So how come E-Verify wasn't placed in the stimulus bill? Written by BonusOnus on 03/09/2009Remember folks, the stimulus bill prohibits companies from using the government bailout to hire H1B employees.
But the requirement that contractors for the infrastructure programs check that their employees are legal residents thru E-Verify was removed.
Posted by anonymous on 03/09/2009:
more like one step forwards and TWO steps back! This annoyance is huge!
Posted by UnsupportedSupport on 03/10/2009:
Well, the senate has to do what their constituents require. Democrats know their constituents generally back the ACLU. Republicans are swayed by the big business lobby. In an odd turn of events the big business lobby and ACLU find themselves on the same side of this arguement so Bob's your uncle, Fannie's your aunt, there you go. It was made easier that they could use the reasoning that E-Verify has a failure rate of 5% to 13% depending on whether you ask the people that made the system of the people that currently use the system. These ones that are initially "unconfirmed" have to contact the office and get their records sorted which can take weeks or even months. According to the GAO it would require increased capacity at the DHS to handle the massive new intake. Then there is the need of every business to create new policies to use the system that would slow the process of actually hiring people which is the goal of the stimulus. In short if you want a bill whose goal is to "Make Jobs Now", then it is more prudent to remove the E-Verify. If the goal is to make sure the jobs go to US legal workers in a few months then leaving it in would be best. I would have to conclude that special interests had the swaying vote.
Posted by UnsupportedSupport on 03/11/2009:
Sorry for all of the typos. I had to leave early for medical reasons and did not have time to go over what I wrote.
Posted by HaveADamnNiceDay on 03/11/2009:
Awww, we forgive you Unsupported! I know I've made my share!
Posted by UnsupportedSupport on 03/11/2009:
Shucks, you'd think if I was going to get up on my soap box I could clean up after myself. Thanks, HADND.
Posted by BonusOnus on 03/11/2009:
US, The failure rate is about 4% according to the US government evaluation. That might be still too high and yes, if the system gets a lot more requests, it will probably be swamped. But this has to happen eventually if we are to prevent illegal aliens from being unlawfully employed in the US. Also, even if the main purpose is to get people to start working "now", what's the point if the people being hired are illegal aliens who take a job being created by the American taxpayer? If 1 out of 6 jobs created by the stimulus package are taken by illegal immigrants, that's 15% of jobs that could have been taken by unemployed citizens/legal residents. Finally, what is the failure rate of a credit check? If I need to buy a house or rent a place and they do a credit card check, what percentage of them come up with false data? I'd bet it's around the same failure rate as E-Verify. In tough times like this, we have to take care of our own people first. I'm not surprised Republicans would be against this, just like I'm not surprised the Chamber of Commerce is against this. I'm surprised Democrats are against this though.
Posted by UnsupportedSupport on 03/12/2009:
Varying Percentages: Intel Corporation in 2008 13% - Using the System Government Accountability Office 8% - Examining the System Department of Homeland Security 0.5% - Created the System I also reviewed the votes and the republicans are off the hook for this one. Not a single one voted to table the e-verify. This was just the democrats in the senate. Perhaps this is similar to the Kyoto Treaty. They are voting down a faulty plan in the hopes that a better plan will come later instead of making the faulty plan mandatory. If e-verify were as good as the DHS claims, and there was a mechanism for enforcing it and keeping illegal immigrants from just working “off the books”, and there was a way to prevent employers from abusing the program, then it would be a plan good enough to be made mandatory. Perhaps they can work on this before the next vote. New topic of Credit Check accuracy: Well it depends. Some people pay close attention to their credit report and try to correct errors as it directly affects them when they are making a large purchase. On the other hand, we all generally assume the social security database is accurate and there is not a lot of direct input from citizens to verify accuracy. E-verify uses the social security database so that is where the accuracy issue comes in. The results are only as accurate as the database is well maintained. Now for the %15 estimated figure based on estimates of estimates. This figure is based on the amount spent in road construction in 2005 (1 Billion) which resulted in 19,584 jobs, multiplied by the $104 billion being spent on the stimulus bill. This assumes that there is no fluctuation in the amount of jobs created for each billion dollars spent. Next it uses this number with the percentage of illegal immigrants assumed to be working in the construction industry based on an abstraction of the numbers reported by the CPS. Considering that the job market has tanked since then, and Mexico is having problems with the abundance of citizens returning, I find the 15% on shaky ground. I should also point out that the majority of illegal immigrants working in construction are in California, Texas, and Arizona. Arizona made e-verify mandatory as of January this year. This seems like the best test case of the e-verify system. If they can come up with some realistic numbers showing the difference between Arizona and its neighbors, it could prove the e-verify argument one way or the other. By the way Bonus, I know we can get antagonistic at times, but I truly do enjoy debating with you on issues we don’t see eye to eye on. I know getting all political on a work venting site may seem a little odd, but it is nice to be able to have these conversations without the trolls or posters that devolve into profanity and name calling. Though I guess I should admit that I did call ABC News out for “half-assed journalism” recently so perhaps I will rephrase that. We generally don’t devolve into profanity and name calling of other posters. Perhaps that qualifier will help.
Posted by sympathetic reader on 03/14/2009:
I believe Corporations make fortunes with these undocumented workers. Corporations hire lobbyists. Lobbyists pressure our legislators. This problem exists on both sides of the fence, Dems and Reps. Corporate America is running the government. I used to think this was a rant from old hippies but they were right.
Written by BonusOnus on 03/09/2009Remember folks, the stimulus bill prohibits companies from using the government bailout to hire H1B employees.
