U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) today introduced a bill requiring employers to use an electronic employment verification to help combat illegal immigration.
The current E-Verify program is an optional program for most employers. The bill, the E-Verify Act, would require all employers to use E-Verify to validate each new employee’s identity and work authorization status. The requirement would be phased in over the next four years.
When states mandate the use of E-Verify, it “reduces the total number of likely unauthorized immigrants who stay in that state by about 10 percent,” according to Federal Reserve economists.
Portman’s E-Verify Act would validate each new employee’s identity and work authorization status, which the current optional program does not sufficiently do.
“The goal of E-Verify is to provide a simple, reliable way for employers to confirm a new employee’s work eligibility and identity. Since the program is optional, however, it has failed to eliminate the job magnet that remains a draw for unauthorized workers. This measure requires all employers to use E-Verify going forward, and it would strengthen the E-Verify system to help curtail the widespread unauthorized employment that fuels illegal immigration,” Portman said.
The bill would also expand the use of the Department of Homeland Security’s existing photo-matching process, known as Photo Tool. This tool allows employers to match a new employee’s photo identification with a digital E-Verify image.