Indiana Construction Co. Owner Backs E-Verify

Denney Walls, owner of Walls & Son Construction in Martinsville, Ind. is pushing for the passage of E-Verify in the state. Walls told his local paper, the Reporter-Times, that his business is being hurt because of competing companies that hire illegal workers.

Walls referred to the price change of roofing jobs as evidence of what the use of illegal workers is doing to construction costs. He said it once cost $200 per square to tear shingles, but now contractors are charging only $150 while using illegal labor.

“I can’t compete with it. …It’s definitely not fair,” he told the Reporter-Times. “They’re taken advantage of just as much as they take advantage of us.”

Walls isn’t the only construction company owner in Indiana that supports E-Verify. Brandon Weaver, who owns the A-1 Construction in Mooresville, Ind. said he stopped doing roofing jobs because of the unfairness in the market.

 “E-Verify is a great idea,” he told the Reporter-Times. “If the government was doing their job, I’d sign up.”

E-Verify is a voluntary employee verification tool administered by the federal government. It cross checks Social Security numbers with US Customs and Immigration Services to ensure potential employees are authorized to work in the United States.

The Indiana House is considering a measure that would make the use of E-Verify mandatory for all businesses. Similar laws are already in place in Arizona and Mississippi. Overall, 12 states have some variation of the required use of E-Verify already in place.

More information on Indiana’s E-Verify proposal can be found at the Reporter-Times (Ind.).