Last night, the Denver City Council passed an ordinance requiring construction contractors bidding on city contracts to verify the immigration status of their employees. The new rule is effective Oct. 1.
The ordinance, which passed by a 9-4 vote, requires construction firms to use the federal E-Verify program and vouch for their employees' immigration status if they want to obtain a city contract.
"This is saying, 'We're doing our best as a city to make sure our contractors . . . are using workers who are qualified to work under the laws of the land,' " said Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz, who co-sponsored the ordinance. "No citizen or legal resident should have to compete with workers who are here illegally," said Councilman Charlie Brown.
E-Verify is an online database where employers may verify information on an employee's I-9 form. This form contains information such as Social Security numbers. The data on this site is cross-referenced with data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration.
Some believe the E-Verify program is unreliable and may cause problems for legal workers if they are mistakenly listed as illegal.
"I still have grave concerns over the integrity of the E-Verify program," said Councilwoman Paula Sandoval, who voted against the bill.
Councilman Doug Linkhart is concerned about a section requiring the city to report companies not in compliance with the ordinance to federal officials. "I think that's a bad place to put the city in," said Linkhart, who also voted against the proposal.
Council members Paul Lopez and Judy Montero also voted no.
Councilwoman Carol Boigon added an amendment to the ordinance Monday to ensure an appeals process for employees who say they are wrongly disqualified and to require a review of the new system in a year.
"The E-Verify program," Boigon cautioned while stumping for the amendment, "is not infallible."
Ed Haselden, CEO of Haselden Construction says, "Haselden Construction is pleased that the federal E-Verify system is becoming more widely accepted across state and local entities. In 2007, Haselden became an early adopter of the federal E-Verify system and its predecessor system designed to instantly verify an individual's eligibility to work in the United States. We believe the adoption of the system in Denver is a great thing for Haselden and the Industry as it helps ensure our compliance with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA). We believe the new regulation affords the ability of all construction firms to compete and operate on a more level playing field when it comes to compliance with IRCA."
Comments
The claim that the E-Verify system will prevent legal workers from employment is unfounded. The system is designed to protect the legal worker. If a "Tentative NonConfirmation" is received (in other words, the new hire is not immediately verified), there is a series of safeguards to ensure that a legal worker is not denied work.
The new hire is given the opportunity to contest the tentative finding and to have his/her eligibility confirmed by a live person. In other words, the system cannot deprive anyone of a job; it does not even have the last word. If an employer does not follow correct procedure, the person denied employment can file a discrimination suit with the assistance of the federal government.
The arguments of the Council members in opposition to E-Verify are old and outdated.
For example, Doug Linkhart complained that the system can falsely report a legal worker as being illegal. In fact, E-Verify when used correctly has NEVER prevented a legal worker from finding employment. First, the system is not queried until AFTER the worker is hired. If the system returns a "TENTATIVE Non-Confirmation," there is a multi-step process designed to protect the rights of legal workers.
As part of that process, a living breathing SSA or DHS employee examines, if requested BY THE WORKER, government records manually before the worker is declared to be ineligible.
The Council member's other complaint is that it can't stop identity theft because it doesn't match the Social Security number from the I-9 form to the employee.
While that may have been factual and relevant in the past, it is much less of an issue today.
A U.S. citizen is ALWAYS found eligible to work, regardless of what number is used (unless he presents an ineligible number, I guess). There is no reason for a U.S. citizen to present an incorrect number; at least, not as far as employment eligibility is concerned.
The SS number of eligible non-citizens is tied to the immigrant's DHS record, which includes its own numbers AND a photo. As part of the verification process, the photo on the card is matched to the photo on record with DHS to confirm, of course, that the face and the SS number matches the person presenting it.
While it might be possible for an illegal alien to use a legal worker's SS number, E-Verify requires that at least one of the identification documents presented by the worker must bear a photo.
Employers are required to exercise due diligence to ensure that the documents are not obviously forged or altered, but that has always been expected of the employer. Regardless, if an illegal alien is able to take the job, it is almost always because the HUMAN employer failed at that point in the hiring process... not E-Verify.
Incidentally, my firm is a Designated Agent of the E-Verify program. I have expanded on the issues raised by the council members at our blog: http://go.verifyi9.com/denver
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