[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 32 (Thursday, February 19, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7698-7699]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-3543]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

[CIS No. 2468-09; DHS Docket No. USCIS-2009-0001; RIN No. 1615-ZA81]


Announcement of a Stakeholder Meeting on the E-Verify Program in 
Arizona

AGENCY: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: The E-Verify Program is a free employment eligibility 
confirmation system operated jointly by U.S. Citizenship and 
Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Social Security Administration. It 
is designed to provide the best means available for determining 
employment eligibility of new hires and the validity of their Social 
Security numbers. The E-Verify Program allows participating employers 
to electronically confirm the employment eligibility of newly hired 
employees to help maintain a stable, legal workforce. The purpose of 
this notice is to announce a stakeholder meeting on the E-Verify 
Program. This meeting will help USCIS identify strengths and weaknesses 
of the E-Verify Program's implementation under Arizona law from 
multiple perspectives and will help assist the evaluation staff in 
prioritizing future research topics.

Date and Time: The meeting will be held on Monday, March 9, 2009, from 
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak, 
7677 North 16th Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To RSVP for the meeting: Dr. Denise 
Glover, Westat, 1650 Research Boulevard, Rockville, MD 20850. 
Telephone: (301) 251-2269; Fax: (301) 294-3992. E-mail: 
[email protected]. USCIS contact: Sara Speckhard, Research and 
Evaluation Division, Office of Policy and Strategy, U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration Services, 20 Massachusetts Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20529-2140 Telephone: (202) 272-1470. E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Section 403--Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility 
Act of 1996 (IIRIRA)

    On September 15, 1997, the Immigration and Naturalization Service

[[Page 7699]]

(INS) published a notice in the Federal Register describing pilot 
programs that are required by section 403 of IIRIRA. On December 20, 
2004, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the 
extension and expansion of one of these programs, the Basic Pilot, 
which was renamed the E-Verify Program in 2007. The E-Verify Program 
permits participating employers to electronically verify the employment 
authorization of newly hired employees against Social Security 
Administration and, in some cases, Department of Homeland Security, 
databases.

Program Evaluations

    Section 405 of IIRIRA required that evaluation reports on the 
verification pilot programs be completed and sent to Congress. Those 
evaluation reports were submitted to Congress in 2001 and 2002. Since 
that time the former INS and now USCIS have continued to evaluate and 
report on the electronic employment verification program to ensure that 
it is meeting the E-Verify Program's goals of reducing unauthorized 
employment, reducing verification-related discrimination, protecting 
employee privacy and confidentiality, and minimizing employer burden. 
USCIS is currently evaluating the impact of expanded participation in 
the E-Verify Program under Arizona law. This meeting is being held as 
part of the evaluation to help the evaluators identify strengths and 
weaknesses of the E-Verify Program's implementation under Arizona law 
from multiple perspectives, obtain insights into the issues and impacts 
that might arise with implementation of E-Verify in a mandatory use 
environment, suggest how those issues might be addressed, and 
prioritize future research topics. USCIS understands that expanded E-
Verify Program participation in Arizona relates to the enactment of 
certain requirements of Arizona State law; the purpose of the 
evaluation and this stakeholder meeting are to better understand 
effects on the E-Verify Program from the Federal perspective, rather 
than to analyze, construe or take a position as to the scope or merits 
of any particular provision of Arizona law.

Summary of Agenda

     Introductions.
     Update on the E-Verify Program.
     Overview of the fiscal year (FY) 2008 evaluation.
     Evaluation goals for FY 2009.
     Breakout group meetings to address topics such as 
addressing identity fraud, understanding and resolving tentative 
nonconfirmations, identifying program strengths and recommending 
program improvements focusing on specific types of employers (e.g., 
designated agents, employers using designated agents, employment and 
temporary help agencies, small employers, multi-site employers, and 
companies with large concentrations of immigrant workers).
     Discussion of output from individual breakout groups.
     Questions and comments.

Public Participation

    The meeting is open to the public, but advance notice of attendance 
is requested to ensure adequate seating. Persons planning to attend 
should notify Dr. Glover, by February 27, 2009, at: Telephone: 301-251-
2269; Fax: 301-294-3992, or e-mail at [email protected]. 
Individuals who plan to attend and require special assistance, such as 
sign language interpretation or other reasonable accommodations, should 
contact Dr. Glover at least 72 hours prior to the meeting.

    Dated: February 13, 2009.
Michael Aytes,
Acting Deputy Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
[FR Doc. E9-3543 Filed 2-17-09; 11:15 am]
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