Background on H.R. 2885, the Legal Workforce Act: On September 22, the House Judiciary Committee approved H.R. 2885, the Legal Workforce Act, by a vote of 22-13. H.R. 2885 could open up millions of jobs for unemployed American workers by requiring all U.S. employers to use E-Verify. Created 15 years ago, E-Verify allows employers to electronically verify that newly-hired employees are legally authorized to work in the United States. Specifically, the Social Security numbers of new hires are checked against Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security records in order to eliminate fraudulent numbers and help ensure that new hires are genuinely eligible to work. The program quickly confirms 99.5% of work-eligible employees. It's free, quick, and easy to use. With 23 million Americans unemployed or underemployed and seven million illegal immigrants working in the U.S., now is the time to expand E-Verify.

Both businesses and the American people overwhelmingly support E-Verify. Nearly 360,000 American employers voluntarily use E-Verify and over 2,700 new businesses sign up every week. The Legal Workforce Act enjoys support from a broad coalition, including Numbers USA, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Restaurant Association, National Association of Home Builders, among many others. And a May 2011 Rasmussen poll found that 82% of likely voters support requiring all U.S. employers to use E-Verify.

Bill Information

Bill Text

E-Verify one-pager

Press Resources

Americans Overwhelmingly Support E-Verify

E-Verify will help Americans land the jobs they work hard for (FoxNews.com) - 2/21/2012

Smith Applauds E-Verify Expansion

Committee Approves Legal Workforce Act

Chairman Smith Statement at Markup of H.R. 2885, the Legal Workforce Act

Broad Coalition Supports E-Verify

Smith to President: E-Verify Best Jobs Bill on Table

Smith and Gallegly: California Bill Shows Federal E-Verify Law Needed

Smith Applauds E-Verify Expansion

Smith to President: E-Verify is a Jobs Bill

Chairman Smith Statement at Hearing on H.R. 2164, the Legal Workforce Act

Chairman Smith Introduces Legal Workforce Act

Trust but E-Verify (The American Spectator) - October 20, 2011

E-Verify would cut down on illegal workers (The Sacramento Bee) - October 18, 2011

E-Verify Helps Minorities (Politico) - September 14, 2011

E-Verify Best Jobs Bill (The Hill) - September 13, 2011

Make E-Verify the Entire Law of the Land (Washington Times) - June 17, 2011

If Job Creation is the Goal, Make E-Verify Mandatory (The Hill) - June 14, 2011

E-Verify Works, Let's Use It (Los Angeles Times) - June 13, 2011

It's Time to Enforce Immigration Laws and Build on Successes of E-Verify (The Hill) - January 24, 2011

Letters of Support

National Association of Homebuilders - September 20, 2011

Society for Human Resource Management - September 15, 2011

American Council on International Personnel - September 14, 2011

American Meat Institute - September 13, 2011

U.S. Chamber of Commerce - September 13, 2011

National Restaurant Association - September 12, 2011