This week, a new bill was introduced in the House of Representatives
that would require all employers to use E-Verify to electronically
verify the immigration status of potential new hires. The new bill, the
Legal Workforce Act (HR 2164) would remove the use of the current
paper-based process, gradually replacing it with the use of E-Verify’s
online technology for employment verification.
“E-Verify is a successful program to help ensure that jobs are reserved
for citizens and legal workers,” said Rep. Lamer Smith (R-TX), the
sponsor of the bill. “Despite record unemployment, seven million people
work in the U.S. illegally. These jobs should go to legal workers.”
While Smith and others do support the proposed bill, it will assuredly
receive criticism from many, including the advocacy group, the Coalition
for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), who are already
speaking against the bill. Chirla notes a report by the Government
Accountability Office that stated E-Verify has multiple system errors
and is prohibitive to small businesses due to increased costs of use.
