E-Verify: Background Information

E-Verify: Background Information


Facts About E-Verify (PDF)

E-Verify (formerly known as the Basic Pilot program) is a primarily voluntary, Internet-based program created in 1997 that supplements the I-9 employment eligibility verification process. It allows employers to electronically verify U.S. citizen and noncitizen employees’ employment eligibility with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA). While it is voluntary for most employers, it is mandatory for some federal contractors and employers in four states.


The History of E-Verify (PDF)

Pre–E-Verify employment eligibility verification systems | Legislative authorization and extensions of the Basic Pilot program and additional electronic employment eligibility verification programs | Legislative expansions and administrative changes to E-Verify | States begin requiring employer participation in E-Verify | The future of E-Verify


State Policymakers Critique E-Verify: Quotations from Lawmakers (PDF)

As state legislatures have considered bills that require employers to use E-Verify, Republicans and Democrats alike have raised concerns about the impact of the program on businesses and the economy. These policymakers are joining a growing chorus of voices who are sounding alarms about E-Verify and the consequences of mandating its use.


Expanding E-Verify Will Undermine Job Growth and Cripple Small Businesses (PDF)

Requiring U.S. employers to use an electronic employment eligibility verification system will harm the American economy and U.S. workers while doing little to end the hiring of undocumented workers. Unless currently unauthorized workers are provided a path to legalizing their immigration status, E-Verify1 will impose new costs on employers, drive jobs into the underground economy, increase unemployment, and deprive the government of revenue.