Thread: Pilot program allows firms to check immigration status

Has anyone heard anything more about this program?


http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/09 ... 190110.txt

Pilot program allows firms to check immigration status


By: LAURA WIDES - Associated Press

LOS ANGELES ---- Many Americans focus on the border when they consider the fight against illegal immigration. But some experts say the real battle should be in the workplace to stop the hiring of people without work visas.

Simple enough in theory, but how can you tell who's an illegal immigrant?

Many companies now do little more than eyeball documents, saying they lack the expertise and resources to go any further ---- and they seldom face federal sanctions.

But across the country, a small group of businesses is quietly testing a Department of Homeland Security program that can check immigration status with a few clicks on the Internet. The program will likely be at the heart of any federal immigration reform, even as critics say it needs improvement.

"It's not a question of 'can we fix this?' It's 'when and how?' " said Tamar Jacoby, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute think tank who specializes in immigration.

Many businesses, however, oppose making the program mandatory because it would stop them from hiring illegal workers and force them to pay higher wages, said Maria Echeveste, an immigration expert and political consultant who worked as a deputy chief of staff in the Clinton White House.

"I see this as a battle over whether we are going to be hypocrites or not," she said. "If we're not ready to give up cheap labor, then we should shut up about illegal immigrants."

Under the "Basic Pilot Program," employers enter a person's name, birth date and other data on a Web site. The information is then run through databases maintained by the Social Security Administration and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Employers never learn if the individual might be in the country illegally. They simply get a "yes" or "no" on the person's work status. Applicants can appeal if they disagree with the results.

The program doesn't include fingerprint or other biometric checks to determine if applicants are using someone else's Social Security number or name. Ideally, the checks would eventually include a photo identification card supplied by the Social Security Administration. But the agency has estimated it could take at least $4 billion to produce such cards.

Companies using the program said the latest version is quicker and easier to use than people might think. But experts caution that it needs tweaks before Congress could roll out a mandatory version nationwide.

Among other things, they worry that it could hurt legal immigrants, whose visa status often changes faster than DHS can update its databases, and who sometimes use the surnames of both parents, which can further trip up the process.

No one has estimated the expense of a nationwide rollout. But expanding the pilot to serve the more than 8 million businesses in the country would cost the government much more than the $1.5 million currently being spent on the program.

Congress will likely consider the issue when it reconvenes Sept. 7. All the major immigration bills moving through Washington call for an expanded version of the program.

Ayesha Tully hires dozens of factory workers and secretaries each week at the Staffmark temp agency office in the Orange County city of Cypress. She prefers the pilot program to merely glancing at documents to see if they look fraudulent.

"I used to get nervous. What if I tell someone that the card they have isn't official, but what if it is?" said Tully, who began using the system earlier this year. "Now the computer checks."

Staffmark's computer system won't allow Tully to put a new employee on the payroll unless she's run them through the federal databases.

Just knowing a company uses the program can deter undocumented workers from applying.

Eliseo Flores Canales, 58, went to the Staffmark office looking for factory work. After glancing at a poster describing the firm's participation in the DHS pilot, the recently arrived Salvadoran mumbled that he didn't speak enough English and left.

Outside, Flores said he was afraid of having his illegal status discovered.

"This kind of program affects us. People come here, and a lot only have false documents," he said in Spanish.

The push for workplace enforcement of immigration law has languished since Congress passed a bill in 1986 holding companies responsible for checking the status of potential hires.

The early tracking systems were slow and inaccurate, and federal enforcement agents met fierce industry opposition, forcing the government to back off.

The pilot program was started in 1996 in a handful of states and has grown by 40 percent since it expanded nationwide last December. About 700,000 job applicants are checked annually, said USCIS spokesman Chris Bentley.

Five full-time DHS agents manually check the applications of those not immediately cleared to work by computers.

In the past three years, an average of 83 percent of applicants were authorized to work: 81 percent were immediately cleared and about 3 percent were approved in 24 hours or more, according to a review of DHS data by The Associated Press.

