Blocking of the E-Verify services is incomprehensible. When a large population is demanding an 800 mile fence be constucted, but fails to incorporate a nearly instant verifcation process, there seems to be other issues. The public may favor a fence as something tangible that can be seen to slow down the influx of illegal aliens, but the power of technology will provide far greater means in slowing down the wave entering the nation. Congrats to DHS for filing to have the law reversed. This could be a critical step in preventing more illegal immigrants from entering our country.
September 24, 2007 3:14 PM
Anonymous said...
I don't think the Secretary has adequately addressed the problems with this system - it's vaporware that will interfere with the employment of millions of law-abiding citizens - to say nothing of the premise that it's any of the federal government's business to do a pre-employment background check on all American workers.
Here are some smart thoughts: http://www.techliberation.com/archives/042813.php
September 24, 2007 3:54 PM
Anonymous said...
Excellent work. We have already seen that one very effective way to take pressure off of the border is to limit the access of illegal aliens to employment in the interior. Most businesses do want to follow the law and need tools like this to do it.
Because of the effectiveness of a program like this, you can expect a bitter fight from the opposition, especially the ethnic interest. I hope you don't mind being called an evil, hateful, nazi, bigot, etc, etc, etc, ad infintum.
September 25, 2007 11:03 AM
Anonymous said...
Well thats a start. Ive also contacted the DoJ about filing a RICO action against the 10 states that allow In State Tuition for illegals which is against Federal law.
Dont know where it will go...doubtful anywhere, but its the thought.
Good luck with it.
It seems people dont understand that you would get a lot more support if the enforcement was done first. We have been lied to TWICE and we simply are not going to allow it again. Even if the comprehensive bill had passed, we would have still added extra enforcement at the state level...since it did not address the employer punishment enough.
We intend to seize and arrest business owners and their assets. No messing around in my state. If they hire...we will fire. And seize.
September 26, 2007 1:43 AM
Anonymous said...
The employers should be able to swipe an electronic version of SS card just like the Mastercard of Visa credit card.
For goodness sake, the government could hire or BUY the existing software from them or Walmart. They manage that many or more customer interactions every day with little fanfare.
September 26, 2007 4:16 PM
Anonymous said...
Speaking for myself, I believe Secretary Chertoff makes some good points—but he should consider addressing the issue of trust. Few people will deny the potential benefits of gathering data on international travelers, or of making stronger, more standard ID cards. But does anyone really trust the Federal government with that information? As Ronald Reagan famously said, “The most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I'm from the government and I'm here to help.’”
September 28, 2007 10:48 AM
Anonymous said...
Just want to say that this is something that needs to be followed through with. Being from Illinois it is frustrating to see sworn officers - police, prosecutors and others, - who have taken an oath to uphold the laws of the federal, state and local levels pick and choose which ones they want to enforce.
September 28, 2007 11:27 AM
Anonymous said...
I just heard on CNN that the Federal Government is suing my state, Illinois. Great!
This is not an issue of race. In my opinion, this is an issue of fairness. It takes several years for citizens from other countries to get residency in the U.S. Why should those in an adjacent country be privy to work in the U.S. illegally while others wait?
Illinois is scared that this requirement will hurt small businesses. What they fail to realize is that there are many low income U.S. legal residents that can do the same jobs illegal immigrants are doing. Would this not be our Welfare to Work program?
September 30, 2007 6:26 PM
Anonymous said...
I was HAPPY to hear the DHS is standing up for American citizens and employers in Illinois! They’re state government does not represent the actual citizens I am sure. Only Big Business who want “Cheap labor”. There must be a way to stop these frivolous lawsuits brought on by such groups as the ACLU who represent “Big Business” and not the U.S. citizens!? I want all out current immigration laws enforced! The new technology of the E-Verify program would be a real help and employers NEED this tool!
October 2, 2007 8:45 PM
Anonymous said...
The Secretary writes that "...when those [state] laws interfere with my Department’s ability to uphold and enforce our nation’s immigration laws, or they deny employers tools they badly need and have asked us to provide, then we are fully prepared to fight for what we believe is right and necessary."
I think a case can be made that the Department of Homeland Security belongs to the American people, not to Mr. Chertoff. The Secretary is a caretaker who serves the public.
The Illinois legislature also serves its public. Is it really necessary for one public servant to "fight" others? Are there no other feasible options? Are we still that young as a nation?
October 4, 2007 2:17 AM
Anonymous said...
E-Verify BRING IT ON! YEAH!
