U.S Senators John Boozman (R-AR) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) joined Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to reintroduce legislation to help businesses comply with immigration laws by certifying the legal status of their workforce. The Accountability Through Electronic Verification Act would permanently authorize and expand the E-Verify program, an internet-based system that assists employers in determining whether current or prospective employees are authorized to work in the United States. The bill requires employers to use the program to determine workers’ eligibility.
“Employers need a commonsense, cost-effective tool that allows them to hire with confidence. Law enforcement must be empowered to hold bad actors accountable when they willfully violate immigration rules while hiring employees. E-Verify does both. It has a proven track record of success and, with a historic illegal immigration crisis raging on our southern border, it’s even more urgent to permanently reauthorize and mandate it,” Boozman said.
“Expanding the E-Verify program will crack down on the black market for illegal jobs and help enforce our immigration laws. Americans and legal immigrants should be the ones making up our workforce, not illegal immigrants,” Cotton said.
“Businesses across the country have opted to use the E-Verify system to help them comply with our immigration laws. E-Verify is a proven tool for employers, including myself, that helps reduce incentives for illegal immigration and safeguards job opportunities for Americans and other legal workers. Expanding the system to every workplace will improve accountability for all businesses and take an important step toward putting American workers first,” Grassley said.
The Accountability Through Electronic Verification Act is also cosponsored by Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Mike Lee (R-UT), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), James Lankford (R-OK), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), John Thune (R-SD) and Joni Ernst (R-IA).
Find more information about the legislation here: