Chuck Grassley: “This amendment to this appropriations bill is to strengthen our efforts to verify if people in the United States are…”

“This amendment to this appropriations bill is to strengthen our efforts to verify if people in the United States are legal to work in this country. Without a doubt, we have an illegal immigration problem. People are crossing our borders each day to live and work in the United States. Some individuals may have innocent motives, some may not. Some may be living in the shadows and wish to do our country harm. We do not live in a pre-9/11 world anymore. We must do all we can to protect our country. That is why I am proposing this amendment. It would do two things very appropriate in the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill. It would require the entire Department of Homeland Security to use the basic pilot program--also known as the electronic employment verification system. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 made it unlawful for employers to knowingly hire and employ aliens not eligible to work. It required employers to check the identity and work eligibility documents of all employees. The easy availability of counterfeit documents has made a mockery of the 1986 bill. Fake documents are produced by the millions and can be obtained very cheaply. In response to the illegal hiring of immigrants, Congress created the basic pilot program in 1996. This program allows employers to check the status of their workers by checking one's Social Security number and alien identification number against Social Security Administration and Homeland Security databases.”