Thread: Poll results: Strong Doubts about Fed Employ Verify System

http://www.sunherald.com/447/story/400205.html

Poll Shows Strong Doubts About Effectiveness of Federal Employment Verification System
By Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and Public Opinion Strategies

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 --Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and Public Opinion Strategies today released results of a national poll assessing public opinion on employment verification as a tool for stemming illegal immigration.

In roughly equal proportions, Americans view securing the border (34 percent) and preventing the hiring of illegal immigrants (32 percent) as top methods for stopping illegal immigration.

The new poll also suggests that Americans are looking for improvements over the current systems for verifying citizenship and residency, which they see as flawed. Americans respond strongly to arguments that the Federal government's current "E-Verify" employment verification system, is vulnerable to identity theft because people can easily obtain authentic documents that do not belong to them. Nearly three quarters, 73 percent, express "serious" or "very serious" doubts about E-Verify when presented with this argument. When informed that E-Verify relies on a government database with a 4 percent error rate, which could mean as many as 6 million citizens and other legal employees could be wrongfully denied employment, 59 percent express serious or very serious doubts about the E-Verify system.

As a means to correct the shortcomings of the current employment verification process, a large majority of Americans (79 percent) favor incorporating the use of a biometric identifier, such as a thumb print, as a method for preventing fraudulent use of Social Security numbers and other identity documents - tactics commonly used as a means of obtaining a job illegally.

"The public is receptive to the use of biometrics in verification of employment eligibility," said Mark Feierstein of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research. "We found that some Americans already use biometrics in their current jobs, to ensure security in financial transactions and to ease travel. Many Americans see biometrics as a potentially effective method for preventing identity theft and as a valuable tool for preventing illegal immigrants from obtaining jobs."

The poll also found that Americans overwhelmingly support a mandatory national employment verification system, with 85 percent citing it as a somewhat or very important characteristic of a system to make sure that only legal workers get jobs. Support for liability protection for employers participating in a government employment verification system also draws wide support, with 91 percent agreeing that such a system should also provide protection from liability for the employer who uses the system properly.

The national survey was based on telephone interviews with 1,045 adults, conducted January 10-16, 2008. The results are subject to a margin of sampling error of approximately plus or minus three percent. The survey was conducted on behalf of the Society for Human Resource Management.

Detailed results of the poll are available at www.legal-workforce.org.

SOURCE Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and Public Opinion Strategies

When informed that E-Verify relies on a government database with a 4 percent error rate, which could mean as many as 6 million citizens and other legal employees could be wrongfully denied employment, 59 percent express serious or very serious doubts about the E-Verify system.

Loaded question and what is their proof of of the 4% error rate?
The poll didn't mention employees who don't match are given the opportunity to correct errors,

They like to put this out there to discredit E-verify -common sense says if you are a american citizen and it somehow comes back your number does not match up,there are lots of other ways you can prove you are-previous work,high school records,birth certificate,etc-common sense -If my number does not match up I would want to know because that means you are not being credited for your retirement SS # and that would need to be fixed.Every time someone is stopped speeding and it goes to court and is thrown out (we all know you can pay lawyer 300.00 and they will throw it out for' improper equitment')this means that the policeman that stopped you made a mistake .About half of all tickets are thrown out ,does this mean police no longer stop speeders because they are wrong half the time?

Also suspect any poll on this will always have the percentage of pro-amnesty answer in way to favor illegal immigrant non enforcement even if they think E-verify works-Many times we do not know how a poll question was asked or what point is pushed before asking questin.For example 'Hello sir,we are calling because some are concerned that since in the past legal citizens have been refused work because of e-verify not working''.''You know how government can screw things up,Im sure that has happened to you before'' Now I would like to ask you a question for our poll 'do you think E-VERIFY is a good way to decide if you can get that job based on FOLLOWING A always work,gives employments,B likely to work C sometimes works,but could deny employment D.could deny employment E.denies employment'' thank you for you time''