[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1966 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1966

      To provide for the immediate review by the Immigration and 
 Naturalization Service of new employees hired by employers subject to 
    Operation Vanguard or similar programs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 18, 1999

Mr. Hagel (for himself and Mr. Roberts) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To provide for the immediate review by the Immigration and 
 Naturalization Service of new employees hired by employers subject to 
    Operation Vanguard or similar programs, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. PILOT PROGRAM FOR IMMEDIATE CONFIRMATION OF EMPLOYMENT 
              ELIGIBILITY FOR CERTAIN NEW EMPLOYEES.

    (a)  Pilot Program.--The Attorney General, in consultation with the 
Commissioner of Social Security, shall establish a pilot program (in 
this Act referred to as the ``program'') to provide for the 
confirmation of identity and employment eligibility of any individual 
hired on or after 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act by 
an employer described in this section. Such confirmation shall include 
an assessment of whether the individual hired has improperly claimed 
the identity of another person.
    (b)  Program Requirements.--The program shall--
            (1) provide an electronic confirmation or tentative 
        nonconfirmation of an individual's identity and employment 
        eligibility within five business days of the receipt by the 
        Attorney General of information submitted by an employer in 
        accordance with the requirements of paragraph (5);
            (2) adhere to the requirements of section 403(a)(2) of the 
        Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 
        1996 with respect to the presentation of documentation;
            (3) adhere to the requirements of section 403(a)(4) of such 
        Act with respect to employer responsibilities in the event of 
        confirmation or nonconfirmation of the identity and employment 
        authorization of an individual described in this section, 
        including the consequences of nonconfirmation;
            (4) observe the limitations on use of the confirmation 
        system contained in section 404(h) of such Act;
            (5) allow employers to submit copies of Form I-9 (or any 
        subsequent form that satisfies the attestation requirements of 
        section 274A(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act) with 
        respect to individuals covered by this section to the 
        Immigration and Naturalization Service by facsimile or 
        electronically not later than 3 business days after the date of 
        hiring such individuals; and
            (6) allow employers to elect to participate or not 
        participate in such program.
    (c)  Agency Authorization.--In order to carry out the terms of the 
program, officers and employees of the Immigration and Naturalization 
Service are authorized to confirm the eligibility of individuals to be 
employed in the United States. In confirming such eligibility, such 
officers and employees may use records that include or relate to social 
security account numbers to determine with respect to an individual 
whether the person with the identity claimed by the individual is 
authorized to be employed in the United States and whether the 
individual is claiming the identity of another person.
    (d)  Definition of Employer.--For purposes of this Act, an employer 
eligible to participate in the program is--
            (1) any person or entity described by Standard Industrial 
        Classification Code 2011 or by North American Industry 
        Classification System Code 31161; or
            (2) any other person or entity designated as eligible to 
        participate by the Attorney General.
    (e)  Construction.--Failure by the Attorney General to make 
available the program described in this section to an employer 
described in subsection (d) shall act to prohibit the Attorney General 
from issuing administrative subpoenas under Operation Vanguard or under 
any similar program for all or substantially all of the Forms I-9 and 
related records of such employer until the program becomes available.
    (f)  Effective Date.--This section shall take effect on the date of 
enactment of this Act and shall apply to any individual hired for 
employment by an employer on or after the date of enactment of this 
Act.

SEC. 2. ENHANCEMENT OF CIVIL PENALTIES.

    (a) In General.--During the time that an employer is participating 
in the program, the civil penalties under section 274A(e)(4)(A) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(e)(4)(A)) shall apply 
as follows:
            (1) Not less than $250 and not more than $5,000 for each 
        unauthorized alien with respect to whom a violation occurred.
            (2) Not less than $5,000 and not more than $10,000 for each 
        unauthorized alien in the case of a person or entity previously 
        subject to one or more orders under such section.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to violations that occur on or after the date that the program is 
available to employers electing to participate under this Act.
                                 <all>