This statement endorsing E-Verify did not seem very strong. E-Verify is one of the best tools for eliminating employment of illegal workers. It definitely should be required for all employers nationwide.
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 already requires employers to have new hires fill out an I-9 form to show that they are eligible to be hired and to present ID that proves it. The employer, however, is only required to check their ID, which may not be valid.
Illegal aliens know very well that they can present a fake ID and be hired. Some of the broad list of documents that they can present as proof are extremely easy to fake, such as a voter registration cards, school documents and tribal documents. It’s difficult then to hold the employer accountable, because he can claim that he did not know the ID was bad.
Of course, it would be best to require E-Verify by law, but with a Democratic House, we are unlikely to get it. Since there is an existing law, Trump can require the use of E-Verify via executive action. That is, by changing the regulations, which govern how the current law is implemented. This does not require the approval of Congress. An executive action may be reversed by a future president, but it could be difficult politically for him to do, because as Representative Lamar Smith of Texas said, 80% of Americans support the use of E-Verify. That means that many Democrats support it, too.
Representative Smith also pointed out that it is trivial to use. If it is still too much trouble for the employer, he can pay an agent a small fee to do the verification. There really is no good excuse any longer for not requiring all employers to use it. If E-Verify were a requirement, then it becomes much easier to prosecute employers, who hire illegal workers.
