. But how can you insure that your prospective hire has a legal right to work in the United States? The simple solution: use E-Verify (formerly Basic Pilot Program) , the Department of Homeland Security's Electronic Employment Verification Program. E-Verify enables employers to quickly and easily verify the work authorization of their newly hired employees. E-Verify does this by providing access to the Verification Information System (VIS) database. This database is a nationally accessible database of immigration status information, including more than 60 million records.

Map of States with Mandatory E-Verify Laws

E-Verify is an Internet-based system operated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA). E-Verify is currently free to employers and is available in all 50 states.

How to Start Using E-Verify

E-Verify (formerly Basic Pilot Program) is available on the Internet for all U.S. employers seeking to verify the employment eligibility of new hires.

Questions and Answers about E-Verify

US Department of Homeland Security logo
E-Verify (formerly Basic Pilot Program) is an Internet-based system operated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA).

How Does E-Verify Affect Me as an Employee?

Federal law requires that all employers verify the identity and employment eligibility of all new employees (including U.S. citizens) within three days of hire.

Smart Business Practices

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E-Verify Bill HR 2164 - The Legal Workforce Act

In June 2011, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) introduced the Legal Workforce Act (HR 2164), an E-Verify bill that requires all employers to use the employment verification system.

E-Verify: Setting the Record Straight

A new report on the voluntary E-Verify system shows a decent record at keeping more illegal aliens from taking American jobs.

Why American Business Should Support Immigration Reform

Sen. David Vitter
America is the best business environment in the world.

Report Illegal Workforce

If you suspect the competition is using an illegal workforce, contact the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)'s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division at 1-866-DHS-2ICE (866-347-2423).

In the News

Reporter takes E-Verify program for test run

In the News - Saturday, January 14, 2012

I wanted to see firsthand what's involved, so with the help of a local business, I "applied" for a job with Carson-Mitchell Engineers.

Office Manager Cheryl Zielke took down my basic information -- full name, middle initial, date of birth and then asked for two key identifiers.

My driver's license and my Social Security card.

By Wes Johnson -- Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader

I wanted to see
firsthand what's involved, so with the help of a local business, I
"applied" for a job with Carson-Mitchell Engineers.

Office Manager Cheryl
Zielke took down my basic information -- full name, middle initial, date of
birth and then asked for two key identifiers.

My driver's license
and my Social Security card.

The E-Verify system came
back with an answer in about five seconds.

"Employment is
authorized," Zielke said.

 

By Wes Johnson -- Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader

Show More http://www.news-leader.com/article/20120115/NEWS01/201150331/wes-johnson-carson-mitchell-e-verify?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CHome%7Cs

Analysis: U.S. immigration probe fears weigh on Chipotle

In the News - Monday, February 28, 2011

An investigation by U.S. immigration officials into illegal unemployment at Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc is making some investors nervous and could have implications for the fast-food industry as a whole.

Chipotle, based in Denver, is one of the highest-profile employers to come under the scrutiny of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in recent years. And the investigation into its hiring practices has served as a wake-up call for the nation's nearly 580,000 restaurants.

By Lisa Baertlein and Mary Milliken -- Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/01/us-usa-immigration-chipotle-idUSTRE72007S20110301

E-Verify not a risk to our agriculture

In the News - Thursday, January 20, 2011

While the media have faithfully reported on the agriculture angle, the existence of the legal alternative to continuing to hire black market farm laborers who have escaped capture at our borders has so far eluded mention.

It is something called the H2A agricultural worker visa.

This agricultural program establishes lawful means for agricultural employers who anticipate a shortage of domestic workers to bring an unlimited number — no ceiling! — of temporary foreign workers into the United States.

By D.A. King -- Gwinnett (Ga.) Daily Post

http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/opinion/headlines/KING_E-Verify_not_a_risk_to_our_agriculture_114331934.html

SC agency identifies 35 illegal immigrants at 5 school construction sites; company fined

In the News - Tuesday, August 31, 2010

State investigators have identified nearly three dozen illegal immigrants working at school construction sites in one South Carolina county, and fined a company, officials announced Friday.

The state agency overseeing South Carolina's illegal immigration law reported that five subcontractors have been cited for employing 35 illegal workers — 32 of them identified since the 2008 law began applying to all businesses July 1.

By Seanna Cox -- The Associated Press

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/breaking/sc-agency-identifies-35-illegal-immigrants-at-5-school-construction-sites-company-fined-101683003.html

Perdue accused in suit of hiring illegal workers at Ind. plant

In the News - Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Employees of Perdue Farms Inc. are accused in a class-action lawsuit of knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.

The plaintiffs allege that Perdue has conspired to hire large numbers of illegal immigrants, driving down wages of legal workers below market levels.

Associated Press

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/print/?id=372037

E-Verify does work, is needed

In the News - Wednesday, July 29, 2009

We have a situation where foreign lawbreakers were taking 25 jobs from legal Americans, not to mention they were in contact with food and possibly never vaccinated for illnesses and/or received medical attention for certain ailments. Unfortunately, even more incidents like this one have proven this is not an isolated event, but a nationwide problem.