No conclusive data was kept on the remaining 16 percent, so it's unclear if they were trying to work illegally or if they were legitimate applicants who got frustrated by the bureaucracy and gave up. That uncertainty concerns critics of the program.

Businesses have joined the program for a variety of reasons. A number of firms in the meat industry decided to use it after federal raids in 1999 led to fines.

"It's a better way to do business," said Mark Klein, spokesman for Cargill Inc., whose subsidiary, Wichita, Kan.-based Cargill Meat Solutions, employs about 22,000 people in the United States and has 22 factories. Klein said the company has used the program since 1996.

No matter how efficient the program, it will only work if the government provides resources to enforce sanctions against those who continue to hire illegal immigrants, said attorney Laura Reiff, co-chairwoman of the business-backed Essential Worker Immigration Coalition for immigration reform.

The cost of the enforcement effort is relative, she said.

"It will cost some money, just like building a big fence around the United States will cost money," Reiff said.

http://uscis.gov/graphics/index.htm

This is an interesting site, but I would like to find the site where employers can check the status of employees. Anyone know what it is?

I've got a better idea.

HIRE AMERICANS. You can spot US a mile away. It's in the look, it's in the talk, it's in the walk--if it looks like a duck, talks like a duck, and walks like duck--it's a duck.

DUH!

And WE're LEGAL!!

Judy it's also in the way we pay taxes!

I agree that we should hire Americans but not all Americans are from the Untied States so we have to be careful how we judge them.


Here is the actual information on that web site where employers can verify the legal status of employees.


http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/SAVE.htm#two

SAVE Program
Frequently Asked Questions

Benefits/Entitlements
Employer Pilots

BENEFITS/ENTITLEMENTS

Q: What is the SAVE Program?

Answer: The Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program is an intergovernmental, information-sharing initiative designed to aid Federal, state and local benefit providers in verifying an applicant's/recipient's immigration status, thereby ensuring that only entitled non-citizens receive public benefits.

Q: What is the cost of the SAVE program to the user?

Answer: The cost of access to the Automated Status Verification System (ASVS) varies by access method. There are currently six access methods available (AS3270; AS3270 (NIIS); PC System 1, 2, and 3; and Batch) with a transaction cost that varies from $.04 to $.32 per query.

Q: What is the system’s response time?

Answer: For agencies using ASVS, the response time for the initial query is 3 to 5 seconds, and for an additional verification request, in most cases, is within 4 Federal government workdays. For agencies using the manual verification process (Form G-845), the response time for mandated agencies is within 10 Federal government workdays from receipt by the immigration status verification office and is negotiable with non-mandated agencies, usually within 20 working days.

Q: What are the procedures to sign a new agency into the program?

Answer: The interested agency sends a written request to the SAVE Pprogram. Written correspondence should be sent to the following address: John E. Nahan, Director, SAVE Program, 425 I Street, N.W., ULLICO Bldg. 1st Floor, Washington, DC 20536. The letter should include the section of law that requires your organization to perform immigration status verification, a summary of the benefit program(s) your organization provides in which SAVE verification would be used, and your organization's anticipated annual usage. The SAVE Program will then begin negotiations with the User Agency to establish a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two agencies. Once the MOU is signed, a purchase order is submitted to the ASVS contractor for approval. The cost per query is based on the access method that the agency deems appropriate for their needs. User IDs, access codes, and training materials are then issued by the contractor, and the agency can begin accessing information contained in the VIS database.

Q: What safeguards exist in the SAVE system to prevent benefit granting agencies from erroneously denying a benefit?

Answer: Under the standardized SAVE system, an alien is never denied a benefit based solely upon the response from a primary query. An additional verification (automated or manual) procedure is in place as a precautionary measure.

Q: Does the SAVE Program provide information to Federal, state, and local benefit issuing agencies to assist them in understanding the SAVE Program's role in the immigration status verification process?

Answer: Yes. The SAVE program provides participating benefit issuing agencies with user manuals, and conducts periodic users meetings to discuss the SAVE Program's role and address the Users’ concerns. In addition, SAVE program staff is available to answer questions either in writing or by telephone.

Q: Will the SAVE Program be involved in verifying citizenship status?

