Legislation introduced to expand the use of a federal work verification tool faces pushback from unions and business owners who say companies survive on immigrant labor, and paperwork would become burdensome. Politicians have argued that an expansion is needed to prevent further cases of unauthorized immigrants reportedly working illegally in the U.S. The legislative musings […]
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Legislation introduced to expand the use of a federal work verification tool faces pushback from unions and business owners who say companies survive on immigrant labor, and paperwork would become burdensome. Politicians have argued that an expansion is needed to prevent further cases of unauthorized immigrants reportedly working illegally in the U.S.
The legislative musings surround the E-Verify system, which is maintained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It informs employers if a current or prospective employee has legal authorization to work in the country in coordination with I-9 documents. According to the program, it gave 42.4 million people the green light to work in 2025 and rejected 945,340 people.
“Not one dime of taxpayer money should ever fund illegal immigrant labor; it lowers wages, deprives American workers of opportunities and reduces federal tax revenue,” U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., said in a release. “By tightening the law and closing loopholes, we will ensure that federal contractors never pass over American workers.”
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Mackenzie introduced a bill in April 2025 to expand the E-Verify system to all federal contractors. It currently sits in the House Judiciary Committee. His effort is one of many to create a federal mandate on the program. He said unauthorized immigration hurts American workers by taking jobs and lowering wages. U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, introduced a similar version in the Senate.
“E-Verify is a proven tool for employers, including myself, to ensure our businesses are legally staffed,” Grassley said in a March 2025 release.
Not all states require employers to participate in the E-Verify system to confirm a person’s eligibility to work in the U.S. Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia do not have requirements for employers to use the electronic system, according to Equifax. The system is not used in place of the I-9 eligibility form, but in coordination with it. DHS requires all new employees, regardless of business size or type, to complete an I-9 form on their first day of employment.
However, the program has faults. For instance, a Maine police officer was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in July. ICE said at the time the officer — Jon Luke Evans — is a Jamaican citizen who entered the U.S. in September 2023, but overstayed his visa and never boarded a flight the next month.
Old Orchard Beach Police Chief Elise Chard said that DHS’ E-verify system gave Evans the green light to work at the department on May 12, and the town wouldn’t have hired him if he had been flagged. Maine allows noncitizens to become police officers.
Federal immigration agents also raided a meatpacking plant in Omaha, Nebraska, and arrested 76. Glenn Valley Foods used the E-Verify system to confirm the eligibility of 76 workers. Agents told President Chad Hartmann the system is flawed and vulnerable to fraud.
Passing laws to make the program compulsory faces opposition. The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations spoke out against expanding the program in a Nov. 19 release. The union represents more than 15 million workers.
“The system has shown persistent error rates and affords insufficient privacy and due process protections, opening the door to discrimination and retaliation,” the union wrote.
State lawmakers split on E-Verify expansions
Some states are passing or enacting legislation to expand the system, while others voted down efforts after business owners expressed frustration in finding employees.
Former Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, signed legislation in December requiring nonresidential construction companies to use the tool in their hiring process. The legislation applied to contractors and subcontractors working on projects for Ohio’s agencies, political parties and certain nonresidential construction projects.
State Rep. D.J. Swearingen, R-Huron, said in a Dec. 22 release that the law is a step toward “stopping illegals ripping off hardworking Ohioans.” The law is effective on March 19.
Similar efforts are playing out in Florida, Idaho, Iowa and South Dakota, where legislators are passing bills to expand the tool’s usage. In Idaho, the state’s Dairymen’s Association opposed the bill in February 2025, saying it didn’t address the shortage of domestic workers nor the lack of guestworker visas for the state’s year-round industries. So far, temporary work visas allow immigrants to work in seasonal or temporary positions, which don’t cover 12-month assignments across the agricultural, construction, hospitality and retail industries, the association wrote.
“Thus, as written, H252 simply seeks to harm industries such as construction, retail, hospitality, and livestock agriculture,” the association wrote. “H252 also weaponizes the Attorney General to initiate investigations simply based on a citizen suggestion, without any penalty or recourse against the citizen where false or harassing accusations are made.”
It added that the law would run afoul of conservative ideals of limited government and minimal regulations on private entities.
Lawmakers in Utah rejected a push to lower the state’s threshold from 150 employees in the private sector to 125, according to the state legislature. The bill remained in a state Senate committee as of March 4. It passed in the state House of Representatives in a 55 to 14 vote. Six representatives did not vote.
State Rep. Tiara Auxier, who introduced the bill, told the Salt Lake Tribune that she saw a need for the system after working at a construction company and found several Social Security numbers she ran didn’t match the people who submitted them.
“It was stealing people’s identities so that they were able to work,” she said.
Still, her bill failed to exit a Senate committee as her colleagues didn’t see a reason to expand a program that isn’t 100% effective.
“If it worked, it’d be great,” Republican state Sen. Scott Sandall told reporters, “But there have been so many times that I’ve heard people just say it just doesn’t work, and so I don’t think there’s any reason to tie any more to it.”