A recent federal investigation found that 1,600 of the 4,500 employees at factories in Los Angeles for the clothing company American Apparel got their jobs using “suspect and not valid” eligibility documentation. American Apparel is the largest clothing manufacturer in the United States. For a company that prides itself on clothes “Made in the U.S.A.,” it seems their clothes are not made by legal U.S. citizens.

By Rep. Courtney Combs -- Middletown (Ohio) Journal

http://www.middletownjournal.com/opinion/columnists/courtney-combs-e-verify-does-work-is-needed-226801.html

E-Verify works

In the News - Tuesday, July 28, 2009

New statistics on E-Verify suggest that keeping illegal aliens out of U.S. jobs is a goal increasingly within reach.

The Center for Immigration Studies has made available updated Department of Homeland Security numbers that make plain the effectiveness and growing use of the federal electronic system, through which employers can distinguish illegal aliens from legitimate job applicants.

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/s_635539.html

Immigration legislation has merit

In the News - Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Rep. Heath Shuler has again introduced the Secure America through Verification and Enforcement Act to combat the costly dilemma of illegal immigration in the U.S.


Since President Obama and this Congress are unlikely to achieve anything bigger, Congress should pass Shuler's bill.

Blue Ridge (Hendersonville, N.C.) Times-Union Editorial

http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20090728/ARTICLES/907281005/1016/OPINION02?Title=Immigration-legislation-has-merit

Debate Intensifies Over Federal Deportation Policy

In the News - Sunday, July 26, 2009

HOUSTON — The Obama administration is vastly expanding a federal effort begun under President George W. Bush to identify and deport illegal immigrants held in local jails. But here in the city where the effort got a trial start eight months ago, people on each side of the immigration debate have found fault with it.

Under the effort, known as Secure Communities, local officials check every set of fingerprints taken at jails against those of people who have had a brush with federal immigration authorities; in the past, they could check only for a criminal history in the F.B.I. database. If a person turns out to be an illegal immigrant, the case is turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for possible deportation proceedings in addition to the criminal charges.

By James C. McKinley Jr. -- New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/us/26secure.html?_r=1

Senate Resists Changes on Immigration

In the News - Friday, July 10, 2009

A series of Senate floor votes this week seeking to toughen immigration enforcement is giving the Obama administration its first real taste of the chilly climate for overhauling immigration laws.

On Thursday, the Senate approved a measure that would effectively overturn an immigration-enforcement decision announced one day earlier by the Obama administration. The Department of Homeland Security had said Wednesday that it would rescind a Bush administration program aimed at forcing employers to fire workers who are unable to resolve discrepancies in their Social Security records.

By Cam Simpson - Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124718283357420277.html

Polls

Half of Americans Believe Immigration Should be Reduced

Prefer Lower Numbers - Friday, August 7, 2009

A Gallup poll released on August 5, 2009 shows that 50% of all Americans believe that immigration should be reduced.  This number is 11 points higher than the figure from an identical poll conducted last year.  Only 14% of Americans say immigration should be increased (down from 18%) and 32% say immigration levels should remain the same (down from 39%).

5 August 2009, Gallup

http://www.gallup.com/poll/122057/Americans-Return-Tougher-Immigration-Stance.aspx

Rasmussen Poll Shows 66% of Likely Voters Believe it is Important to Reduce Illegal Immigration

Oppose Amnesty Support Tougher Enforcement Oppose Rewards for Illegal Migration Opinion Elites vs. Public - Tuesday, April 14, 2009

A new Rasmussen poll shows that 66% of likely voters believe that the government should improve border enforcement and reduce illegal immigration.  However, only 32% of America's "Political Class" agree.

The poll also shows that 77% of likely voters believe that illegal aliens should not be able to receive driver's licenses and 73% of Americans believe that police officers should automatically check to see if someone is in this country legally when that person is pulled over for a traffic violation. 

Rasmussen Reports, 14 April 2009

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics2/on_immigration_large_gap_remains_between_mainstream_america_and_political_class

Immigration Ranks 10th in Priorities

Support Tougher Enforcement - Monday, January 19, 2009

In a Washington Post/ABC Poll released just before Barack Obama's inaguration, respondents ranked immigration No. 10 on a list of priorities for the administration. The economy, Iraq War, foreign policy and education were all ranked ahead of immigration. Twenty-one percent said that it was the highest priority, 48 percent said it was high priority, while 29 percent said it was low priority.

Washington Post/ABC Poll - January 19

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/postpoll_011709.html

No Post-election Mandate for Amnesty

Oppose Amnesty - Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Only 32% of Obama voters considered his support for amnesty as a factor in their decisions to vote for him. 67% said it was either not a factor at all, or they voted for Obama in spite of his stance on amnesty.

60% of voters said reducing illegal immigration and cracking down on employers who hire them is important to them, while only 21% supported "legalizing or creating a pathway to citizenship" for illegal aliens.

57% of voters stated that amnesty would harm American workers and further strain public resources, while only 26% believe amnesty would aid economic recovery and ease public burdens.

http://www.fairus.org/site/DocServer/zogby_2008_tabresults.pdf.pdf?docID=2262