Thread: Congress to Preempt Local Immigration Laws

Will Congress Outlaw Local Laws?
by William Campenni

One has to admire the Sisyphean tenacity of the Congress as it starts to roll another boulder up the mountain of public opposition to the federal encouragement of illegal immigration. The latest attempt, HR 5515, masquerading under the euphemistic label “New Employee Verification Actâ€

Why do I get the feeling that congressmen and senators will never read the bil that they are going to vote on ?

] H.R. 5515, The New Employee Verification Act of 2008



H.R. 5515 would amend the Social Security Act to prevent unauthorized earnings from being credited toward benefits under title II of such Act and to make improvements in provisions governing totalization agreements, it would amend the Social Security Act and the Immigration and Nationality Act to prevent unauthorized employment, and it would improve coordination of the provisions of such Acts.

Detailed Summary
Status of the Legislation
Points in Favor
Points Against
Detailed Summary
New Employee Verification Act of 2008 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to require employers to verify employee identification and employment eligibility under the Electronic Employment Verification System (EEVS) or the Secure Employment Eligibility Verification System (SEEVS) (as established by this Act).

Permits employers subject to employee verification requirements to do so under EEVS or SEEVS.

Sets forth provisions respecting: (1) voluntary and expedited participation; (2) employer penalties for failure to participate in EEVS or SEEVS; (3) employer and employee information and document requirements; (4) employer liability protection; (5) attestation; and (6) consequences of EEVS determinations.

States that nothing in this Act shall be construed to require a national identification card.

Repeals the employment eligibility pilot programs under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.

Amends title II (Old Age, Survivor's and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to direct the Commissioner of Social Security, to establish EEVS utilizing information in the National Directory of New Hires.

States that EEVS shall have the capacity to determine whether: (1) employer-submitted information is consistent with information maintained by the Commissioner with respect to U.S. citizens and nationals and by the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to aliens; and (2) the individual is a citizen or national or is not an unauthorized alien.

Sets forth provisions respecting: (1) submission for confirmation of an individual's identification and employment eligibility and related EEVs determinations; (2) administrative and judicial review of employment disapproval; (3) EEVS implementation; and (4) data use by EEVS.

Directs the Commissioner to establish SEEVS to provide, through government certified private entities, for verification of identity and employment eligibility respecting new employees

Permits an employer to opt out of SEEVS after one year's participation.

Sets forth provisions respecting: (1) certification of entities; (2) database management, including limitations on accessibility and the use and storage of biometric data; (3) employer responsibilities; (4) employee protections; and (5) information security and confidentiality, including penalties for violations.

Directs the Commissioner to establish the Employment Verification Advisory Council, which shall terminate five years after enactment of this Act.

Amends INA to: (1) apply certain antidiscrimination provisions to EEVS and SEEVS; (2) increase civil money penalties for unfair employment practice violations; (3) increase civil money penalties for certain hiring, recruiting, and referral violations (reduces certain penalties for small employers, exempts certain good faith, first-time violations, and provides a safe harbor for certain contractors); and (4) increase criminal penalties for pattern or practice violations.

Amends SSA to: (1) provide for disclosure to the Secretary of Homeland Security of certain National Directory of New Hires information about employees with the greatest number or percentage of mismatched social security information; (2) deny credit toward earnings benefits from unauthorized work; (3) revise totalization agreement provisions; and (4) prohibit survivor's lump sum death payments to individuals who have been removed from the United States under INA.

Status of the Legislation
Latest Major Action: 4/17/2008: Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections



www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/110_HR_5515.html - 24k -

Now that the states are being successful in discouraging illegal immigration, Congress has to do something to stop local enforcement efforts.

We better watch this closely. Giving the federal government control over workplace verification would insure continued lack of enforcement. We must not allow the states to be stripped of their rights to protect American workers.

The SAVE Act is better and does not remove state and local enforcement rights.

I just looked up the bill HR 5515.

It REPEALS the employment eligibility "pilot" programs, (which have been used for several years, voluntarily). Replacing it with a new massive database. No doubt at greatly increased cost.

The kicker is that this bill

PERMITS EMPLOYER TO OPT OUT OF SEEVS AFTER ONE YEAR PARTICIPATION.

Even a simple mind like mine can see where this is leading.....

This is a load of crap....they need to fix the e-verifiy and at the same time it will fix and protect our SS numbers that are being stolen and misused.

Help needed for the action alert ! Please join in! It won't take long but it will make a big difference!

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-115317.html

As always when dealing with the political class growing ever more distant from the populace it rules, the NEVA devil is in the details. For all of its noble goals, hidden in the voluminous wording of this legislation is the true agenda of its sponsors, to wit, the section on preemption, Section 101(b)(2)(A), which reduced to simple language* would preempt and ban any and all state or local law for immigration-related issues enacted to impose employer fines or sanctions, or would forbid any laws requiring employers to verify work status or identity for work authorization. It would also prevent any unit of government from verifying status of renters, determining eligibility for receipt of benefits, enrollment in school, obtaining a business or other license, or conducting a background check.


"Political class growing ever more distant from the populace" ISN'T THAT THE TRUTH.

My gut feeling that the states will explode if the Feds try this. We are the ones living with this not the "political class" cocooned in DC. I think there will be lawsuit after lawsuit against the federal government and I believe the states will win just like the Indiana voter ID. But I'd like to see Numbersusa analysis of this bill.

Please post the author--of this bill and co-sponsoors so Americans can see who the traitors are........

Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Tex)