[StBernard] Fighting Attempts to Weaken E-Verify

Westley Annis Westley at da-parish.com
Fri Feb 13 20:58:18 EST 2009


Dear Friend,




I was outraged to hear that two E-Verify provisions were removed from the
final stimulus. This means that there will be no special restriction to keep
illegal aliens from getting new jobs created by the bill or in the future.



The E-Verify program is an important internet-based tool that gives
employers a quick process to verify the work eligibility of new employment
hires. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, nearly 80,000
employers use the program and more than 1,000 employers voluntarily sign up
to use E-Verify each week. The program has seen remarkable improvements in
the last 12 years.



There were two provisions in the stimulus aimed to use the E-Verify system
to cut down on illegal immigration. The first provision would have
reauthorized the current, voluntary E-Verify program, which expires in
March. The second provision required local governments or businesses
receiving stimulus funds to run their new hires through the electronic, 99.5
percent accurate E-Verify system.



But liberals looking to advance their broader immigration reform agenda,
including amnesty, removed these provisions from the bill.



These provisions were designed to project jobs for American workers, but
with their removal the stimulus is now handing jobs over to illegals when
American workers in the unemployment line need it more.



Many Americans have voiced their unyielding support for employment
verification, specifically on government contracts. Workplace verification
is one of the most important actions to curb illegal immigration, and I will
keep working to make this program permanent and to put the tools in place
for American businesses to hire legal workers instead of illegal immigrants
with false documentation.


Sincerely,
David Vitter
U.S. Senator





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