WASHINGTON
– Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) reintroduced legislation to help businesses
comply with immigration laws by certifying the legal status of their workforce.
The Accountability Through Electronic
Verification Act would permanently authorize and expand the E-Verify
program, an internet-based system that assists employers in determining whether
current or prospective employees are authorized to work in the United States.
The bill requires employers to use the program to determine workers’
eligibility.
Grassley’s
bill is cosponsored by Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Tom
Cotton (R-Ark.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), John Boozman (R-Ark.),
James Lankford (R-Okla.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), John Thune (R-S.D.)
and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa).
“Businesses
across the country have opted to use the E-Verify system to help them comply
with our immigration laws. E-Verify is a proven tool for employers, including
myself, that helps reduce incentives for illegal immigration and
safeguards job opportunities for Americans and other legal workers. Expanding
the system to every workplace will improve accountability for all businesses
and take an important step toward putting American workers first,” Grassley
said.
“So
many families are struggling to make ends meet. Congress’ top priority should
be strengthening American businesses and protecting good-paying jobs. Expanding
the E-Verify program to every business across the country will protect jobs for
American workers and give employers the tools they need to legally staff their
companies. We must get serious about enforcing all of our country’s immigration
laws, including those pertaining to participation in the workforce,” Tuberville said.
“The Biden Administration continues to incentivize
illegal border crossing at the expense of American citizens’ economic security
and physical safety. Implementing the E-Verify system will not only help U.S.
companies comply with immigration laws but is essential to ensuring our borders
are safe and secure. I’m proud to co-sponsor Sen. Grassley’s bill, which will
bring us closer to reversing President Biden’s destructive immigration policies
and place us back on track to restoring law and order at our southern border,” Lee said.
“Expanding
the E-Verify program will crack down on the black market for illegal jobs and
help enforce our immigration laws. Americans and legal immigrants should be the
ones making up our workforce, not illegal immigrants,” Cotton said.
“As
our nation faces unprecedented levels of illegal aliens crossing the
U.S.-Mexico border due to President Biden’s Border Crisis, it is imperative
that we use the tools at our disposal to disincentivize illegal immigration.
E-Verify is one of those tools, and implementing its use nationally is just the
first step in making sure we prioritize Americans in our workforce,” Cruz said.
“Given
the double whammy Americans are facing in regards to the influx of illegal
immigrants and skyrocketing prices, the E-Verify system is more important than
ever to reduce unauthorized employment and protect good-paying jobs for
American workers,” Hyde-Smith said.
“Employers need a commonsense, cost-effective tool that allows them to hire
with confidence. Law enforcement must be empowered to hold bad actors
accountable when they willfully violate immigration rules while hiring
employees. E-Verify does both. It has a proven track record of success and, with a historic illegal
immigration crisis raging on our southern border, it’s even more urgent to
permanently reauthorize and mandate it,” Boozman
said.
“It's
important that we streamline the process between our businesses and immigration
laws, and E-Verify does just that. Creating ease for our employees and workers,
lowering unemployment, and making good-paying jobs accessible are crucial
components to the future success of our state, and this legislation move us
toward achieving those goals,” Capito said. “The implementation of this
system will foster workplace accountability, prioritize American workers, and
improve the hiring process in our country. I’m proud to support its
reintroduction again this congress”
“E-Verify
is an important tool for enforcing our immigration laws and helps ensure fair
competition and wages for U.S. workers,” said Thune. “This effort is
about creating accountability and closing avenues for illegal immigration and
trafficking.”
“E-Verify
is a commonsense, cost-effective way to help deter illegal immigration and
support our employers. This bill will help ease the burden on Iowa’s small
businesses to comply with our laws and ensure the legal status of our
workforce,” Ernst said.
The Accountability
Through Electronic Verification Act does the following:
- Permanently
reauthorizes the E-Verify program that was created in 1996.
- Makes the program
mandatory for all employers within one year of date of enactment and directs
“critical employers,” as identified by the Secretary of Homeland Security, to
use the system within 30 days of designation.
- Increases
penalties for employers who illegally hire undocumented workers.
- Allows employers
to use E-Verify before a person is hired if consent is provided by the
employee.
- Requires employers
to verify the identity and employment eligibility of all current employees
within one year after enactment if they have not been previously checked
through E-Verify.
- Requires employers
to terminate the employment of those found unauthorized to work due to a check
through E-Verify.
- Establishes a
demonstration project in a rural area or area without internet capabilities to
assist small businesses in complying with the participation requirement.
- Amends the
criminal code to make clear that defendants who possess or otherwise use
identity information not their own without lawful authority and in the
commission of another felony is still punishable for aggravated identity fraud,
regardless of the defendant’s “knowledge” of the victim.
- Requires employers
to re-verify an employee’s work authorization if their work authorization is
due to expire.
- Establishes an
Employer Compliance Inspection Center (ECIC) within ICE to streamline program
audits and review compliance with worker eligibility laws.
Find
more information about the Accountability
Through Electronic Verification Act here:
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