February 25, 2010

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE WESTAT REPORT ON E-VERIFY

Posted by D.A. King at 8:57 am - Email the author   Print This Post Print This Post  

The USCIS synopsis of key findings HERE

HERE is the full Westat report discussed in the media today.

The following is a commonsense, useful synopsis quote concerning the 54% figure discussed in this story:

C. How does Westat’s estimated inaccuracy rate for unauthorized workers (the 3.3% in Graph 1) relate to the 54 percent statistic in the Westat report?

Answer: Westat estimates that overall, E-Verify queries result in an accurate response 96 percent of the time and an inaccurate response 4.1 percent of the time. But only 6.2 percent of all E-Verify queries relate to unauthorized workers. Primarily due to identity fraud, E-Verify only correctly found that unauthorized workers – not all workers – were not work authorized about half (54 percent) of the time. As a result, the 54 percent statistic relates only to the 6.2 percent figure, as shown in Graph 1 above, and means that of all E-Verify queries, only approximately 3.3 percent are for unauthorized workers that were incorrectly found work authorized.

Here’s another useful truth: “Westat found that employers using E-Verify were generally satisfied with the program and indicated that it was not burdensome (99 out of 104 employers report being generally satisfied). “