Sixty-two percent of state residents oppose granting illegal immigrants some type of limited driver's license, according to a Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey poll.

Only 32 percent said children of illegal immigrants deserved in-state tuition rates, while 20 percent favored the lower rates for illegal immigrants themselves.

As of April, the most recent date for which statistics are available, 12 states had passed laws requiring some or all employers to use E-Verify in hiring new employees. Five states had E-Verify laws under discussion by their legislatures, according to NumbersUSA, a political action committee concerned with immigration issues.

"My first thought is that Obama could do a lot worse," said Roy Beck, president of Numbers USA, a policy group in the Washington area, who went on to praise Ms. Napolitano’s law enforcement background while denouncing her support for a guest worker program as "amnesty."

"The money and the lobbying power is stacked against us," said a representative of NumbersUSA. "This is an issue that people see and experience the effects of on an everyday basis. There is definitely a very powerful grass-roots activism on this issue."

NumbersUSA has more than 300,000 activists sending faxes and calling Congress, an increase from 100,000 two years ago. More than 1 million people receive e-mail alerts from the group.

A Novato-based group advocating the employment of documented American workers in Novato has collected more than half the required signatures to place an initiative on the Nov. 2 ballot to force employers working with the city to verify the citizenship of workers.

A Novato-based group advocating the employment of documented American workers in Novato has collected more than half the required signatures to place an initiative on the Nov. 2 ballot to force employers working with the city to verify the citizenship of workers.

The candidates were asked whether they would force employers to use the E-verify system to ensure that only legal citizens are hired.

Medina: No. "We have a process in Texas.  . . .  We use the I-9 forms.  . . .  Also, the Texas driver’s license is an acceptable form of identification . . . yet in Texas we are issuing Texas driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. Stop issuing Texas driver’s licenses toward illegal immigrants would go a long way."

Perry: No. "E-verify is a clearly federal program.  . . .  Speaking of the federal government, that’s where the problem lies with this issue.  . . .  E-verify would not make a hill of beans’ difference when it comes to what’s happening in America today."

Hutchison: Yes. "E-verify is the best system that we have that would allow an employer to do what they need to do. We have to give employers the tools to find out if someone is legal."

Senate Bill 1271 would make it illegal to produce false identification when applying for employment and also for employers to knowingly hire employees that produce false documents at the time of employment.

Senators Patti Anne Lodge (R-Huston), Curt McKenzie (R-Nampa), John McGee (R-Caldwell) and Melinda Smyser (R-Parma) are cosponsors of the legislation.

Frederick County is taking steps to prevent contractors from hiring illegal immigrant workers.

On Dec. 15, Frederick County Commissioners will consider whether to adopt new purchasing regulations. Those regulations would include requiring major construction contractors to certify that they and their subcontractors are not knowingly employing illegal aliens.

In February, commissioners are also expected to review a proposal to require those contractors use the federal e-verify system, an Internet-based program designed to verify legal status of workers under federal contract.

Will unemployed Michiganians continue to compete with illegal immigrants for taxpayer-funded jobs? That question is before the Michigan House of Representatives this week in the form of House Bill 4355, which would require state and local governments, and their contractors, to verify whether new hires are eligible to work in the U.S. This should be a no-brainer for the House considering Michigan's unemployment rate.

The bill works by simply requiring employers to run new employees through the federal E-Verify database to determine if they are legal residents. Employers have had the opportunity to use this database for some time and many concerned employers did. Unfortunately, most did not.

On Aug. 19, I testified before the Michigan House Judiciary Committee on behalf of House Bills 4355 and 4969. HB 4355 would require that state and local governments in Michigan use E-Verify in order to make sure that all new hires are eligible to work in the U.S. HB 4969 would extend that requirement to employment agencies that refer applicants for employment with the government.

E-Verify is a free software program that employers use to check whether or not an employee is legally authorized to work in the U.S. Information about eligibility status is already required from all employees on I-9 Forms. E-Verify simply takes that information and checks it against the Social Security database; a much more effective process.

E-Verify is fast, easy to use and extremely reliable. E-Verify protects American workers by making it difficult for employers to hire illegal aliens.

Los Angeles County is exploring the possibility of requiring future contractors to participate in a federal program that checks whether employees are legal residents authorized to work in the United States.

The Board of Supervisors voted 5 to 0 Tuesday to have county officials review E-Verify and make a recommendation on mandating the program for contractors, which could include drug treatment facilities, construction companies and foster family agencies.

Companies providing services to Oakland County government will have to use a federal system to insure their employees are legally entitled to work in the United States.

The Oakland County Commission this morning approved a new policy requiring service vendors to use the federal E-Verify program, to avoid hiring illegal workers.