E-Verify - Take a Stand for Legal Employment

On Tuesday June 4th, the Yakima City Council will vote to repeal the City's use of the federal E-Verify System. E-Verify is administered by SSA and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) . it is voluntary for Non-federal work contracts but the city has participated since 2011.

The idea is to use the information gathered on the I-9 application document and electronically verify it against the federal data bases (U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) to make sure the employee is who they say they are and that they are authorized to work in this country.

Employers create cases based on information taken from an employee’s Form I-9, which has been part of the hiring process since 1986. E-Verify then electronically compares that information to records available . The employer usually receives a response within a few seconds either confirming the employee’s employment eligibility or indicating that the employee needs to take further action to complete the case.

City councilwoman Dulce Gutierrez says that too difficult or expensive

for some minority owned contractors to handle and the city needs to stop putting such a burden on people bidding for certain city contracts. I say if you can't handle E-Verify, then how can I expect you to successfully handle a contracted government job???

Gutierrez admits its free to enroll but she says what isn't free, "is the amount of hours you have to train your employees to make sure they are complying". Truth is you already have the info you need on the I-9 and the verification is in most cases, almost instantaneous.

Gutierrez is quoted in The Yakima Valley Business Times as saying, " I hope my colleagues will see the economic benefit of eliminating that resolution. (original E-Verify) They might feel pressure from some constituents to keep it in place, I hope that's not the case. I hope they listen to the voice of reason."

What are the economic benefits to which she refers? She doesn't explain. And she asks your elected representative to ignore you if you ask your councilmember to keep E-Verify in place! Time to send a message loud and clear. E-Verify is federal law and could soon be the law of the land. It's designed to protect American workers and help discourage illegal immigration.

Gutierrez doesn't care about that. She cares about leaving the council with one more gift offering for her West Side liberal donors and handlers - to strip Yakima of a legal immigration tool under the guise of helping small business. Don't fall for it.

SHow up at the council meeting at 5:30 Tuesday night and demand E-Verify be allowed to continue to work on behalf of the citizens of the Yakima Valley.

Categories: Yakima News

E-Verify – Take A Stand For Legal Employment