As one of his final official acts, President Bush signs a resolution to further fund and extend E-verify. But the program’s future remains in doubt.
The president penned a continuing resolution — H.R. 2638 — that provides $100 million in funding and gives E-Verify life through March 6, 2009. The program had been set to expire on November 29.
What happens after March 6? President-elect Obama has indicated his support for E-Verify as part of a larger effort aimed at immigration reform. A separate bill to reauthorize E-Verify for five years passed the House on July 31 by a convincing 407-2 vote. However, it has been stalled for months in the Senate.
How it works
E-Verify is a voluntary, Internet-based system operated as a partnership between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA). The program allows employers to verify the employment eligibility of new hires. E-Verify electronically compares employee information taken from Form I-9 (the paper-based employment eligibility verification form used for all new hires) against more than 425 million records in SSA’s database and more than 60 million records in the DHS immigration database.
While some states have mandated that certain employers use this system, voluntary adoption has been slow due to concerns for the accuracy of the government checks and the additional administrative burden on employers.
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