States that have enacted the federal E-Verify program to make sure job applicants are legally allowed to work in the United States have seen a drop in unemployment rates as out-of-work Americans have returned to the workforce, according to a new study.
In the more than a dozen states that have added or expanded on the E-Verify program since 2008 have seen an economic revival based in part on lower unemployment, and virtually all have experienced a drop in unemployment better than the national average, according the report from Federation for American Immigration Reform, or FAIR.
“All states that enacted or expanded E-Verify after 2008, save one, saw their unemployment rates drop, even when the national rate increased,” said the report.
“More impressively, 12 of the 15 states that passed new measures experienced a drop in unemployment larger than the national average. Furthermore, states that made E-Verify mandatory for all employers, public and private, experienced the most pronounced decrease in their unemployment rates,” it added.
And certainly the economic recovery has also helped to boost employment beyond E-Verify, according to economists.
The report counters predictions that the system, overseen by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, would boost unemployment rates and cripple state economies and businesses. “Many opponents of E-Verify portray the system as a barrier to employment opportunities. To the contrary, this study finds that states requiring the use of E-Verify are leading recovery efforts following the worst global recession since World War II. Millions of American citizens would find gainful employment if they did not have to compete against unauthorized workers who undercut local wage rates,” said the report.
“E-Verify ensures that only authorized workers gain employment opportunities in the states where it’s being used,” said FAIR’s President Dan Stein. “As a result, American jobs are going to authorized workers, many of whom had abandoned their job hunt altogether and had given up hope of ever again finding employment,” he said.
The report will add to the current debate over deporting illegal immigrants, especially those with criminal records. It could help to bolster those pushing for a better controlled border with Mexico.
The system is not mandatory, but FAIR’s Stein said it should be.
“Making E-Verify mandatory across the nation would open the door of opportunity to many of America’s most disadvantaged workers who have been systematically pushed out of the workforce by widespread illegal immigration,” he said.
For a state-by-state look at the impact of E-Verify, look here.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
