Everett, Wash.
Published: Thursday, July 3, 2008

ILLEGAL WORKERS

Employers can check status, free

 I am constantly reading about immigration raids at companies throughout the United States and there seems to be a common reply from all the owners and CEOs when illegal workers are discovered, which is "we had no idea they were illegal." The most recent raid at Aerospace Manufacturing Technologies in Arlington produced 32 illegal workers, and the reaction from Jerry Goodwin, CEO of AMT, was "We have no way to prove or disprove falsification of documents."

To this, I say E-Verify, and to quote their Web site, "the E-Verify program, formerly known as Basic Pilot or Employment Eligibility Verification System (EEVS), is jointly administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA). This program allows participating employers to verify whether newly hired employees are authorized to work in the United States by checking the information provided by the employees on their Form I-9 against both DHS and SSA databases. Participation in E-Verify is currently free to employers."

So, Mr. CEO in the USA, start using the free services provided by the DHS and SSA through the USCIS, because the American worker is tired of the BS!

Mark S. Gill
Stanwood
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