Will E-Verify soon be mandatory?

Last month, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill introduced the E-Verify System Act of 2018. This legislation would require all employers to use the E-Verify system to ensure that newly hired employees are either United States citizens or foreign nationals authorized to work in the U.S. legally.

While it is already unlawful to hire an individual without proper work status, critics suggest the current E-Verify system is voluntary and enforcement is haphazard. McCaskill’s bill makes the use of the E-Verify system mandatory for all employers, strengthens the program by using a facial photo and other information specific to an individual, and includes additional robust protections to address privacy and information security.

“Creating a system that allows employers to verify the work status of their employees is a commonsense step and something that we can and should come together to address,” said McCaskill, the top-ranking Democrat on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

“The fact that the current system is voluntarily and haphazardly enforced creates more incentive for illegal immigration and allows too many businesses to easily skirt the law.”