Dayton ends state's use of E-Verify

by Sasha Aslanian, Minnesota Public Radio
April 4, 2011


St. Paul, Minn. — Gov. Mark Dayton has dropped a controversial check of work eligibility for state employees and large vendors doing business with the state.

In 2008, Gov. Tim Pawlenty ordered the names of all new hires be run through a Department of Homeland Security database. The program known as E-Verify checks work eligibility in the United States. Vendors doing more than $50,000 worth of business with the state were also affected.

A Dayton administration memo said while the state will continue to comply with federal immigration laws in its hiring, "the E-Verify process has been inefficient and yielded negligible results." In 2009, the state severed its contract with a Texas company hired to do the E-Verify checks after private employee data was found online.

A Republican bill at the Capitol would renew the E-Verify requirement.

Dayton also let lapse Pawlenty directives requiring state law enforcement to cooperate with federal authorities to enforce immigration laws.

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