For immediate release: February 18, 2011
Mandatory E-Verify/Jobs Recovery Bill Introduced
The Jobs Recovery by Ensuring a Legal American Workforce Act

(WASHINGTON, DC) – Jobs currently held by illegal immigrants would be opened up for unemployed legal workers under bipartisan legislation introduced today by U.S. Rep. John Carter (R-TX) – the Jobs Recovery by Ensuring a Legal American Workforce Act, or E-LAW.

"With record unemployment we cannot continue to allow illegal immigrants to take up badly-needed jobs for legal workers," says Carter. "By the federal government’s lack of action on this issue, not only have we seen illegal immigration drive down wages and drive up unemployment, we have allowed a culture of identity theft to take root through the fraudulent use of Social Security and taxpayer id numbers. Illegal employment also remains the top draw for the violation of our borders, undermining the homeland security of this country. This bill will bring some commonsense reform to restore our jobs, our borders, our workplaces, and the Rule of Law."

E-LAW would require all workers in the United States to have their Social Security or federal taxpayer id number verified through the existing, free Department of Homeland Security (DHS) E-Verify program as a condition of employment, and applies to both new hires and existing employees. Employers using E-Verify would have a legal safe harbor in the event an employee was later found to be illegal, while penalties for employer non-compliance are significantly increased. Verification can be accomplished online or through a toll-free telephone number.

E-LAW would further require (DHS) to report to state unemployment offices all potential jobs opened up through E-Verify as a result of final non-confirmation, and to post the total number of recovered jobs by state on the DHS E-Verify homepage for public viewing.

To combat the growing incidence of identity theft, under the new legislation all Americans would be notified by the Social Security Administration if earnings were being reported by more than one employer.

"With record joblessness we still endure 8 million illegal workers in our nation, taking positions that could be held by long-unemployed Americans citizens. We can stop this, we owe that to our constituents, and we are bound to do so by our oath of office.

The new requirements would take effect within 1 year of enactment for large employers and federal contractors, 18 months for midsize employers, and two years for small employers.