E-Verify To Be Required for All Federal Contractors Starting Today

Progress:

The sweeping new mandate, crafted by the Bush White House but being implemented by the Obama administration, represents a significant expansion for the so-called E-Verify system, which government officials and independent experts expect to become mandatory for all private employers nationwide in the future.

About 169,000 federal contractors and subcontractors will eventually be covered by the program taking effect Tuesday.

U.S. District Court Judge Alexander Williams, Jr., of Maryland, rejected an 11th-hour-effort late Friday by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups to delay the mandate while a federal appeal is pending.

Judge Williams had in August dismissed a lawsuit by the groups seeking to have the program thrown out after the Obama administration, represented by the Justice Department, fought to keep it intact.

The electronic worker eligibility system has been the the subject of an unusual alliance between business groups and unions. They're looking to preserve cheap, illegal labor at the expense of individuals least able to seek relief under the law. It's exploitation.

E-Verify officially went active on a mandatory basis this morning. Previously, the program was voluntary.

UPDATE: This isn't related to E-Verify, though it demonstrates the efficacy of robust employer enforcement:

Hundreds of American Apparel Inc. workers must leave the company because they were unable to prove their immigration status or fix problems with their employment records, the company said Wednesday.

The terminations come two months after the Los Angeles manufacturer and retailer announced that a government inspection had found that about 1,600 of its workers didn't appear to be authorized to work in the U.S.

Reduce the incentive to illegally immigrate and we will reduce illegal immigration.

posted by Gabriel Malor at 10:57 AM

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