Another Urgent Reason to Pass Federal E-Verify Bill: California Passes Bill Barring Local E-Verify Mandate

The California State
Senate passed A.B.1236 earlier this week, sending the bill to Gov. Jerry
Brown for his signature. The bill would prohibit counties and local
municipalities in the state from requiring businesses to use E-Verify,
futhering the need for House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith’s Legal
Workforce Act that would require all business in the U.S. to use
E-Verify.

“California
has the second highest unemployment rate in the U.S., yet elected
officials in Sacramento just sent a bill to the Governor’s desk that
will further diminish job opportunities,” Chairman Smith said. “California’s E-Verify opt-out
bill shows exactly why we need a federal E-Verify law.  Without a
federal law on the books, some states—including those with the largest
illegal immigrant populations, such as California—will be free to hire
illegal workers.

“That’s why I have introduced the Legal Workforce Act,” he added. “This bill requires all U.S. employers to use E-Verify to check whether
prospective employees are legally authorized to work in the U.S.  This
program is free, quick and easy to use – those eligible to work are
immediately confirmed 99.5% of the time. This bill is one of the most
significant steps we can take to put millions of Americans back to work
and curb incentives that drive illegal immigration.”

“Illegal immigration cost Californians a net of more than $20 billion
in 2010 in services and incarceration costs,” California Representative and House Immigration Subcommittee Chairman Elton Gallegly said. “Yet California continues to
provide magnets to draw illegal immigrants to the state. That includes
free education for illegal immigrant adults, sanctuary cities and – soon
– an opt-out for E-Verify.

“Illegal
immigration will not subside until we remove the magnets, including the
largest one, a job,” Gallegly added. “California’s bill to prohibit cities and counties
from requiring employers to use E-Verify is one of the reasons I am
working with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith of Texas to
pass a federal law to make it mandatory for all employers in the United
States. It has a 98 percent accuracy rate, which is far better than the
antiquated I-9 forms now used.”

In June, Chairman Smith introduced the Legal Workforce Act
(H.R. 2164). Chairman Gallegly is an original cosponsor.  This bill
could open up millions of jobs for unemployed Americans by requiring all
U.S. employers to use E-Verify.

A
federal E-Verify law for all U.S. employers is essential to protecting
jobs for American workers and reducing the jobs magnet that encourages
illegal immigration.  Only 17 out of the 50 states and the District of
Columbia have an E-Verify mandate in place. And unfortunately, these
state laws are only applied in a limited way or are rarely enforced.