Answer: The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) requires the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, now Department of Homeland Security, to respond to inquiries by Federal, state, and local government agencies seeking to verify or determine the citizenship or immigration status of any individual within the jurisdiction of the agency for any lawful purpose.

Additionally, IIRIRA provides that the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, must establish procedures for persons applying for public benefits to provide proof of citizenship in a fair and nondiscriminatory manner. A proposed rule including procedures for providing proof of citizenship was published on August 4, 1998.

Q: Is the VIS database capable of providing the information that states and agencies will need?

Answer: The current SAVE Program can electronically verify the status of most lawful permanent residents as well as aliens in many other categories. For certain groups of aliens or when status cannot be verified immediately through the initial query, the additional verification procedure (manual or automated) should be instituted. This additional verification ensures that all available records systems can be checked and that benefits are not denied to eligible persons. It is anticipated that the SAVE Program will be able to accommodate the anticipated workload under the welfare provisions.

Q: For what programs do benefit providers have to verify an applicant’s immigration status?

Answer: Verification is mandatory for Federal public benefit programs. State and local agencies may choose to verify immigration status for applicants for state and local public benefit programs.

Q: What can states do to verify status before a final regulation is issued on the new verification system?

Answer: The law does not address this issue; states can decide whether to rely on self certification, document review, or contacting the SAVE Program to explore the possibility of signing up with the SAVE Program which administers the current status verification system. States can also refer to the Interim Guidance on Verification published in the Federal Register on November 17, 1997.

Q: Can the SAVE Program verify sponsorship information?

Answer: Yes, the SAVE Program currently supplies state agencies with information that sponsors provided on the original Affidavit of Support, Form I-864, when requested using the Document Verification Request Supplement, Form G-845 Supplement. However, this information is not currently automated.

EMPLOYER PILOTS

Q. How do I join the Basic Pilot Program?

Answer: Employers interested in joining the Basic Pilot Program must sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' (USCIS) Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program. On July 7, 2004, the SAVE Program began offering a Web-Based Access Method for the Basic Pilot. To register and complete a MOU for participation in the Basic Pilot go to https://www.vis-dhs.com/EmployerRegistration, and follow the instructions.

Q. How much does it cost to participate in the Basic Pilot Program?

Answer: There is no charge to the employer. The government provides the verification services at no cost to employers.

Q. What equipment is needed to participate in an employment verification pilot?

Answer: You will need a personal computer with access to the Internet.

Q. What are the advantages for employers to volunteer to participate in the Basic Pilot Program?

Answer: The Basic Pilot removes the guesswork from document review during the Form I-9 process; it allows the employer to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees; it improves the accuracy of wage and tax reporting, and protects jobs for authorized workers.

Q. Can I verify the work eligibility of all employees in my company?

Answer: No, you may only verify the employment eligibility of employees hired after you signed the MOU.

Q. When would I perform a verification query?

Answer: You would perform the automated employment verification query after an employee has been hired, and the Form I-9 process complete. This automated query must be initiated within 3 business days of hire. It is important to remember that the system may not be used to pre-screen an applicant for employment.

Q. Does participation in a pilot program eliminate the requirement of completing a Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification Form?

Answer: No, Form I-9 requirements remain the same with the exception that all "List B" identity documents must contain a photograph.

Q. Can I use the system to re-verify the employment eligibility of an employee whose employment eligibility document has expired?

Answer: No, the system should not be used to re-verify employment eligibility. You would follow the procedures currently in place by completing Section 3 of the Form I-9.

Q. Have steps been taken to safeguard individual privacy in connection with the pilot programs?

Answer: Yes. The pilots are designed with safeguards to ensure that employer and employee information is protected.

Q. If I join the program, am I obligated to participate in the pilot until it ends?

Answer: No, if you join the program and decide that the pilot is not what you wanted or expected, or that the process is too time consuming or cumbersome, you may drop out of the pilot. You would do this by sending written notice to the SAVE Program that you no longer want to participate in the pilot and give a brief explanation as to why.


For More Information

Contact U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program
(202) 514-2317

Hire Americans and forget your Legal Hiring Pilot Program for Dummies!!