E-Verify battle shifts to Senate

The $410 billion omnibus spending bill, which passed the House on Wednesday, has become the latest battleground for the debate over the Homeland Security Department's E-Verify program, a system employers use to check whether new hires are undocumented workers.

Immigration advocates and business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have opposed E-Verify, arguing that the program is an administrative burden on businesses, especially during the current economic turmoil. Critics also have pointed to a report showing an error rate of up to 4 percent. DHS officials argue that the problems have been largely fixed and the program is now 99.5 percent reliable. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.

The program's authorization is set to expire on March 6. The House voted 245-178 on Wednesday to approve the spending bill, which extends the program's authorization by six months. E-Verify checks employee Social Security numbers against a database to determine whether new hires have proper documentation to work in the United States.

The president's budget proposal released earlier this week set aside $110 million to expand the program. In the accompanying statement, the White House said E-Verify "helps U.S. employers comply with immigration law and ensures that U.S. jobs are available to U.S. citizens and those authorized to work in the United States."

A DHS spokesman said Secretary Janet Napolitano "is a believer in E-Verify as a valuable tool for employers." As governor of Arizona, Napolitano signed a law requiring companies in the state to use the system.

Federal agencies are required to use E-Verify to check all new hires, but the program is optional for private companies and state and local governments. A rule that would require firms with federal contracts of more than $100,000 to use the system has been delayed twice, but is set to take effect on May 21.

A spokesman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the DHS bureau that operates E-Verify, said the agency is operating on the premise that the program will continue since it is funded through the end of the year. "Whether or not it will sunset on March 6, I'll defer that to Congress," the spokesman said.

In 2008, Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., pushed to reauthorize the program for five years, but that attempt was blocked by Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., because it failed to include a provision making hundreds of thousands of unused family visas dating back to 1992 available for use. A spokesperson for Calvert said he was pleased to see additional funding in the president's budget, but that a six-month reauthorization was inadequate. Calvert's spokesperson said the program has bipartisan support, including Democrats such as Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb.

"A six-month extension is not good enough for users of the system or for people contemplating using E-Verify," said the spokesperson. "We need to create some certainty that the program is going to be around." Sen. Menendez's office did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.

An amendment to the economic stimulus bill would have required employers to use E-Verify for all jobs created by the stimulus, but that language was stripped from the legislation. Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., who sponsored the amendment, said he was encouraged by the proposed funds, but he anticipated a healthy debate on the program when the Senate considers the spending bill.

"We know [E-Verify] still has its critics; it doesn't necessarily mean this stuff stays in the budget. But right now we're moving in a direction I support," Kingston said. "It's very good [reauthorization] made it into the omnibus bill, it gives us time. But it's possible that it's in the budget as a potential bargaining chip."

Richard Stana, director for homeland security and justice issues at the Government Accountability Office, said DHS has made progress on E-Verify and that most of the problems with the program have been identified.

"Overall, the system has promise," said Stana, noting that Congress has proposed some form of an employment eligibility verification system every decade since the 1980s. "I think they are trying to address the problems. I don't know that they are all resolved."

Stana said one source of errors is people who have changed their names but failed to update their information on file with the Social Security Administration. Identity theft also is a problem, he said, among undocumented immigrants who use falsified Social Security numbers to gain employment.

But overall, Kingston said the system is fast and efficient. "The businesses squawking the most are the ones that do not really want to verify Social Security numbers," he said.