More Problems Surfacing with the E-Verify System
More and more problems are coming to the surface about the proposed nationalization of the E-Verify employment program. Lou Dobbs just recently stated that the proposed program to mandate that employers submit employee information to the Federal Government to compare with Social Security databases would “take only seconds’ and was “99.5%” accurate. During a recent TV segment he featured the state of Arizona as a prime example of how beneficial the program would be. Let’s examine Mr. Dobbs claims.
The testimony of Richard E. Warsinskey, President, National Council of Social Security Management Associations to the United States Senate Committee on Finance in May of 2007 estimated that there was at least an error rate of 4.1 % in the Social Security databases which would result in discrepancies which could block citizens or lawful residents from working. This error rate would be the maximum best possible. Clerical errors and misreads of forms submitted to the government would only increase this error rate so it is impossible for the system to be 99.5% accurate.
The U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services has had continuing problems with “mismatches” for foreign born naturalized American citizens. Error rates of 10% in this population have been reported. Delays in time of arrival data and other information was labeling American citizens as illegals or even as criminally posing as American citizens. The National Immigration Law Center said that if the program was fully implemented in Arizona over 27,000 naturalized citizens could be refused work.
Another group that is facing significant problems are married or divorced women. The system requires that women who change their name as a result of divorce or marriage report it to the Social Security administration. They may need to produce old documents such as old social security cards, marriage licenses, divorce papers which can understandably get displaced after a long marriage. The CATO Institute estimates that it would take over 40 billion dollars to create a data system that would adequately try to address these and other errors.
Although Mr. Dobbs reported that Arizona was a success for the E-Verify systems others do not agree. The Immigration Policy Center reports that the system does not respond well to addressing error. Many Arizona employees are losing jobs because the system is slow to fix errors in the database if it ever does. Many employers regret having entered the program.
Finally, the E-Verify system does not take “seconds”. The employers must have the employees fill out initial paperwork only after they have hired them. The paperwork is sent by the employer to the government and a response is obtained. If there is a mismatch it is the employer’s responsibility to present it to the employee and then the employee must by phone call contact the government. The employee can be terminated if no resolution is reached within a few days.
If it takes years for people who the Social Security Administration has declared dead to prove they are alive what chance does a Spanish speaking Hispanic citizen have sitting in a government office trying to convince them he is not an illegal alien after he has been fired from his job?
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