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Immigrants' Rights Update
Volume 20, Issue 6 |
October 31, 2006 |
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IN THIS ISSUE
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"Basic Pilot" Employment Eligibility
Verification Program
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Social
Security Administration-issued "No-Match" Letters
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"Basic Pilot" Employment Eligibility
Verification Program |
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Basic
Information
Brief (Updated):
DHS Basic Pilot Program |
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The Basic Pilot program is a voluntary Internet-based program that allows
employers to electronically verify workers’ employment eligibility with the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and/or the Social Security
Administration (SSA). The Basic Pilot is one of three pilot programs
created under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility
Act of 1996 (IIRIRA). It began operating in five states in 1997 and in
a sixth state in 1999. The other two pilot programs were discontinued.
In 2003, Congress extended the Basic Pilot to all 50 states under the Basic
Pilot Program Extension and Expansion Act of 2003.
According to DHS, over 10,000 employers voluntarily use the Basic Pilot,
representing approximately 36,000 work sites across the country. DHS
also reports that nearly 200 employers join the program each month.
[Read more.]
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Why States and
Localities Should Not Require Employer Participation in the Basic Pilot
Program |
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The Basic Pilot program is a voluntary Internet-based program that was
created to allow employers to electronically verify workers’ employment
eligibility with the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social
Security Administration (SSA). While Basic Pilot is portrayed as an easy
“fix” in addressing unauthorized immigration at the worksite, the program
has been plagued by problems since its inception in 1997. Most notably, the
program, which is used only by a relatively small number of employers, has
been hindered by inaccurate and outdated information in the DHS and SSA
databases, misuse of the program by employers, and lack of adequate privacy
protections.
As required by Congress, two independent entities
evaluated the Basic Pilot and issued a report in 2002. The evaluation report
identified several critical problems with the program and concluded that it
“is not ready for larger-scale implementation at this time.”[1] Since the
2002 report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and DHS have issued
reports that support the finding that DHS and SSA databases contain
inaccurate and outdated information.[2] Specifically, the GAO report states,
“[E]xisting weaknesses in the program, such as the inability of the program
to detect identity fraud, delays in entering data into DHS databases, and
some employer noncompliance with pilot program requirements, could become
more significant and additional resources could be needed if employer
participation in the program greatly increased or was made mandatory.”[3]
The following are specific problems identified in the
Basic Pilot:
[Read more.]
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Social Security Administration-issued
"No-Match" Letters |
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SSA "No-Match"
Letters
Toolkit:
For Advocates, Organizers, and Workers |
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The purpose of this revised toolkit is to provide updated resources to
organizers, advocates, and workers as they respond to SSA "no-match" letters
and as they launch campaigns across the country to combat misuse of the SSA
no-match program.
Our thanks to the following organizations for contributing to the toolkit:
The Chicago Workers' Collaborative; SEIU Los Angeles Nursing Home Dignity
Campaign; and Massachusetts Jobs with Justice. Our thanks also to the
AFL-CIO, East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy, UNITE HERE! Local
2850, and UNITE HERE! Local 1 for their contributions to the original
toolkit.
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