The North Carolina House approved H318, a bill that will protect American workers by increasing the use of E-Verify, limiting the types of valid IDs that will be recognized by the local and state authorities, and ending all sanctuary policies for illegal aliens. The bill now moves to Gov. Pat McCrory for his signature.
The Senate has introduced a continuing resolution to fund the government through Dec. 11 that would reauthorize E-Verify and the EB-5 visa program. Both programs were set to expire at the end of the fiscal year that ends on Sept. 30.
Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.) has cosponsored Rep. Jody Hice's bill to end Chain Migration and the four immigration enforcement bills approved earlier this year by the House Judiciary Committee. Rep. Brat in one of the few Members of Congress to support bills that would both help end illegal immigration and make reductions in legal immigration numbers.
A House subcommittee yesterday missed an opportunity to permanently defund the president’s executive amnesties. The subcommittee cleared a draft DHS spending bill that defunds the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents amnesty and the expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals amnesty, but only while a related federal court injunction remains in effect. The measure does not affect DHS because the injunction imposed by Texas District Court Judge Andrew Hanen already prohibits the agency from implementing those amnesties.
E-Verify is so popular that PolitiFact was unable to find any poll in which an "overwhelming majority of people" did not support the free online workplace verification system. Most Americans want citizens and legal immigrants already here to get priority for U.S.
A new Center for Immigration Studies report reveals that the Obama administration has nearly abandoned enforcement of immigration laws at the worksite, at a time when the share of Americans in the labor force has declined dramatically.
Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), introduced a bill on Tuesday that would mandate the use of E-Verify by all employers. The Accountability Through Electronic Verification Act of 2015, S. 1032, would permanently authorize and require employers to use the Internet-based system that assists employers in determining the eligibility of employees to work in the United States.
NumbersUSA -- the nation's largest grassroots organization for controlled immigration, with a network of more than 3 million U.S. citizen activists -- enthusiastically endorses the Legal Workforce Act as the most cost effective and efficient way to improve the lives of millions of economically struggling Americans.
The House Judiciary Committee approved two bills this week that would increase interior enforcement of immigration laws in the United States. The bills approved include one that would mandate the use of E-Verify by all U.S. businesses within 3 years and another that would ensure that all unaccompanied alien children (UACs) are returned safely to their home countries.
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) is the lead sponsor of the Legal Workforce Act, which would expand use of E-Verify for all employers. The bill was first introduced during the 112th Session of Congress where it passed through the House Judiciary Committee. Rep. Smith was joined by 12 cosponsors of the legislation.
NumbersUSA endorsement letter for Rep. Lamar Smith's E-Verify bill, H.R.1147
Congressman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) is the lead sponsor of the Legal Workforce Act, which would expand use of E-Verify for all employers. E-Verify is a web-based system that checks the Social Security numbers of newly hired employees against Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security records to help ensure that they are genuinely eligible to work in the U.S. Today, nearly 575,000 American employers voluntarily use E-Verify, and an average of 1,400 new businesses sign up each week for E-Verify.
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) has reintroduced his Legal Workforce Act, H.R. 1147, that would require all employers in the United States to use the E-Verify system within three years. The bill was first introduced during the 112th Session of Congress where it passed through the House Judiciary Committee. Rep. Smith was joined by 12 cosponsors of the legislation.
Paragon Insights found that 58% of American voters oppose Obama's executive amnesties and 71% support strengthening laws to make it more difficult for employers to hire illegal aliens.
The House Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee will hold two hearings in early February to examine bills from the 113th Congress that strengthen interior immigration enforcement, eliminate fraud and abuse from asylum laws, end Administration policies that encourage illegal immigration, and require E-Verify use. The subcommittee is chaired by Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C.
Almost two weeks after President Obama announced an executive order to grant amnesty and work permits to millions of illegal aliens, Governor Rick Perry announced his own executive order to require all Texas state agencies to use E-Verify.
At a news conference Wednesday, Governor Perry said anyone contracting with state agencies would have to use E-Verify as well.
The Texas Tribune -- Bobby Blanchard
Nearly two weeks after President Obama announced an executive order on immigration, Gov. Rick Perry announced an order of his own.
At a news conference Wednesday, Perry said he would be requiring all state agencies to use E-Verify, a federal electronic employee verification system that aims to prevent the hiring of illegal workers. Perry said anyone contracting with state agencies would have to use E-Verify as well. The executive order takes effect immediately.
USCIS has launched it's newest service, myE-Verify, in Arizona, Idaho, Colorado, Mississippi, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. According to The Beacon, the official USCIS blog, myE-Verify is a way to create a personal account to manage how a user's information is used in E-Verify.
