UNDOCUMENTED PINOY WORKERS IN THE U.S. FACE MORE HURDLES
[PHOTO - Migrant farm workers pick spinach in this photo near Wellington, Colorado. Policy makers and pundits opposed to illegal immigrants argue that they cost American taxpayers billions of dollars.]
WASHINGTON, MARCH 24, 2011 (STAR) By Jose Katigbak, Star Washington Bureau - Filipinos planning to come to the United States as tourists and overstay to seek employment may have to rethink their plans if a proposal to strengthen worker identity checks here comes into effect.
The federal government is exploring the possibility of using a major credit rating agency to verify the identity of US workers, a move that could make it far more difficult for undocumented immigrants to get jobs using stolen Social Security numbers.
The plan by the Department of Homeland Security is still preliminary and would probably require congressional approval, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
The government already allows employers to check the legal status of employees using a system known as E-verify, but hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants beat the system by using bogus or stolen Social Security numbers.
E-Verify is an Internet-based system that compares information from an employee's Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to data from US Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration records to confirm employment eligibility.
US law requires companies to employ only individuals who may legally work in the United States – either US citizens, or foreign citizens who have the necessary authorization.
FROM FOX NEWS ONLINE
U.S. Launches E-Verify Self Check Published March 22, 2011
The U.S. government presented Monday E-Verify Self Check, an online service that will enable workers to check their own immigration status and correct any errors on their documents.
The service will be launched initially in Arizona, Idaho, Colorado, Mississippi, Virginia and the District of Columbia, and extended to 16 other states next year, the Department of Homeland Security said.
The authorities aim to make the Self Check service available nationwide in the future.
"E-Verify is a smart, simple, and effective tool that allows us to work with employers to help them maintain a legal workforce," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said. "The E-Verify Self Check service will help protect workers and streamline the E-Verify process for businesses."
Napolitano said that illegal immigration in the United States is chiefly a problem of supply and demand on the labor market, but that the U.S. government is committed to stopping undocumented immigrants from being hired.
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E-Verify Self Check is a "voluntary, free, fast and secure service" that gives users the opportunity to submit corrections of any inaccuracies in their Homeland Security and Social Security Administration records before seeking employment, DHS said.
U.S. authorities have expanded E-Verify's capabilities with measures to prevent passport fraud, since it now compares photos on these documents with those in the State Department database.
In fiscal year 2009, E-Verify processed more than 8.7 million requests by employers to check the validity of immigration and Social Security documents.
Participation in E-Verify is voluntary for most companies, but is obligatory for those receiving contracts from the federal government.
Making E-Verify mandatory for all employers would require an act of Congress.
Since being put into effect, E-Verify has not escaped controversy. Pro-reform groups insist that the system is not exempt from errors and that in the end it harms people who are duly authorized to work in this country.
"The development of E-Verify Self Check reflects our commitment to the continual improvement of the E-Verify program," U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Alejandro Mayorkas said.
E-Verify is accurate in 96 percent of cases, he said.
E-Verify is currently used by some 255,021 companies, according to the USCIS.
So far in fiscal year 2011, which began Oct. 1, E-Verify has received some 7 million data searches, Mayorkas said.
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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