For Immediate Release May 15, 2008 Contact Jessica Morris (706) 483-8490

U.S. Congressman Paul Broun: Strengthening Employers’ Ability to Identify Illegal Aliens
Broun: “Improving an employer’s ability to remove illegal aliens from the hiring pool is an important step towards reducing the flow of illegal aliens in this country.”

AUGUSTA, GA – U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, who is committed to securing America’s porous borders and fighting illegal immigration, this month introduced H.R. 6008, the “IMPROVES E-Verify Act of 2008.” “IMPROVES” is an acronym that stands for “Improving Methods to Promote Regular Occurrences of the Verification of Employability Status.” E-Verify is an Internet-based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security in partnership with the Social Security Administration. The system allows participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees.

Congressman Broun believes that we can no longer allow the government to look the other way when it comes to dealing with illegal aliens. He is opposed to granting any form of amnesty, and he will work to prevent the passage of any legislation that would provide a path to citizenship to illegal aliens. Providing employers with the tools they need to verify the legal status of an immigrant seeking work is a critical step in the process.

“If we are going to get a handle on the illegal immigration problem, we need to take steps to cut off the economic spigot that attracts illegal aliens across our borders,” said Broun. “Improving an employer’s ability to remove illegal aliens from the hiring pool is an important step towards reducing the flow of illegal aliens into the country. My legislation removes objectionable federal mandates and provides new legal protections to encourage employers to screen the citizenship status of prospective and current employees.”

The “IMPROVES E-Verify Act of 2008” would make several needed improvements to the E-Verify Program including:

Allowing the pre-screening of prospective employees: Currently, employers are not allowed to check the work eligibility of an individual until after they are hired. It can take DHS up to10 days to confirm the legality of a hire, potentially costing businesses thousands of dollars in training, salary, and other associated costs. This legislation would allow businesses to confirm an individual’s identity and work eligibility before beginning to pay or train an individual.

Allowing the screening of current employees: Currently, an employer is not allowed to check the status of employees that were hired prior to that employer’s participation in the E-Verify program. This legislation would allow employers to uniformly check the status of prior employees for a period of 14 days after initially signing up for E-Verify.

Providing immunity to employers who legally use the program: The legislation would clarify that employers who use E-Verify in a law-abiding manner will receive civil and criminal immunity if the person checked is later determined to be undocumented. We need to ensure that American businesses that are using this free and voluntary program are not held liable, and we should make this program even more attractive for them to use.

Denying protection for businesses that knowingly use this program fraudulently: Under this bill, any employer who knowingly provides or accepts fraudulent documentation regarding immigration status must pay an enhanced civil penalty of at least $200 and not more than $2,000 for each individual violation.
Changing the Spanish language mandate: Current law requires every participating business in the E-Verify program to display English and Spanish versions of the E-Verify Participation and Right to Work posters in plain view at the hiring site. This legislation would remove the Spanish language requirement, and allow businesses of less than 25 employees to simply hand out a pamphlet with the same information that is contained in the poster version.

Making the program permanent: While the E-Verify program is not perfect and needs enhancement, it is currently the best means available for determining employment eligibility of new hires and the validity of their Social Security numbers. We cannot allow this necessary program to expire.