E-Verify

E-Verify logo
A map of U.S. state laws requiring the use of E-Verify as of 2015:
  State requires E-Verify for most public employers
  State requires E-Verify for some public contractors and subcontractors
  State requires E-Verify for all employers

E-Verify is a United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) website that allows businesses to determine the eligibility of their employees, both U.S. and foreign citizens, to work in the United States.[1] The site was originally established in 1996 as the Basic Pilot Program to prevent companies from hiring people who had violated immigration laws and entered the United States illegally.[2] In August 2007, the DHS started requiring all federal contractors and vendors to use E-Verify. The Internet-based program is free and maintained by the United States government. While federal law does not mandate use of E-Verify for non-federal employees, some states have mandated use of E-Verify or similar programs, while others have discouraged the program.[3]

E-Verify compares information from an employee's Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 to data from U.S. government records. If the information matches, that employee is eligible to work in the United States. If there is a mismatch, E-Verify alerts the employer and the employee is allowed to work while resolving the problem. Employees must contact the appropriate agency to resolve the mismatch within eight federal government work days from the referral date.[4] The program is operated by the DHS in partnership with the Social Security Administration. According to the DHS website, more than 700,000 employers used E-Verify as of 2018.[5]

Research shows that E-Verify harms the labor market outcomes of illegal immigrants and improves the labor market outcomes of Mexican legal immigrants and U.S.-born Hispanics, but has no impact on labor market outcomes for non-Hispanic white Americans.[6] A 2016 study suggests that E-Verify reduces the number of illegal immigrants in states that have mandated use of E-Verify for all employers, and further notes that the program may deter illegal immigration to the United States in general.[7]

  1. ^ "Introduction to E-Verify".
  2. ^ Orrenius, Pia; Zavodny, Madeline; Greer, Sarah (January 2020). "Who Signs up for E-Verify? Insights from DHS Enrollment Records". Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Working Papers. 2020 (2002). doi:10.24149/wp2002.
  3. ^ "E-Verify Program, US Immigration, I-9, Employer Sanctions". Shusterman Law. 6 November 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2021.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Resolving a tentative nonverify". 6 February 2011. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
  5. ^ "Fact Sheet: E-Verify". immigrationforum. 14 August 2018. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Orrenius2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Orrenius2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).