I want a bill / law passed that all employers must use this system.
DHS is commended for bringing this law suit against Illinois. As a citizen of Illinois I have contacted my State government about this new 'law'.
I urge all citizens to contact their State government and ask that they join the State Legislators for Legal Immigration coalition. I am not affiliated with the coalition but I am a concerned citizen.
I read the recent audit of E-Verify and was happy to see in spite that most of those with a legal right to work were happy to have the opportunity to fix the information in their record when they were informed of situation by employers. This will not cause a hardship to those with a legal right to work, instead it gives us a chance to correct our Social Security information.
December 7, 2007 3:00 PM
Could it be that the Illinois state legislature wants to prevent businesses from using the best available tools to determine whether new employees are illegal aliens? I certainly hope not, but that’s precisely what a new state law is poised to do. The recently authorized changes to Illinois’s “Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act” will place restrictions on the ability of employers in the State of Illinois to enroll voluntarily in our Department’s electronic employee verification system (E-Verify) to check the legal status of workers. This is wrongheaded. It’s also unconstitutional because it is preempted by federal law. That’s why today the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on behalf of DHS to overturn the state law (PDF 13 pages - 82 KB).
E-Verify (formerly known as Basic Pilot) is an online system that allows employers to check whether a new worker’s name and Social Security number are valid and the person is authorized to work in our country. The system is easy to use and free of charge. It’s also popular, with more than 23,000 companies enrolled nationwide, including more than 800 in Illinois.
And you can see why: E-Verify enables employers, in real time, to determine if the name, Social Security number, and other identity information that a new hire provides for his or her I-9 form match information in federal databases, giving them certainty that the people they’re hiring are authorized to work in the U.S. It also will allow employers to compare photos on ID documents provided by a new hire against the photos in state or federal records, thus preventing the use of fraudulent or stolen documents.
Why, then, would the State of Illinois want to prevent employers from using this valuable tool? Critics in the legislature claim that E-Verify takes too long, contains inaccurate data, and might cause workers to be wrongfully terminated. Some also complain that employers might use it to discriminate against citizens or legal immigrants on the basis of their ethnicity.
Let’s take these one by one. First, in 90 percent of cases, E-Verify returns an initial response within seconds. That seems pretty fast to me.Second, while I’ll be the first to admit that no system is perfect, the data in E-Verify isn’t “inaccurate” – instead, it reflects the data in Social Security Administration and DHS databases. And this actually results in a benefit to employees: E-Verify gives people notice that they might have to correct their information in our databases if the government's records are wrong because of things like a transposed number or misspelled name. This is important because it helps ensure that their Social Security benefits are properly credited.Third, employers are not allowed to fire a worker on the basis of an initial E-Verify check. In fact, federal law explicitly states that no worker can be fired until a final determination is made concerning his or her work eligibility.Finally, the law requires that employers use the system in the same way for all their new hires, and employers that use the system sign an agreement that says they will treat everyone the same, regardless of race, ethnicity, or national origin. These are all important aspects of the program. But there is a larger issue at stake with the Illinois law. The American people have been loud and clear about their desire to see our nation’s immigration laws enforced. We are taking aggressive steps to do that – increasing worksite enforcement cases and bringing serious criminal penalties against employers who hire illegal aliens. We’ve also sharpened our existing tools, and, yes, we’ve given employers better tools like E-Verify. But we will not succeed if we are stopped at every turn by lawsuits and legislation that frustrate, slow down, or attempt to derail our efforts.
Why now? Many Illinois businesses have already signed up for E-Verify, and others may want to. We’ve asked the Department of Justice to file this suit because those businesses should have certainty that the federal program they’re relying on won’t land them in trouble with Illinois.
Of course, states are free to pass laws that they believe are in the best interests of their citizens. But when those laws interfere with my Department’s ability to uphold and enforce our nation’s immigration laws, or they deny employers tools they badly need and have asked us to provide, then we are fully prepared to fight for what we believe is right and necessary.
12 Comments
Close this window Jump to comment formBlocking of the E-Verify services is incomprehensible. When a large population is demanding an 800 mile fence be constucted, but fails to incorporate a nearly instant verifcation process, there seems to be other issues. The public may favor a fence as something tangible that can be seen to slow down the influx of illegal aliens, but the power of technology will provide far greater means in slowing down the wave entering the nation. Congrats to DHS for filing to have the law reversed. This could be a critical step in preventing more illegal immigrants from entering our country.
