OPINION:
Daniel Griswold gets it wrong in “E-Verify threatens American jobs and liberties” (Economy, Wednesday). Contrary to his false statements, a federal E-Verify law actually could open up millions of jobs for unemployed Americans. This program protects jobs for U.S. citizens and legal workers by checking the Social Security numbers of new hires.
E-Verify is free, quick and easy to use. It only takes one to two minutes and individuals eligible to work are confirmed 99.5 percent of the time. With this sort of success, it’s no wonder that 82 percent of likely voters think all businesses should be required to use E-Verify.
Twenty-four million Americans want a full-time job but can’t find one. Of these, 19 million are Americans without a college degree who compete most directly with unskilled illegal immigrant workers. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, 7 million people are working in this country illegally. These U.S. jobs should go to legal workers - and E-Verify is a successful program to ensure that they do.
Mr. Griswold and other critics of E-Verify claim illegal immigrants hold jobs that Americans won’t do. But in every industry, jobs are held by U.S. citizens and legal immigrants. Statements that Americans are not willing to do these jobs demean the hardworking Americans who actually do this work on a daily basis.
Some agricultural growers seeking seasonal labor face difficulty in attracting American workers, but my E-Verify bill has a longer phase-in for agriculture. And it doesn’t apply to current employees, only future employees. This means that current seasonal agricultural workers can leave and return.
Our unemployment rate has been about 9 percent for two years. By requiring all U.S. employers to use E-Verify, we could put millions of Americans back on the payroll and back to earning a living for themselves and their families.
REP. LAMAR SMITH
Chairman, House Judiciary Committee
Washington
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