E-Verify
On June 8, 2009, the House Homeland Security
Appropriations Subcommittee unanimously approved a fiscal year 2010
spending bill for the Homeland Security Department. This bill
includes a provision that would extend the E-Verify program through
2011 and provide the president's requested $112 million. The Senate
Appropriations Committee has approved a bill that would give
E-Verify the three-year extension that President Barack Obama
requested, and $118.5 million. E-Verify is an electronic employment
eligibility verification system created in 1996 that allows
employers to verify the legal status of employees. Currently the
program is scheduled to expire on October 1, 2009, when fiscal year
2010 begins. However, it is anticipated that the program will be
reauthorized. A longer extension will be debated and used as a
bargaining chip during the upcoming comprehensive reform debates.
E-Verify is supported by Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet
Napolitano.
Current users of the program recently learned about United States
Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) intention to use a new
system to monitor the use of E-Verify. The new system, Compliance
Tracking and Management System (CTMS), collects and uses information
necessary to support monitoring and compliance activities for
researching and managing misuse, abuse, discrimination, breach of
privacy, and fraudulent use of USCIS Verification Division’s
verification programs, the Systematic Alien Verification for
Entitlements (SAVE) and E-Verify.”1 To learn more about the new
tracking and monitoring by USCIS please review the full alert,
Monitoring and Compliance Stepped Up in E-Verify Program. The
decision to enroll in the E-Verify program should not be made
lightly. It remains a best practice for those companies that want to
take additional steps in verifying the employment eligibility of
their employees. It does not however, effectively combat identity
theft. Remember, prior to participating in E-Verify, an I-9 audit
conducted by competent counsel should be completed. All corrections
can be made, issues identified and new processes and protocols
developed. Remember with the new CTMS in place, employers need to
ensure that the house is clean before you invite the government in.
1Department of Homeland Security,
Privacy Impact Assessment for the Compliance Tracking and
Management System. May 22, 2009.
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