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DHS announces new changes to E-Verify immigration program
Federal officials on Wednesday announced a series of reforms to address inconsistencies in their E-Verify system -- an Internet-based program that checks employees' immigration status.
The new changes follow a report last year by Westat, a private firm hired by the Department of Homeland Security. That study revealed "many unauthorized workers" were able to "obtain employment by committing identity fraud that cannot be detected by E-Verify."
According to the DHS, the initiatives include a new process to handle complaints about E-Verify misuse or discrimination and a telephone hot line to help employers with the program.
Additionally, the reforms introduce training videos to cut down on E-Verify confusion and specify clearer policies on employee rights and responsibilities, the department continued.
In a statement Wednesday, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano stressed the new policies would assist the federal government and its private partners improve the long-beleaguered immigration system.
“E-Verify is a smart, simple and effective tool that helps employers across the country maintain a legal workforce,” said Secretary Napolitano. “The initiatives announced today will provide essential information to workers about their rights and ensure that E-Verify is used fairly while bolstering the Department's efforts to protect critical employment opportunities.”
However, it is unclear whether the reforms announced Wednesday will address many of the criticisms recently levied at the E-Verify program, expanded in 2008 under former President George W. Bush.
The Westat report commissioned by DHS last year pegged the system's inaccuracy rate for catching unauthorized workers at a towering 54 percent, according to the study. By contrasy, E-Verify did correctly clear legal workers about 99 percent of the time, the study concluded.
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