Local employers say E-Verify system works
When checking workers for immigration status
Andrea Zelinski

Derek Denoyer knows every employee working for People Link in Kankakee County is a U.S. citizen.

That’s because before being hired, every job applicant at the temporary staffing agency has had his or her immigration status checked by the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration, said Denoyer, vice president of People Link.

Denoyer and other employers can continue to use the system, despite an Illinois law that was to take effect Jan. 1 barring employers from relying on E-Verify because Social Security information was not reliable.

The law, signed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich in August, was one of the country’s most far reaching in its challenge of the federal government’s use of Social Security records to verify immigration status.

In September, the federal government sued the state to block the law. In mid-December, the suit was paused thanks to a deal worked out between federal officials and the Illinois attorney general’s office.

The federal government currently encourages employers to send its applicants’ information through E-Verify, which verifies candidates’ legal status in three days in 92 percent of cases.

The law would have stopped employers from sending applicants’ information to the federal government until the program can verify legal status in 99 percent of cases.

The court deal means Illinois will not enforce the law for 60 days, and the government will not try to stop the law from taking effect. At the same time, the state legislature will reconsider and rework the law. According to Rep. Ruth Munson, R-Elgin, a new bill will be introduced later this month.

But no matter what happens to the law local business and community leaders don’t think the potential change will make much difference.

“Is it going to affect the ability to acquire new customers? No,â€