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Immigration Update: Reauthorizing E-Verify Could Lead to………..

The E-Verify program expires November 1 unless congress reauthorizes it. In seeking to renew the program, some senators want to approve other immigration measures, raising the potential for another fight over changing immigration laws with the fall elections just around the corner and Congress ready to recess.

Senators are searching for a legislative strategy to renew a program that employers can use to verify the legal status of their workers, stirring the pot for further immigration reform measures. E-Verify allows employers to check an employee’s information against databases maintained by the Homeland Security Department and the Social Security Administration.

Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania), the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee introduced a bill earlier this month to reauthorize four immigration programs, including E-Verify for five years. His bill would reauthorize the EB-5 regional center program, which is designed for immigrant investors willing to invest at least $1 million in a business that employs 10 or more legal workers. Specter is also seeking to reauthorize the J-1 visa waiver program for foreign medical graduates.

Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) has introduced a bill that would permanently reauthorize E-Verify and expand the program, giving the Department of Homeland Security the ability to require companies to use the program if a pattern of illegal hiring is found. There is no federal mandate requiring employers to use E-Verify, although some states have mandated that companies use it. Homeland Security is finalizing a rule that will require federal contractors to use it. Grassley’s bill would require Homeland Security to provide a monthly report to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on discrepancies in worker records that should be investigated and also require employers to reverify employees who are in the United States on temporary status.