Accountability Through Electronic Verification Act
NumbersUSA's Position:
SupportS.
S.
The most important national E-Verify bill ever introduced is expected to be announced tomorrow by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), Chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. After 15 years, the concept of every legitimate U.S. job going to an American (or legal immigrant already here) finally has a chance to make it into law, significantly helped by a giant change in the strategy of the nation's business lobbies.
Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Rep. Lamar Smith and Chairman of the House Immigration Subcommittee Rep. Elton Gallegly wrote an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times discussing the merits of E-Verify. In their op-ed, the two Congressmen detail E-Verify's success rate, effectiveness, and high customer service scores and say making the system's use mandatory nationwide is a priority for their committees.
Many pro-amnesty advocates claim that "comprehensive immigration reform" is the "civil rights test of our generation."
NumbersUSA contents that there is little comparison between the struggle of descendants of American slaves to gain equal standing and the desire of illegal aliens to be rewarded for breaking immigration laws.
Birthright citizenship is based on an interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which was originally enacted to ensure civil rights for the newly freed slaves after the Civil War. Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment states, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside."
In the Spring of 1999, Charles Wood wrote "Losing Control of America's Future -- the Census, Birthright Citizenship, and Illegal Aliens," published by the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. Wood provided legal counsel to the United States Senate Immigration Subcommittee from 1995-97, 1985 and 1979-82.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has modified an Executive Order that requires agencies and contractors under the direction of the governor's office to use E-Verify. Gov. Scott signed the original order as one of his first acts in office. The new executive order strengthens the language requiring the use of E-Verify of subcontractors of state agencies.
A new Brookings report brags about all the college graduates that our immigration policy is adding into the U.S. worker pool, but the latest unemployment statistics show nothing but bad news for our own American college graduates. At the end of the first quarter, this was the percentage of young adult American college grads (age 21-29) who wanted a full-time job but couldn't find one . . . .
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley today signed legislation (HB 56) that requires the use of E-Verify by all employers in the state, and establishes eligibility checks for public-benefit applicants. The law gives Alabama some the strongest illegal-immigration enforcement tools in the country.
7.25 Million: Net jobs lost since December, 2007 - Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 22-straight monthly job losses (Jan, 08 - Oct, 09) surpassed the previous record of 18 months, reached during the 1981-1982 recession. 4,740,000 jobs were lost in 2009.