Fed program used to check legal status threatens S.C. immigration law

A federal immigration database that is the lynchpin of South Carolina’s recently passed immigration law is in congressional trouble.
The E-Verify system, used by almost 80,000 employers nationwide to verify new employees’ legal status, is caught in a Senate dispute, officials said Thursday, that could prevent a vote there before Congress’ August recess.
Since members of Congress are only expected to be in session a few weeks after they return the week of Sept. 8, supporters of the system fear the program could die.
Without any congressional action, the Web-based system would expire by November, throwing many states’ immigration laws into turmoil, including South Carolina’s.
State Sen. Larry Martin of Pickens said not having the E-Verify system would be "like having a gun with no ammunition." "It will about cut the legs out from under our bill," he said. "It’s a key component of our immigration law," said Joel Sawyer, a spokesman for Gov. Mark Sanford. "We would hope Congress would recognize its value and reauthorize it. If E-Verify wasn’t reauthorized for some reason, we would certainly have to address that legislatively because it’s such an important part of it." Created in 1996 and run by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the system allows employers to tap DHS and Social Security databases to verify the legal status of new workers. According to immigration officials, 1,000 new employers voluntarily sign up to use the system each week. President Bush issued an executive order this year requiring all federal contractors to use it. Not all officials are thrilled with the program. Illinois passed a law prohibiting employers in that state from using the system. The federal government has challenged that decision in court. Under South Carolina’s immigration law passed this year, contractors doing business with the state as well as private companies are required to use either the E-verify system or a South Carolina driver’s license to verify any new workers beginning next year. Smaller firms would use the system beginning in the summer of 2010. Drivers’ licenses from states with document standards as stringent as South Carolina’s also could be used. Requiring E-Verify was a battle cry for those in the Legislature pushing immigration legislation. Sen. David Thomas, a Greenville County Republican who supports the system, said it wouldn’t cripple the state’s new law but would put a big burden on business. He said if E-Verify isn’t renewed, state lawmakers will have to take another look at the law when they return in January. Both of South Carolina’s senators, Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint, support E-verify and have signed a letter along with 11 other senators to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid asking that the Senate take up and pass the legislation to renew the program, according to a copy of the letter. The House passed the legislation Thursday night. A spokesman for DeMint said one senator has placed a hold on the legislation, a move that will effectively keep it from being taken up until after the fall break. "Congress is running out of time to reauthorize and even enhance E-Verify," Graham wrote. "The number of employers relying on the program to hire legal workers is likely to grow. Small businesses and companies that utilize it need to be able to know that Congress is not going to let this program die." Martin said he isn’t taking any chances and is faxing letters to each member of the state’s delegation asking for their help to ensure that the system continues. "Our efforts will have been for naught and completely fruitless if that thing is not reauthorized," he said.

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