John Hostettler: “Mr. Speaker, I want to emphasize two points. First, employers participating in the pilot program find it of immense help…”

“Mr. Speaker, I want to emphasize two points. First, employers participating in the pilot program find it of immense help in the day-to-day operations of their businesses. And, second, the pilot is working extraordinarily well and will only get better in the future. The report commissioned by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, or INS, to evaluate the program found that 'an overwhelming majority of employers participating found the basic pilot program to be an effective and reliable tool for employment verification.' Participating employers appreciate the pilot because it reduces uncertainty. The pilot ensures that their operations will not be disrupted by the mass dismissal of employees after the Department of Homeland Security or the Social Security Administration question the status of their employees. The pilot ensures that they will not be put in the position of hiring illegal aliens, investing hundreds of thousands of hours in training them and then losing the benefit of this investment years down the road when they are forced to dismiss these illegal employees.”