<<  <  >  >>

states have declined to implement. Debate on

The Administration Pushes EEV

the immigration bill collapsed when the

The administration recently began to ex-

Senate appeared willing to strip REAL ID

pand the federal government's use of E-Verify

from the bill24 and an amendment calling for

and instituted measures to increase private

$300 million in spending on REAL ID failed.25

employers' verification of workers' immigration

status. On August 10, 2007, Homeland Security

Seeking to revive this moribund national ID

secretary Michael Chertoff and Commerce sec-

law, however, the administration may try to do

retary Carlos Gutierrez announced a number of

by regulation what Congress would not do in

steps to tighten and expand employment eligi-

legislation.

bility verification.18 Among other things, they

Along with promoting EEV and worker

registration by any means, the administration

proclaimed the commencement of a rulemak-

has worked to wear down resistance in various

ing to require all federal contractors and vendors

ways. Administration officials have lobbied

to use E-Verify. Full compliance would expand

state officials to go along with the national ID

participation in the program by some 200,000

law.26 And in late September 2007, the U.S.

companies, a more than 20-fold increase to

about 3.5 percent of all U.S. employers. Numer-

government sued the state of Illinois, seeking

ous bills have been introduced in Congress to

to nullify an impediment that state had placed

Creating a nation-

promote EEV in various ways,19 and the admin-

in the way of the administration's EEV plans.27

wide system for

istration will attempt to convince states to do

In an entry on the DHS's new "Leadership

the same thing.20

Journal" blog, Secretary Chertoff announced

checking identity

the lawsuit, asking: "Could it be that the

Secretaries Chertoff and Gutierrez also

and eligibility is

Illinois state legislature wants to prevent busi-

announced DHS's issuance of a "no-match"

much more easily

nesses from using the best available tools to

regulation increasing employers' liability if

determine whether new employees are illegal

their workers' names and SSNs do not corre-

said than done.

spond to SSA records.21 Plans to "update" the

aliens? I certainly hope not, but that's precise-

ly what a new state law is poised to do."28

civil fines for hiring illegal immigrants would

raise penalties by 25 percent and expand crim-

In fact, the Illinois Right to Privacy in the

inal investigations of the country's employers.

Workplace Act bars Illinois employers from

Secretaries Chertoff and Gutierrez further

enrolling in E-Verify or any similar system

declared that the administration would seek

until the SSA and DHS can make final deter-

to expand the data sources E-Verify can check,

minations on 99 percent of their tentative

including visa and passport information. They

nonconfirmation notices within three days.

will seek access to state motor vehicle depart-

In other words, if the system will prevent

ment records and photographs to "lay the

Illinois workers from working, the state wants

groundwork for further expansion" of the

nothing to do with it.

electronic employment eligibility verification

Difficulty of administration is one of sev-

system.22

eral formidable problems with trying to

build an EEV system for federal immigration

Finally, they announced that the adminis-

law enforcement. Creating a nationwide sys-

tration would publish a regulation to reduce

tem for checking identity and eligibility is

the number of documents that employers

much more easily said than done.

could accept for I-9 forms or E-Verify. The reg-

ulation could reduce the number all the way

down to a single, nationally uniform ID.

Franz Kafka's Solution to

The major immigration reform bill debat-

Illegal Immigration

ed in Congress last summer would have

required new hires to have a REAL ID Act­

compliant card for employment eligibility

A nationwide EEV system would send a

purposes within three years.23 REAL ID is the

substantial number of workers--native-born

and legal immigrant alike--into labyrinthine

troubled 2005 national ID law that many

6