A survey conducted in 2013 of E-Verify has found that an overwhelming number of users had a positive experience when using the system. According to the survey, 92 percent of users found E-Verify to be effective and 89 percent found it to be highly accurate.
Other key findings in the survey include:
A new study by the Center for Immigration Studies says that all of the net jobs added to the economy since 2000 went to legal and illegal immigrants. The study counters the claims by business groups that the U.S. has a shortage of workers and needs to increase immigration levels.
“Bevin has bought the pro-amnesty line that the choice is between mass deportation and mass amnesty,” said Roy Beck, a former journalist who now is the director of NumbersUSA.
The group organization seeks the reduce the current annual inflow of one million immigrants and 650,000 non-agricultural workers.
The fiscal 2015 budget plan President Obama introduced yesterday for the Department of Homeland Security seeks to sell so-called comprehensive immigration reform by claiming it will reduce the deficit. The proposal, already considered dead-on-arrival in the House, also maintains some key programs like E-Verify that most consider critical to the passage of any immigration package.
As an employer, you want to do the right thing. But how can you insure that your prospective hire has a legal right to work in the United States? The simple solution: use E-Verify (formerly Basic Pilot Program) , the Department of Homeland Security's Electronic Employment Verification Program. E-Verify enables employers to quickly and easily verify the work authorization of their newly hired employees. E-Verify does this by providing access to the Verification Information System (VIS) database.
Voters in Fremont, Nebraska resoundingly defeated an attempt to repeal an ordinance that requires all renters to attest they have legal permission to live in the U.S. Unofficial election results show that the repeal attempt failed by a 60-40 margin.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., offered an amendment to the unemployment benefits extension bill (S. 1845) that would make E-Verify mandatory for all employers within one year of enactment.
Roy Beck, president of NumbersUSA, a pro-enforcement group on immigration, complained that amid the federal shutdown resources were found "to move forward with Obamacare" and its online insurance signup but not the online E-Verify.
"It’s a sign that putting Americans back to work is never the top priority of this president or Republicans or Democrats in Congress," Beck said. He worries the federal government may not require employers to retroactively use E-Verify for anyone they hire during the federal shutdown. "That would be a grave mistake."
The partial government shutdown that took effect at midnight has shut down the Department of Homeland Security's worker verification system - E-Verify. The online system will not be accessible during the shutdown and DHS has also shutdown the customer service arm of the system. The announcement was made on the USCIS website.
Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, pledged to move immigration legislation forward despite the busy House fall schedule. Speaking at a House Republican event for Hispanic Heritage Month, Goodlatte said the House’s piecemeal approach to legislating immigration changes would address enforcement and security; legal immigration; and the status of illegal aliens.
In an op-ed published in The Hill on Wednesday, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) detailed the impacts the Gang of Eight's immigration bill, S.744, would have on legal immigration numbers and said the interests of all Americans are be pushed aside to satisfy the interests of business and ethnic groups. Sen. Sessions urged the House to completely disavow S.744 and move forward with a plan that would "refocus the immigration debate on the rights, needs, and concerns of U.S. citizens."
Today marks the 19th day of August Congressional Recess in which the open-borders forces were supposed to have been able to change enough Republican Representatives' minds to get a full-scale amnesty and doubling of legal immigration to the floor of the House. I'm pleased to say that thus far there has been almost no sign of changed minds thanks in good measure to NumbersUSA activists who have attended more than 200 town hall meetings. These are constituents seeing their own Congressman and not a case of busing people in from the outside or staging political theatre as the other side has done so often.
During an appearance on CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday, former vice presidential candidate and current Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) said that illegal aliens should not receive work permits until the border is secured and interior enforcement, including E-Verify, is in place. The Schumer-Obama amnesty bill grants instant work permits to the nation's 11 million illegal aliens before any increases in border security or mandatory E-Verify are in place.
In an interview with Breitbart.com, Rep. John Barrow (D-Ga.) made it clear that the federal government should enforce existing immigration laws, secure the border, and mandate E-Verify before even considering an amnesty for the nation's 11 million illegal aliens. Earlier this year, Rep. Barrow introduced the Keeping the Promise of IRCA Act, H.R. 2124, that would fulfill the enforcement provisions in the 1986 amnesty that were never completed. The bill would provide needed resources at the border, allow ICE agents to enforce existing immigration laws, and mandate the use of E-Verify.
A new poll conducted by pollster John McLaughlin has found that 60% of Hispanic voters support amnesty only after the goal of stopping 90% of future illegal immigration has been achieved. Only 34% of Hispanic voters said they support an amnesty first plan similar to the Senate-passed S.744.
