E-Verify is so popular that PolitiFact was unable to find any poll in which an "overwhelming majority of people" did not support the free online workplace verification system. Most Americans want citizens and legal immigrants already here to get priority for U.S.
Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), introduced a bill on Tuesday that would mandate the use of E-Verify by all employers. The Accountability Through Electronic Verification Act of 2015, S. 1032, would permanently authorize and require employers to use the Internet-based system that assists employers in determining the eligibility of employees to work in the United States.
In "Labor Unions Move To Protect Immigrants, Regardless Of Legal Status" Esther Yu-Hsi Lee of ThinkProgress writes:
"For a large part of their history, labor unions cast a wary eye on immigrant workers, worried that foreign workers would hurt the leveraging power for members. But with a receding membership in recent times, unions are aggressively targeting the 22 million immigrant workers in the country, regardless of legal status, to join their ranks. Some immigrants are especially eager to join unions because many who fear deportation believe that it would improve workplace conditions without retribution. And unions are taking immigrant needs straight to the bargaining table."
A new study by the Center for Immigration Studies says that all of the net jobs added to the economy since 2000 went to legal and illegal immigrants. The study counters the claims by business groups that the U.S. has a shortage of workers and needs to increase immigration levels.
Eleven CEO's from some the nation's largest companies have signed on to a new letter to Congress urging passage of immigration reform that includes massive increases in low-skilled foreign workers.
The Mark Zuckerberg-funded group, Americans for a Conservative Direction, has launched another television ad with the hope of advancing the immigration principles that were unveiled at last week's GOP retreat. Zuckerberg is the founder of both Facebook and the pro-amnesty group FWD.us, which helps subsidize Americans for a Conservative Direction. The ads make an enthusiastic push on behalf of the GOP principles, but the information is vaguely presented in an attempt to mislead the American people.
There are many admirable standards proposed at the House Republican retreat today. But too many are clearly against the interests of too many Americans. And although the leaders declare that the purporse of immigration policy is to promote the national interests, much of the text seems to tie the national interest primarily to what the Republican leaders' corporate donors want rather than protecting the ability of unemployed Americans to gain jobs and of working Americans to obtain raises for their productivity.
The partial government shutdown that took effect at midnight has shut down the Department of Homeland Security's worker verification system - E-Verify. The online system will not be accessible during the shutdown and DHS has also shutdown the customer service arm of the system. The announcement was made on the USCIS website.
We know from a flurry of news stories the last 24 hours that the Republican leaders of the House think that most illegal aliens under a certain age have a compelling case for being granted an amnesty. What we don't know is whether either leader has given any thought to: (1) Who is responsible for putting the "kids" into a predicament that makes their amnesty case compelling? (2) How do you keep another generation of illegal-alien parents from putting their children in the same predicament? (3) How do you minimize the harm to U.S. citizens if an amnesty is granted?
Rep. John Barrow (D-Ga.) has introduced the Keeping the Promise of IRCA Act. The bill would fulfill the border security promises, workplace verification promises, and interior enforcement promises that were never fulfilled by the 1986 amnesty bill. The bill serves as an alternative to the Gang of Eight's amnesty bill, S.744, and is a response to public opinion that's been evident in poll after poll that the border needs to be secured before dealing with other aspects of immigration reform.
The Keeping the Promise of IRCA Act would: