[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 163 (Thursday, October 27, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1949-E1950]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        CALIFORNIA AND E-VERIFY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEN CALVERT

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 27, 2011

  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to a recent 
article in the Riverside Press Enterprise about E-Verify and the new 
California state law that will prevent cities and counties from 
requiring businesses to use E-Verify. It is disappointing that when so 
many other states are moving towards mandating E-Verify, California is 
going in the opposite direction. With unemployment at 12.1 percent in 
California, preventing cities and counties from using E-Verify to 
ensure local residents have an opportunity to work makes no sense. 
Instead, the state is protecting illegal immigrants who are employed 
illegally. Furthermore, federal law already requires businesses to hire 
a legal work force; allowing the use of E-Verify simply gives employers 
the tool to ensure they can comply with existing law.
  Again, many of us in California are outraged by Governor Jerry 
Brown's decision to sign this bill and deny cities and counties their 
right to require use of the E-Verify program. It is telling that the 
Governor decided not to issue a statement announcing the signing of the 
legislation. The E-Verify program is overwhelmingly popular, with over 
80 percent of Americans supporting its mandatory enactment. The 
Governor is wrong on this issue and I support local cities and counties 
that choose to challenge the constitutionality of this law.

               [From the Press Enterprise, Oct. 20, 2011]

            Region: Cities Scramble in Wake of E-Verify Bill

                           (By Kevin Pearson)

       A number of Inland cities may be forced to repeal 
     ordinances requiring businesses to verify that employees are 
     not undocumented immigrants, now that the state has 
     prohibited cities from mandating use of the federally run E-
     Verify system.
       The law that was signed this month and goes into effect 
     Jan. 1 left cities with few other options, but it has stoked 
     the debate on both sides of the issue about the state's role 
     in immigration issues.
       E-Verify, created in 1996 by Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, is 
     operated by the Department of Homeland Security. It can be 
     used to ensure that an employee has the legal right to work 
     in the United States.
       The new state legislation does not prohibit businesses or 
     government entities, including cities and counties, from 
     using E-Verify; it does prohibit making E-Verify's use a 
     requirement to do business within those cities our counties.
       In the past year and a half, Temecula, Murrieta, Lake 
     Elsinore, Hemet, Menifee, Wildomar, Norco and San Bernardino 
     County have passed ordinances requiring businesses to use the 
     system, to varying degrees. The Inland area is home to the 
     majority of municipalities in the state with such ordinances.
       The state law comes as a bill is making its way through 
     Congress that would require every business in the nation to 
     use E-Verify, signaling that the issue between cities, states 
     and the federal government may just be getting started.
       ``Right now, across America, various states and local 
     governments are enacting mandatory E-Verify,'' Calvert said 
     in a statement. ``Meanwhile, California is going the other 
     way . . . and in fact the Governor is signing laws to preempt 
     the use of E-Verify. This is an outrage.''


                            CITIES AFFECTED

       When Gov. Jerry Brown signed the bill last week, he 
     released no signing statement and the move largely flew under 
     the radar. But the text of the bill cited the costs that 
     businesses incur to implement the system, and concern about 
     the accuracy of the system.
       Though E-Verify is free to use, the bill noted that there 
     could be a significant cost to businesses in staff time and 
     other resources. And while Calvert's office boasts that E-
     Verify is 99.5 percent accurate, other studies have 
     questioned that figure.
       As word spread about the new bill, cities in Riverside 
     County began working on how to react. Officials in some of 
     those cities said

[[Page E1950]]

     they are still having internal discussions among city and 
     legal staff.
       City leaders said it is likely that most of the city 
     councils will be asked to repeal the ordinance. Another 
     option is a legal battle, but officials said that would be an 
     unlikely choice because of costs.
       In Temecula and Murrieta, there have been no reports of 
     immigration violations since the E-Verify ordinances went 
     into place. Staff for both southwest Riverside County cities 
     said they did not view illegal immigration as a major issue 
     in their towns.
       ``When you look at the whole issue, it's a federal issue,'' 
     Temecula Deputy City Manager Grant Yates said. ``When you 
     look at actions across the country . . . the frustration is 
     that at the federal level we don't have clear direction.''
       In Hemet, the city passed its ordinance in June and just 
     recently got new business license paperwork with the E-Verify 
     information on it. Staff members are now instructing 
     applicants to ignore that language.
       ``California is a dysfunctional state and therefore it 
     makes it difficult on local governments to implement this and 
     a host of other issues,'' said Brian Ambrose, a Senior 
     Management Analyst with the city of Murrieta. ``Does this 
     surprise me? No.
       ``The state legislature passed this bill, and if that's the 
     legislature and governor's desire, we are content to do what 
     they wish. (But) this is absolutely far from over.''


                             FEDERAL ISSUE?

       Many local city officials said they will keep a close eye 
     on the federal push for the E-Verify system because they 
     believe the federal government should be the one making the 
     final decision on immigration issues.
       Kathleen Kim, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los 
     Angeles who specializes in immigration issues, said E-Verify 
     should be dealt with on the national level and that asking 
     private businesses to run immigration checks blurs the line 
     between the public and private sector.
       ``I think the workplace should not be the location for 
     immigration enforcement,'' Kim said. ``E-Verify and the 
     controversy over it is an example of why immigration 
     enforcement should be taken out of the workplace and put in 
     the hands of trained officers.
       ``This attempt to privatize immigration enforcement in the 
     workplace can never find a comfortable solution.''
       Republican State Sen. Bill Emmerson said he opposed the 
     state bill and that it goes against Brown's campaign for 
     governor, during which he said he wanted to shift power to 
     local agencies. Emmerson, whose 37th District includes Hemet, 
     Menifee, Lake Elsinore, Moreno Valley and Corona, said he was 
     surprised by the bill.
       ``It's another case of the state stepping in and not 
     allowing local governments to use the tools available to 
     them,'' Emmerson said. ``To say they can't use a federal 
     program seems not fair.
       ``The federal government has to be the level of government 
     that steps up and makes the fix so states have a clearer 
     policy of what to do.''


                             LOCAL POLICIES

       Hemet: All businesses in the city must check newly hired 
     employees through E-Verify.
       Lake Elsinore: All businesses in the city must check newly 
     hired employees through E-Verify.
       Menifee: All applicants for a business license must affirm 
     their intent to use E-Verify.
       Murrieta: All businesses in the city must check newly hired 
     employees through E-Verify.
       Norco: All businesses that have contracts with the city 
     must use E-Verify.
       San Bernardino County: All county contractors must use E-
     Verify.
       Temecula: All businesses in the city must check newly hired 
     employees through E-Verify.
       Wildomar: All city contractors must use E-Verify and 
     provide documentation of doing so.

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