The New Immigration Bill Is a Trojan Horse for E-Verify and Is a Threat to All Americans
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are set to vote this week on new legislation that would greatly increase the federal government’s power over private businesses, workers, and US citizens. Unfortunately, much of the GOP majority is supportive of the legislation—the “Border Security and Enforcement Act of 2023” (HR 2640)—because it is being marketed as a bill “to secure the border.”
Much of the bill contains reasonable provisions such allowing state attorneys general the authority to sue the federal government for refusing to detain illegal aliens. Other provisions include denying asylum and residency to known criminals. In many ways, the bill is an effort to rein in the executive branch’s control over immigration policy.
Alarmingly, however, the legislation also contains a provision mandating nationwide use of “E-Verify” which is essentially a federal surveillance program that determines whether or not a person can be legally employed in the United States. Every American would require the federal government’s permission to work. So long as the Border Security and Enforcement Act contains these E-Verify provisions, the bill presents a clear and present danger to basic American freedoms and property rights. The expansion of E-Verify would also go a long way in helping the federal government build essential infrastructure that in the future could be used to implement “social credit scores” or restrictions on employment for those who refuse federally mandated vaccines or other mandates.
E-Verify as Government Surveillance
E-Verify was initially implemented in 1997 as a program designed to prevent companies from employing foreign nationals who had entered the US illegally—i.e., “illegal aliens.” The program was never made mandatory at the federal level, however. The program has generally been voluntary except for government employees in most states. Instead, mandated use of E-Verify has been a matter of state legislation, and some states have certainly been more enthusiastic about it than others.
Since implementation, only nine states have mandated the use of E-Verify for all employers. Florida is poised to be the next to impose these mandates on employers. Governor Ron DeSantis has repeatedly pushed to further regulate and surveil private businesses with universal E-Verify. Some states, such as Colorado, have implemented alternative, but similar, state-administered programs.
The Border Security and Enf
Article from Mises Wire
