Just days after Suffolk County, New York became one of the first counties in the country to pass an employer sanctions law, Washington County, Utah is considering a similar bill which would require government contractors verify the employment eligibility of workers.

The Houston Chronicle reports that James Spero, acting deputy assistant director of investigations, made this claim in front of a hearing held by the House Education and Labor subcommittee.

51 workers were arrested and the employer faces a $51,000 fine.

Dozens of workers constructing a jail in Lee County, Florida were arrested on immigration charges. ICE has been targeting "critical infrastructure" sites around the country including government projects.

The Michigan House has approved a bill targeting state contractors and those receiving economic development incentives. Employers hiring illegally present workers would have to pay back the state for deducted taxes for the workers and also have to pay back tax incentives. The bill has yet to be taken up in the Senate.

In the wake of high profile raids at meat processing plants in Iowa and around the country, Representative Bruce Braley (D-IA) is demanding the answer to the question of how much the raids are costing American taxpayers.

Julie Myers, head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told a Kansas City business group last week that "drying up the job magnet for illegal aliens would be the single most effective thing we could do to stem the tide of illegal aliens coming into this country." She also urged employers to use E-Verify.

Suffolk County on New York's Long Island has become one of the first counties in the country to pass its own employer sanctions law. The new provision requires businesses contracting with the county government to report the immigration status of their employees. 17,000 contractors in the county are affected by the legislation.

The Greenville News reports that the state Senate has rejected a House version of a sanctions bill by a 26 to 20 margin. The rejection likely means no bill will pass this year.

The Wall Street Journal has an excellent editorial today on E-Verify. Last week DHS defended E-Verify claiming that getting problems resolved was no big deal. Keep in mind that most of the data problems are with the Social Security Administration. The WSJ piece should give you pause if you're an American worker:

Keep in mind that the SSA isn't exactly a model of speed and efficiency. By its own admission 50% of calls to branch offices and 25% to the 1-800 number aren't even answered. And what of calls that do get through? It currently takes, on average, more than 500 days to get a decision on a disability appeal.

I have a simple solution to protect American workers - allow workers to continue working until SSA and DHS reach a determination. Right now, employers are required to terminate workers if a problem is not resolved within 8 days. The no-match rule that has been held up in the courts, gives just 90 days to resolve a problem. Why should American workers and employers pay such an extreme price when US agencies can't do their job in a timely manner. And why should we believe the government can handle a massive increase in its workload when it can't handle the load it has now?

Employers in Missouri will now be subject to losing business licenses for hiring unauthorized aliens and many employers in the state will have to begin using E-Verify.The law takes effect January 1, 2009. I've read through the bill and have prepared a summary. Note that the governor still needs to sign it before it goes final, but this is expected to happen shortly. Download missouri_client_memo.pdf

You can also download the full text of the law. Download missouri_hb_1549.pdf

DHS issued a letter in its Leadership Journal arguing the program is not as inaccurate as people believe. I'd point out that their comment that it's perfectly easy to go and correct a problem is misleading. The Social Security Administration can take months to correct a problem and E-Verify only allows eight days.

I participated on a panel call with reporters today as part of ImmigrationWorksUSA's release of a major report entitled "The New Battleground: Immigration in the States - The Outlook for Business." The report provides a superb overview of what's happening outside of Washington and where states are headed on immigration legislation affecting employers.

I just came across this news article from just before the raid in Postville, Iowa last week at the Agriprocessors Kosher meat and poultry plant. The raid was the largest single work site raid in US history. Events after the article certainly explain what was going on.

The Arizona Republic reports on new companies being formed to assist companies comply with Arizona's new mandatory E-Verify requirement.

The largest work site raid in the nation's history is not getting the attention some might have thought. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency is covering the proceedings since the plant produces most of the nation's Kosher meat.

Congress is going to have to decide on whether it wants to extend the E-Verify system. The authorization for the electronic employment verification system expires in November.

ICE agents arrested 33 workers for immigration violations at the site of a courthouse construction project in Richmond, Virginia. ICE has been targeting critical infrastructure sites around the country including military and government sites.

