[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 130 (Friday, August 1, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1644]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              EMPLOYEE VERIFICATION AMENDMENT ACT OF 2O08

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. DAVID DREIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 30, 2008

  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the extension of the e-
verify program, which I have supported since it was initially created 
under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act 
of 1996. Since that time we have continued our fight to strengthen our 
immigration laws.
  Unfortunately when we had the debate in 1996 my colleagues did not 
approve an amendment to make our Social Security card counterfeit-
proof. Since that time, I have worked with my colleagues in a bi-
partisan way to ensure that we improve our employment verification 
system and Social Security cards so that neither is susceptible to 
fraud. To achieve this goal I have introduced H.R. 98, the Illegal 
Immigration Reform and Social Security Protection Act with my colleague 
from Texas, the distinguished chair of the House Intelligence Committee 
and former Border Patrol Agent Silvestre Reyes. This bill would go a 
long way to address the employment magnet that draws illegal immigrants 
to the United States.
  It is important to note that the bill before us commissions further 
studies on the e-verify program. We know from a 2005 GAO study on e-
verify that the system is still susceptible to fraud and cannot 
identify when multiple people are using the same Social Security 
number. The raids conducted of Swift Meatpacking plants in 2006 showed 
the ease with which fraudulent Social Security numbers were used to 
gain unlawful employment. Swift was an e-verify participant and yet was 
found to have been employing several hundred illegal immigrants.
  While I support this measure to extend the program, I hope very much 
that we can have a more open debate on the need to prevent fraud in our 
employment verification system. Only when we address the need to 
improve the security of the Social Security card and employment 
verification system will we be able crack down on the employment magnet 
that draws people to this country illegally.

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