Listen to today’s press call here.
Washington, D.C.—The House of Representatives will soon begin debate on a mandatory E-Verify proposal by Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX). The bill (H.R. 2164) would make the government’s internet-based work authorization system mandatory for all employers in the United States. The Center for American Progress has released a report, “Seen and (Mostly) Unseen: The True Costs of E-Verify,” explaining the range of damaging outcomes posed by a mandatory E-Verify system.
E-Verify is an enforcement-only immigration tool that will be devastating to small business, hurt legally authorized workers, and cost the government a crushing amount of money. Equally threatening, if passed, the proposal would jeopardize any chances of future comprehensive immigration reform. The report details, among other things, the "jobs tax"—an estimated $190 in lost wages and transportation per person—that will be applied to ordinary Americans using the system, as well as E-Verify’s 30 percent higher error rates for naturalized citizens than for native born workers, the billions of dollars that small businesses will have to pay to use the system, and the up to three-quarters of a million Americans—legally authorized to work—who will lose their jobs because of E-Verify’s high error rates.
Please join CAP Vice President Angela M. Kelley and CAP Analyst Philip E. Wolgin, for a discussion on the economic impact of E-Verify and the political ramifications on today’s immigration debate on Capitol Hill, moderated by Irma D. Herrera of New America Media.
What:
Press call to discuss the policy and politics of the current immigration debate in Washington, specifically, the high costs of proposed verification systems on individuals, businesses, and the government, and the proposal’s potentially hazardous effects on the prospects for immigration reform.
Who:
- Angela M. Kelley, Vice President for Immigration Policy and Advocacy at the Center for American Progress
- Philip E. Wolgin, Immigration Policy Analyst at the Center for American Progress
- Irma D. Herrera, Editor at New America Media, Moderator
When:
Wednesday, July 13, 2011, 1 p.m. EDT, 10 a.m. PST
Call info: 877.210.8943
Conference ID: 82382299
RSVP
Please contact Christina DiPasquale at [email protected] or 202.481.8181.
**Please note, this call will be recorded. By participating in the call, you consent to be recorded.**
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