Thread: Lamar Smith’s E-Verify Bill Must Be Amended

Lamar Smith’s E-Verify Bill Must Be Amended

H.R.2164 preempts the states from requiring use of E-Verify unless employees work for state or local governments

Phyllis Schlafly
Friday, July 1, 2011

E-Verify, a computer process that makes it fast and easy for employers to check the validity of employees’ Social Security numbers to ascertain if they are legal, was created by Congress as a voluntary system. It demonstrates its utility by verifying individuals within a few seconds with 99.5 percent accuracy, but only about two percent of businesses actually use it.

Arizona passed the Legal Arizona Workers Act in 2007 to require the use of E-Verify by businesses in that state and to allow the state to revoke the business license of any companies that knowingly employed illegal aliens.

On May 26, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-to-3 decision (Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting), upheld the Arizona law. The Court rejected the pro-amnesty claque’s argument that immigration enforcement is exclusively the federal government’s responsibility.

A similar case from Hazleton, Pennsylvania was remanded by the High Court to the Third Circuit to be reconsidered in light of the Arizona decision. Hazleton’s ordinance to protect itself against employers hiring illegal aliens was so popular with voters that they reelected its sponsor, Mayor Lou Barletta, and then elected him to Congress in 2010.

The pro-amnesty U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which was the loser in the Arizona case, conspired with House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) to introduce H.R.2164 that, unless amended, will reverse Arizona’s significant victory. This bill sounds helpful because it pretends to make E-Verify mandatory nationwide, but it actually ties the hands of the states.

H.R.2164 preempts the states from requiring use of E-Verify unless employees work for state or local governments. That’s equivalent to giving amnesty to millions of illegal aliens who are currently employed in our country.

H.R.2164 forbids the states from using their constitutional power to revoke licenses from businesses that hire illegal aliens unless there has been “a showing by the Secretary of Homeland Security, by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer had knowledge that an employee is an unauthorized alien.â€

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) has introduced a major piece of legislation that would require most employers to use E-Verify within two years of enactment. Large employers, federal, state, and local agencies and federal and state contractors would need to comply within six months. The bill would also make the E-Verify program permanent and reinstate the no-match letter program to help identify the 7 million illegal aliens currently holding non-agriculture jobs.

This bill is NOT limited to federal and state agencies / contractors.

There are other problems with Smith's bill, showing why the chamber was so willing to strike this deal. Notably, it grandfathers in almost all illegal aliens who are already employed here and stay in the same job. They won't be checked through E-Verify. Thus, the bill will help keep the current population of illegal aliens working, so that they are still here if a future amnesty (which the chamber supports) occurs.

From this article- http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-1236205.html#1236205