According to Secretary Napolitano, “E-Verify is a smart, simple and effective tool that reflects our continued commitment to working with employers to maintain a legal workforce.” She went on to state, “The rule complements our Department’s continued efforts to strengthen immigration law enforcement and protect critical employment opportunities. As Senator Schumer and others have recognized, we need to continue to work to improve E-Verify, and we will.”
Recent E-Verify advancements include new processes to reduce both typographical errors and initial mismatches. In May 2008, DHS added access to naturalization database records which increased the program’s ability to automatically verify naturalized citizens’ status, reducing citizenship-related mismatches by 39%. Additionally, in February 2009, the agency also incorporated Department of State passport data to further reduce mismatches among foreign-born citizens. There are also other initiatives underway to bring about further improvements to Federal database accuracy and to prevent fraud, misuse and discrimination.
This public show of the Administration’s support for the E-Verify system is a welcome relief from all of the negative publicity the system has received since late 2008. The idea of scrapping a functioning, improving system, used by more than 134,000 employers and into which tens of millions of dollars have already been poured, seems misguided at best, especially in light of the current economic climate.
For more information on this topic, please see our E-Verify Article.
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