When Congress passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986, it was hailed as a victory for border security in exchange for an amnesty that addressed illegal immigration. For the first time in our nation’s history, Congress made it a federal crime to employ undocumented workers. At that time, everyone — Democrats and Republicans — believed that Congress had finally solved the problem of illegal immigration by cutting off the “jobs” magnet.
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There is a proven, cost-effective tool to help reduce unlawful employment and to remove future incentives for illegal immigration. That tool is E-Verify. E-Verify is a voluntary, quick and free workforce verification system provided by the federal government that instantly checks an individual’s employment eligibility. E-Verify is the most effective tool available to fight illegal immigration because it drastically reduces or eliminates the illegal jobs magnet.
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recent study found that making E-Verify mandatory not only decreases unlawful immigration, but it also encourages current undocumented immigrants to return home. The study reviewed the
Legal Arizona Workers Act, which requires every employer in that state to use E-Verify, and found that since the law was implemented in 2008, undocumented immigrants either moved to states without mandatory E-Verify or returned to their home countries. This study mirrors other research that demonstrates unlawful immigration fell by as much as 50 percent in a single year in states with mandatory E-Verify laws.
