D.A. King letter to the editor published in the Chattanooga Times/Free Press
Published November 6, 2008

HERE

( Original news report ” E-Verify working smoothly” – November 3, 2009) HERE

Dear Editor
National unemployment are rates approaching 10%. If the genuine goal is to protect the beleaguered American worker, mandatory use of the federal employment eligibility database “E- Verify” is a no-brainer.

According to the federal government, E-Verify has proven to be over 99.5% accurate. Most of the 5.8% of employees who received a negative response were people who had escaped capture while sneaking into our nation in violation of American immigration laws.

Only 0.5% of the employees who were U.S. citizens or authorized foreign workers had to contact the Social Security Administration because of errors in the database. No employee is fired without a detailed and extensive appeal process to prove legal immigration status.

E-Verify is internet based – and operated – and is no cost (FREE!) to the user employer.

Misleading objections to universal use of E-Verify from George Israel, CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, should be considered along with the stated “primary goal” of his powerful lobbying organization: “to further the business interests of our membership.”

It was the United States Chamber of Commerce that spent millions on various lawsuits in a furious effort to stop the mandated use of E-Verify for federal contractors.

On protecting American jobs – and a living wage – E-Verify works too well for some.

D.A. King
Marietta, Ga.

King is a nationally recognized authority on illegal immigration and president of the Georgia-based Dustin Inman Society, which advocates for compliance with employment and immigration laws.

BONUS: Below is the Georgia Chamber of Commerce position on “Immigration”

Immigration – “The Georgia Chamber of Commerce recognizes that immigration is one of the most complex social issues of our time. Industry faces, and will continue to face, a growing shortage of both highly-skilled professionals and laborers in many sectors of our economy. Failure to address these shortages will result in the relocation of businesses to other nations where there is an abundance of skill-appropriate workers.

In addressing immigration issues, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce supports:

efforts by state government to establish a lawful, manageable, and monitored guest and essential worker program to fill the growing gaps in our state’s workforce — recognizing that, in some cases, permanent immigrants will be needed to fill labor shortages; and efforts by Georgia businesses to continue to comply with current immigration laws and regulations and verify documents of foreign-born employees.

The Chamber opposes efforts by the federal government to place additional administrative burdens on businesses. Georgia businesses that employ foreign-born employees should be prudent in the verification process and also be careful to avoid document discrimination. Immigration laws and regulations must also indemnify and recognize the good faith efforts of employers and businesses that do comply with existing verification procedures and requirements. It is critical that immigration reform refrain from unduly burdening employers with worker verification systems that are under-funded or unworkable. ” HERE