E-Verify catches over 200,000 illegal immigrants this year

TRI-CITIES -- No social, no passport, no job. A controversial program to check your citizenship status is making hundreds of thousands of matches in Washington and people may be deported because of it. KEPR looked into the success of e-Verify, and what really happens when your paperwork doesn't add up.

Jane Ganebin is in charge of making sure names and social security numbers add up for the city of Richland. Many government agencies use e-Verify or programs like it to assure they are hiring people legally allowed to work in the U.S.

"I feel confident that it's a secure system," Jane explains.

e-Verify is more than just your regular background check, it goes all the way back to your birth. And if you get flagged by the system, you're not only out of a job, but you could be out of the country. It depends on the hiring agency using the system as to what the result could be. Richland would immediately call Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a person could be deported. This is what has made e-Verify a controversial system.

"These are people that have families. who have daughters, sons, husbands and wives. It's breaking up families no doubt about that."

In fact, last year alone, more than 220,000 people were reported with mismatched names and social security numbers in Washington state. In 2011, a little less than 200,000 have been caught. But just since October, there has been almost 45,000. These people aren't always deported, but leave more jobs open for hire.

It might be hard to visualize now, but with over 600,000 businesses and agencies using e-verify, some are worried that the future could hold repercussions like a lack of potential employees.

Jazmin explains, "We depend on immigrant labor. If you're implementing all these programs affecting the immigrant community, who's doing the work, then essentially you won't have people coming to work."

For now, e-Verify is a voluntary program, but a new bill is being pushed to force more county and city government to sign up.
As for Jane, it's just another part of the paperwork.

"I verify that it's correct and sign off on the form," says Jane.

So far the city of Richland has never had to report anyone to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. KEPR also contacted a handful of private employers to see if they'd be willing to comment on use of the system, but no one was willing to share if they had, for fear of losing business.

http://www.keprtv.com/news/e-Verify-135898353.html