Sam Johnson demands fresh approach to illegal immigration reform
Sam Johnson demands fresh approach to illegal immigration reform
Washington,
Dec 11, 2008 -
U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson (3rd Dist.-Texas) questioned the Department of Homeland Security’s background checking process for new hires, known as E-verify, after news broke that illegal immigrants cleaned the home of the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
According to the Washington Post, “Every few weeks for nearly four years, the Secret Service screened the IDs of employees for a Maryland cleaning company before they entered the house of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, the nation's top immigration official. The company's owner says the workers sailed through the checks -- although some of them turned out to be illegal immigrants.”
In the article the employer in question took aim at the screening system, “‘Our Homeland Security can't police their own home. How can they police our borders?’”
E-Verify is a partnership between the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security that allows employers to check the work authorization status of newly hired employees. This voluntary plan is the only tool the government offers to help employers comply with immigration law.
“Americans want, need and deserve real immigration reform. Today’s news that illegal immigrants passed high level background checks to clean the home of the Department of Homeland Security demonstrates why Congress should take a new, fresh approach to illegal immigration reform in the next Congress,” concluded Johnson.
This year Johnson introduced the New Employee Verification Act (NEVA), H.R. 5515. The Act will achieve three important objectives: ensure a legal workforce, secure workers’ identity, and protect Social Security. To learn more about the New Employee Verification Act, visit www.SamJohnson.house.gov.
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