Rep. Gallegly: E-Verify Bill Will Create Jobs

Chairman of the House Immigration Subcommittee Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.) wrote an op-ed that was published in Roll Call today that touts Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith’s E-Verify bill (H.R. 2164). Rep. Gallegly wrote that E-Verify is efficient, easy to use, and the best bill currently offered in Congress to put Americans back to work.

Rep. Gallegly introduced the idea of E-Verify 15 years ago, which was then included in Rep. Smith’s Illegal Immigration Control and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. Since then, Rep. Gallegly, Rep. Smith and many others in Congress have been working to make the program permanent and mandatory.

Rep. Smith’s Legal Workforce Act would make E-Verify mandatory for 100% of employers within two years of enactment and codifies several tools that will help identify and fire illegal aliens who currently hold jobs in the United States. Rep. Gallegly was an original cosponsor of H.R. 2164, and the bill currently has 38 total sponsors.

More than 7 million people take American jobs by working illegally in the United States. Under the act, many of those 7 million jobs will be available to American workers when E-Verify is fully implemented in two years.

What other jobs program can guarantee millions of jobs for American workers in two years?

There is a clear need to pass the Legal Workforce Act now.

Rep. Gallegly also wrote about some of the myths regarding illegal aliens in the workforce.

The myth that illegal immigrants only hold jobs that American workers won’t do is just that — a myth. Recent studies estimate that 20 percent of cooks, 25 percent of construction workers, 22 percent of maids and housekeeping personnel, and 25 percent of groundskeepers are illegal immigrants. In addition, 40 percent of illegal immigrants are visa overstays, many of whom take high-end jobs from Americans.

When fast-food company Chipotle was audited and hundreds of its illegal workers were fired, American citizens lined up the next day for a chance to work at those jobs. . .

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data from last year show that 98.3 percent of employees were confirmed as work-authorized instantly or within 24 hours using E-Verify. A 2009 report by research firm Westat found that those eligible to work are immediately confirmed 99.5 percent of the time.

E-Verify is free, very accurate and reduces paperwork for American businesses.

You can read Rep. Gallegly’s full op-ed at RollCall.com.