Most immigration bills in the Alabama legislature have failed to pass this year, but a measure that would prohibit state agencies from entering into contracts with businesses hiring unauthorized workers still has a chance of passing this year, according to the Associated Press.

The Department of Homeland Security is in active negotiations with state motor vehicle bureaus to incorporate digital photographs of drivers in to the E-Verify database. Currently, photos are only in the system for people who have applied for immigration benefits. DHS and state authorities believe that the photos will help cut down on identity theft.

I don't know that this is particularly unusual - raids happen every day across the US - but I did think it interesting that even Hawaii relies on the labor of illegally present immigrants. If there aren't enough Americans to work in Hawaii - Hawaii! - what more evidence do you need that we need immigration reform?

The House version is still not the same as the Senate and it is far from clear a compromise will be reached.

The Kansas City Star reports that a hotly debated employer sanctions bill is likely to die this session.

The head of operations at Peabody Corp., Yvonne Peabody, was sentenced to serve three months in jail and pay a fine of $50,000 and her father, the company's president, was fined $100,000. The company must also forfeit $6.25 in assets. The company operates eight scallop vessels out of Newport News, Virginia.

Pro-immigration advocates accused ICE officials of illegally arresting 1,300 Swift workers in raids across the country in 2006. Iowa's former Governor Tom Vilsack testified against ICE.

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez has called on ICE to stop workplace raids, claiming that the damage to the economy is worse than any benefits received from such raids.

A stalled immigration bill in South Carolina may move under a compromise passed by Senators in the state. The House had previously passed a measure that would allow employers to meet sanctions requirements if they properly complete I-9 forms as well as use the E-Verify system. The Senate has insisted on requiring E-Verify. The Senate is now proposing allowing the SC drivers license database to be used in addition to E-Verify and a new form resembling the I-9 that will be designed for use in South Carolina. Employers with more than 100 employees would need to start complying in July 2009 and smaller companies would have an extra year. The compromise language also includes a private right of action that would allow employees terminated from their jobs when the employer has unauthorized workers.

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford has threatened to veto the bill if changes aren't made. He is particularly concerned that the bill cannot be enforced and that the E-Verify system is rife with errors. Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell has drawn fire for saying the governor used Nazi-style propaganda tactics.

The Rhode Island House of Representatives approved a measure to require all employers in the state to use E-Verify to determine whether employees are authorized to work. The measure, which passed 53 to 17, must still pass the Senate.

DHS has announced that it is making a three part enhancement to E-Verify that would decrease the mismatch rate for naturalized citizens. I've been blogging about this problem regularly since about 10% of naturalized US citizens show up in the system as being illegally present in the US. Obviously, this is a serious, serious problem.

DHS says that starting right away, the system will include naturalization data which will help instantly confirm the citizenship status of a naturalized citizen. According to DHS, this is the #1 reason for incorrect non-confirmations in E-Verify since the Social Security Administration needs to be notified of a naturalization in order to update their system and show a person is authorized to work. Naturalized citizens who receive a mismatch are being instructed to either call USCIS or resolve the issue in person with an SSA field office.

Another immediate change will be the inclusion of real time arrival data from the Integrated Border Inspection System. According to DHS, this will reduce the number of immigration related mismatches for newly arriving workers who have entered the country legally.

Finally, DHS has indicated that it plans on initiating information sharing with SSA to prevent nonconfirmations from happening in the first place. They also plan to check against Department of State passport records to further reduce mismatches.

These changes are all, in my opinion, welcome. I am not against E-Verify per se and believe that in the context of a reformed immigration system (that deals with enforcement, legalization and the future need for workers), electronic verification will be critical to enforcing our immigration laws.

But I still have a strong suggestion and that is that under both the E-Verify and proposed no-match systems, workers who contest a non-confirmation should be considered employment authorized until DHS or SSA actually resolve the dispute. That is the only way US citizen workers falsely identified will be protected (and this will probably be the only way to satisfy a judge that the system does not violate the Constitution's equal protection protection).

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