We Need To Expand E-Verify To Fight Illegal Immigration

While ‘the wall’ on the Mexican border grabs headlines, attention needs to be paid to Homeland Security’s E-Verify program. Part of preventing illegal immigration involves making it harder for this population to get a job. E-Verify has been around for over ten years, is robust, and works fast. Why don’t all employers use it?

One reason is employers that receive federal grants (as opposed to contracts) don’t have to participate in E-Verify. (Heads up, Homeland Security Secretary Kelly!)

The Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, and Labor are major grant-making machines. Homeland Security and the Justice Department are too. The loophole exempting grantees from E-Verify needs to be corrected fast.

Secondly, state and local governments can choose to use E-Verify as part of their normal hiring practices, or they can opt out. That’s a lot of employees, especially when one considers the size of many state universities. For example, the University of Iowa does not participate in E-Verify, unless its employee is engaged in federal contract work.

Third, some employers view the system as too complicated.

Ten years ago that might have been a good excuse, but not today.

I’ve shopped at New York City fashion studio sales, where the salesperson takes my credit card, swipes it on a wee gizmo attached to her tablet, and voilà, the sale is complete. If a retail sale can be done with a tablet and a gizmo, what’s so hard about the electronic E-Verify system?