Legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) on Monday would mandate that employers confirm that employees are eligible to work in the United States by using the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) E-Verify system.
Currently, employers can elect to use the E-Verify system at no cost to confirm that employees have legal status through records kept by the Social Security Administration (SSA). The Accountability Through Electronic Verification Act, H.R. 2461, would make employer use of E-Verify mandatory.
“E-Verify is a proven system for making sure job opportunities are for American workers,” Lance said. “E-Verify is a deterrent against illegal immigration and expanding it to new workplaces will make sure legal, American workers are not shut out of employment. We need E-Verify up and running and we need all employers to participate to make it effective.”
In addition to making employee verification mandatory, H.R. 2461 would permanently authorize E-Verify, enhance penalties for employers that hire undocumented workers and reduce liability for those that use E-Verify. The bill requires the firing of undocumented workers due to a check through E-Verify. And it would strengthen SSA by detecting multiple uses of the same Social Security number.
Lance noted that 700,000 U.S. businesses use the E-Verify system. “Expanding it removes a major incentive for illegal immigration.”
H.R. 2461 would also enable employers to use E-Verify, with employee consent, before an employee is hired, and it would require federal contractors and agencies to begin using the system immediately.