E-Verify: It's catching on

Pittsburgh Tribune Review
July 13, 2009 Monday

In the run-up to the next inevitable debate over immigration reform, the U.S. Senate struck a blow for fairness by agreeing to make permanent a proven program that helps ensure that U.S. jobs go to Americans.

Additionally, the Obama administration has announced that it will require federal contractors -- some 170,000 companies -- to use the system to check whether employees are, in fact, entitled to U.S. employment.

Though voluntary to date, "E-Verify" has been effective in weeding out illegal aliens from legitimate job applicants. The free, online program, which uses Social Security numbers and immigration records, is utilized by some 134,000 U.S. employers and, since October 2008, has processed more than 6 million queries.

Of course, there will be a chorus of complaints from those in politics and business who consider E-Verify to be an unfair burden. But unfair to whom? To illegal aliens who have no standing to hold U.S. jobs? To nefarious employers who exploit them?

The system isn't perfect. There might well be data glitches. But what opponents fail to offer is a better alternative.

And with the infusion of billions of dollars in federal stimulus spending, the champions of government-directed jobs now have a far greater responsibility in ensuring that those jobs go to U.S. citizens -- and not to border crashers.

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