By JESSICA MEYERS | 6/7/13 5:08 AM EDT
POLITICO


Jeff Sessions said he was 'very uneasy' about the idea of a whole new system. | AP Photo

As the immigration bill nears the Senate floor, an obscure process to confirm worker identity is morphing into a powerful tool for negotiation.

A number of senators are considering amendments that would bolster the electronic employment-verification system known as E-Verify. The moves could help appease Republicans looking for stronger border-security measures. But they also may set off Democrats, who fear rushing the implementation process or stepping on human rights.

The issue trails the feistier debates of legalization and guest workers, but it has sparked attention because lawmakers consider E-Verify a critical benchmark before undocumented residents can gain citizenship. And a myriad of contradictory concerns about the revamped system — from targeting identify theft to fears of a national ID database — ensure debate next week when the Senate takes up the bill.

“It’s a bargaining chip,” said Jessica Vaughan, the director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies. “Both sides are looking to peel off votes here and there.”

A central fight involves timing.

“Even the E-Verify, which I thought was going to be — they claimed would be — really good, I’m very uneasy about a whole new system and putting it off for several years,” Senate Judiciary Committee member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) told reporters.

He and three other Republicans on the committee sent a “Dear Colleague” letter this week, blasting the bill and keying on a five-year delay before the system’s full implementation. An amendment by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to mandate the tool within 18 months of the bill’s passage failed in committee but a similar one could make headway among security enthusiasts in the Senate. The timing process already has caused strains in the House.

Grassley staffers said he has not decided on amendments. But Gang of Eight member Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) left options open to E-Verify tweaks, promising to “welcome amendments that will improve the bill and garner support on the floor, provided it doesn’t get at our core principles.”

Ohio Sen. Rob Portman — a key Republican whom negotiators hope to win over — said he’s had conversations with Gang of Eight member Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and is considering an E-Verify amendment related to enforcement. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Gang of Eight negotiator Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) have shown interest in amendments that more clearly define the system’s purpose.

Other changes, including the incorporation of photos and a requirement that every employer use E-Verify, have sprouted additional concerns. The issue falls one of two ways: a potential infringement of basic rights or a lackluster system that won’t go far enough.

“This is the only part of the bill that is going to affect every single working American,” said Emily Tulli, a policy lawyer for the National Immigration Law Center. The group supports the amended bill but worries how even a rare error will affect workers. Only about 7 percent of employers currently use the system.

Outside agencies — from employer organizations to civil rights advocates — have lunged at a chance to redefine the controversial system. And since committee members largely united on E-Verify, lobbyists see more opportunity in the full Senate.

Privacy groups have found an advocate in Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who views the photo expansion as overreach and plans to offer an amendment killing it. “It’s not a good idea to have everyone present your papers,” he told POLITICO.

Small-business woes also have gotten the ear of senators, particularly Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.). The Judiciary Committee member withdrew a small-business amendment during the bill’s markup but said he remains concerned about costly repercussions to mom and pop shops. He’s planning to eye the floor debate before offering any amendments.

Employer groups are pushing for changes that would streamline paperwork and add the possibility to check identification with targeted questions. They intend for the option to limit subjectivity.

E-Verify “is the linchpin to an effective system,” said Mike Aitken, the Society for Human Resource Management’s vice president of government affairs. “If you don’t get verification right, you can build a 20-foot fence with alligators and a moat, but someone can come up with a boat and a 21-foot ladder. You have to take out the magnet at the work site.”

Lee withdrew an amendment on this topic in committee and is still determining what to present on the floor.

“Broadly, the goal is to implement and verify that E-Verify is working before allowing millions of new immigrants into the country,” a Lee staffer said.

Others view the employment-verification debate as less about negotiation than evasion. “There’s huge political incentive to get this enforced and ignore the problems,” said David Bier, a policy analyst at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. “By tying this to legalization, this really creates a huge incentive to ignore the problems.”

The Senate plans to take up the bill by Tuesday.

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/0...hip-92384.html