September 24, 2007 3:14 PM
I don't think the Secretary has adequately addressed the problems with this system - it's vaporware that will interfere with the employment of millions of law-abiding citizens - to say nothing of the premise that it's any of the federal government's business to do a pre-employment background check on all American workers.
Here are some smart thoughts: http://www.techliberation.com/archives/042813.php
September 24, 2007 3:54 PM
Excellent work. We have already seen that one very effective way to take pressure off of the border is to limit the access of illegal aliens to employment in the interior. Most businesses do want to follow the law and need tools like this to do it.
Because of the effectiveness of a program like this, you can expect a bitter fight from the opposition, especially the ethnic interest. I hope you don't mind being called an evil, hateful, nazi, bigot, etc, etc, etc, ad infintum.
September 25, 2007 11:03 AM
Well thats a start. Ive also contacted the DoJ about filing a RICO action against the 10 states that allow In State Tuition for illegals which is against Federal law.
Dont know where it will go...doubtful anywhere, but its the thought.
Good luck with it.
It seems people dont understand that you would get a lot more support if the enforcement was done first. We have been lied to TWICE and we simply are not going to allow it again. Even if the comprehensive bill had passed, we would have still added extra enforcement at the state level...since it did not address the employer punishment enough.
We intend to seize and arrest business owners and their assets. No messing around in my state. If they hire...we will fire. And seize.
September 26, 2007 1:43 AM
The employers should be able to swipe an electronic version of SS card just like the Mastercard of Visa credit card.
For goodness sake, the government could hire or BUY the existing software from them or Walmart. They manage that many or more customer interactions every day with little fanfare.
September 26, 2007 4:16 PM
Speaking for myself, I believe Secretary Chertoff makes some good points—but he should consider addressing the issue of trust. Few people will deny the potential benefits of gathering data on international travelers, or of making stronger, more standard ID cards. But does anyone really trust the Federal government with that information? As Ronald Reagan famously said, “The most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I'm from the government and I'm here to help.’”
September 28, 2007 10:48 AM
Just want to say that this is something that needs to be followed through with. Being from Illinois it is frustrating to see sworn officers - police, prosecutors and others, - who have taken an oath to uphold the laws of the federal, state and local levels pick and choose which ones they want to enforce.
September 28, 2007 11:27 AM
I just heard on CNN that the Federal Government is suing my state, Illinois. Great!
This is not an issue of race. In my opinion, this is an issue of fairness. It takes several years for citizens from other countries to get residency in the U.S. Why should those in an adjacent country be privy to work in the U.S. illegally while others wait?
Illinois is scared that this requirement will hurt small businesses. What they fail to realize is that there are many low income U.S. legal residents that can do the same jobs illegal immigrants are doing. Would this not be our Welfare to Work program?
September 30, 2007 6:26 PM
I was HAPPY to hear the DHS is standing up for American citizens and employers in Illinois! They’re state government does not represent the actual citizens I am sure. Only Big Business who want “Cheap labor”.
There must be a way to stop these frivolous lawsuits brought on by such groups as the ACLU who represent “Big Business” and not the U.S. citizens!? I want all out current immigration laws enforced! The new technology of the E-Verify program would be a real help and employers NEED this tool!
October 2, 2007 8:45 PM
The Secretary writes that "...when those [state] laws interfere with my Department’s ability to uphold and enforce our nation’s immigration laws, or they deny employers tools they badly need and have asked us to provide, then we are fully prepared to fight for what we believe is right and necessary."
I think a case can be made that the Department of Homeland Security belongs to the American people, not to Mr. Chertoff. The Secretary is a caretaker who serves the public.
The Illinois legislature also serves its public. Is it really necessary for one public servant to "fight" others? Are there no other feasible options? Are we still that young as a nation?
October 4, 2007 2:17 AM
E-Verify BRING IT ON! YEAH!
I want a bill / law passed that all employers must use this system.
October 29, 2007 8:47 PM
DHS is commended for bringing this law suit against Illinois. As a citizen of Illinois I have contacted my State government about this new 'law'.
I urge all citizens to contact their State government and ask that they join the State Legislators for Legal Immigration coalition. I am not affiliated with the coalition but I am a concerned citizen.
http://www.statelegislatorsforlegalimmigration.com/
I read the recent audit of E-Verify and was happy to see in spite that most of those with a legal right to work were happy to have the opportunity to fix the information in their record when they were informed of situation by employers. This will not cause a hardship to those with a legal right to work, instead it gives us a chance to correct our Social Security information.
December 7, 2007 3:00 PM