DREAM Act Portal Forum - Employers: Get ready for E-Verify

http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/1299177.html

Employers: Get ready for E-Verify
BY HECTOR CHICHONI
Special to The Miami Herald
Employers should start preparing for new immigration enforcement policies under the Obamaadministration as pressure on employers to prevent unlawful hiring increases. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is working hard to convince Congress to make E-Verify, the voluntary Internet-based employment verification system, mandatory for all employers in the United States.

DHS' Secretary Janet Ann Napolitano pledges to increase the focus on criminal punishment for employer violators and encourages employers to work with federal immigration agents to establish sound compliance programs.

Run by the DHS' U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services in conjunction with the Social Security Administration, E-Verify offers a glimpse into the future of immigration and opens new doors to complex issues that will greatly impact all industries.

While the system, in its current state, has been highly criticized by some experts as flawed, the program is quickly gaining popularity among legislators and could soon become mandatory for every employer in the U.S.

Critics argue that the system has the potential to unleash costly governmental audits and inspections by performing below perfect standards and is prone to errors that could lead to a great deal of liability for an employer, such as the wrongful termination of lawful U.S. citizens. Other complaints include the short eight-day period provided to resolve discrepancies, which many argue is not sufficient, and the inability to detect many forms of document alteration, which could lead to fraud and even identity theft.

However, the government continues to look for ways to improve the accuracy and efficiency of E-Verify. In fact, Secretary Napolitano has stated that she aims to continue boosting the use of technology to ensure the law is applied correctly. Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), the leading democrat in Congress pushing for a strong employment verification program, has stated that he favors a high-tech employment verification system that employs biometric identifiers such as fingerprints, eye scans and more.

An improved version of E-Verify becoming mandatory for all employers seems inevitable considering the steps Congress has already taken, including the 2010 appropriations bill that provides $5.4 billion to fund DHS's employment verification activities, along with existing memoranda between governmental agencies allowing for information sharing. A key potential improvement to E-Verify could include linking the system to local and state law enforcement agencies.

On Sept. 14, Alejandro Mayorkas, the newly appointed head of CIS, told reporters that the agency was taking steps to prepare for the day when E-Verify becomes mandatory for all employers, including improving the program itself, evaluating the technical infrastructure and creating options to include biometric identifiers. Additionally, on Sept. 22, CIS launched a redesigned website that could be used as the more powerful portal needed to handle an employment verification program with improved biometric capabilities.

With Congress having already invested significant time and resources to improve E-Verify, employers should expect that E-Verify, or some form thereof, will become mandatory in the near future, and they should start preparing now.