Now, we must turn our full efforts to the U.S. House and another huge grassroots effort in July.There is no question that the five-month opposition that the grassroots has waged is having good results in the House, where the Senate bill is facing an increasingly hostile reception. At some point, politicians will no longer be able to look the public in the eye and be allowed by the media to claim that we must have tens of millions more foreign workers to deal with supposed labor shortages.
The labeling of Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-Tex.) border security amendment as a “poison pill” has prompted Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.) to develop a related amendment. But amnesty propenents may see the pair's less flexible provisions as being even more difficult to swallow.
Rep. John Barrow (D-Ga.) has introduced the Keeping the Promise of IRCA Act. The bill would fulfill the border security promises, workplace verification promises, and interior enforcement promises that were never fulfilled by the 1986 amnesty bill. The bill serves as an alternative to the Gang of Eight's amnesty bill, S.744, and is a response to public opinion that's been evident in poll after poll that the border needs to be secured before dealing with other aspects of immigration reform.
The Keeping the Promise of IRCA Act would:
This past Tuesday, grassroots groups around the country took part in a national day to remember 1986. At least 50 separate organizations banded together under the banner "Remember 1986 Coalition." With a unified voice they asked Senators, the press, and fellow Americans to remember the broken promises of the 1986 amnesty bill and warned to not let it happen again.
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) has reintroduced his Legal Workforce Act, H.R. 1772, that would require all employers in the United States to use the E-Verify system within three years. The bill was first introduced in the last Congress where it passed through the House Judiciary Committee. Rep. Smith was joined by 21 original cosponsors of the legislation.
A survey of small businesses conducted by National Small Business Association found that 56% of small business owners would support a mandatory E-Verify requirement. Only 24% opposed such a mandate. The survey also found that only 5% of small business owners have applied for either the H-1B visa for high-skilled, temporary foreign workers or the H-2B visa for low-skilled, non-agriculture temporary visas.
The Georgia Legislature cleared for Gov. Nathan Deal’s consideration SB 160, a bill that closes a number of unintended loopholes in the state’s 2011 immigration-enforcement law. Rep. Dustin Hightower, who sponsored related House legislation, said SB 160 “goes a long way in protecting the taxpayers of Georgia by filling a lot of loopholes that were there where illegal immigrants were taking advantage of different public benefits.”
Whether or not you admire the bold individualistic leadership of Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on other issues, I know you will be disappointed and maybe even shocked by the immigration platform he outlined this morning before the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
A new study conducted by Senior Quantitative Analyst Jason Arvelo with Bloomberg Government has found that there is evidence to support E-Verify's ability to deter the hiring of unauthorized workers. The study evaluates the impact that state-passed E-Verify laws had on different industries within those states.
Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) introduced the SAVE Act (H.R.830) on Tuesday - a bill that would mandate E-Verify nationwide, strengthen border security, and improve interior enforcement. The SAVE Act was previously introduced by Deomcrat Rep. Heath Shuler who retired at the end of the last Congress. Rep. Graves bill is identical to the legislation offered by Rep. Shuler.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has introduced new legislation (S.202) in the U.S. Senate that would require all employers in the United States to use E-Verify. Sen. Grassley serves as the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees immigration policy in the Senate. He also sits on the Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security. The Accountability Through Electronic Verification Act of 2013 would make the E-Verify program permanent and would require all employers to use the system within 12 months of enactment.
The Associated Press reports the Obama Administration set records for the number of worksite enforcement audits and related monetary penalties in fiscal year 2012. But a recent Congressional Research Service analysis suggests it is too early to tell whether the Administration’s emphasis on auditing businesses is an effective immigration enforcement strategy, especially if the goal is to remove illegal aliens from the workplace.
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley announced that a special immigration enforcement unit conducted successful criminal investigations against illegal aliens in its first few months of operation. And the state reported that 92 percent of employers are complying with the mandate to use E-Verify for vetting new hires.
Anti-illegal immigration opponents like Roy Beck, the head of Numbers USA, an organization in favor of strict immigration policy, stand by Elias’ right to start a private scholarship as an “act of charity.” But he wonders how many citizens, especially in North Carolina, could use similar help.
“There is always an opportunity cost, if your charity is for one group, it’s not going to another,” Beck said of the state’s lower income students, who are primarily black and Hispanics.
Here is the transcript of all comments on immigration in the debates and my explanation of what I think each comment meant.
Readers may draw one significant conclusion from the powerful print and video report, "Deadly crossing: Death toll rises among those desperate for the American Dream," (NBC, October 9, 2012): People will continue to die crossing the southern border as long as they believe a U.S. job awaits.
