(Washington, D.C.) – US Representatives Sue Myrick (NC-9), Lamar Smith (TX-21), Steve King (IA-5), Brian Bilbray (CA-50), and Jack Kingston (GA-1) commented on today's actions by the Obama administration to address the massive problem of illegal immigrants in the U.S. workforce.

Congresswoman Myrick, who has worked closely with the Department of Homeland Security to bring more immigration enforcement to North Carolina, said, "Requiring the use of E-verify is common-sense policy. People who enter the country illegally shouldn't be rewarded with jobs, especially not while unemployment rates continue to rise."

Congressman Smith, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee said, "The Obama administration deserves credit for finally recognizing that U.S. citizens and legal workers should not have to compete with illegal immigrants for jobs. But it is sad that an administration that claims to want to crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants has made it harder for companies that follow the law. It is odd. On the one hand, the administration is saying that illegal immigrants should not have federally-funded jobs. On the other hand, they are telling businesses that when illegal immigrants are unmasked in their workforces, there is little the company can do to address it."

Congressman King, Ranking Member on the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security & International Law, said, "The problem of identity theft and social security fraud by illegal immigrants is well-documented, and one protection against such abuses is the No-Match letter. When illegal aliens use stolen or fraudulent identity documents to get jobs, it can trigger a No-Match letter. The Obama administration does a grave disservice to the American people if it does not provide American companies with clear guidance for how to deal illegal immigrants in its workforce after receipt of a No-Match letter."

Congressman Bilbray, who Chairs the House Immigration Reform Caucus, said, "The number one reason for illegal immigrants to come across our border is to find illegal employment. I am pleased that the Obama Administration has finally embraced the highly effective E-Verify program for government contractors and subcontractors. However, this plan does not go far enough. We need to ensure that every business in America uses the E-Verify program to protect against illegal employment, and to make sure employers do not exploit the labor of illegal workers. Even further, it is a shame that the Obama Administration has decided to take away the No-Match letters that help employers with both legal and illegal employees."

Congressman Kingston, who has been a leading voice to support and strengthen E-Verify, said, "Today's announcement is a step forward and a step back. The Administration has finally addressed the need for the federal government to lead by example when it comes to enforcing our immigration laws. How they could do this in one step and in another abandon no-match letters is a mystery that defies all. It makes me wonder if the Administration is still playing games or if they are serious about addressing the problem."

Today’s actions are as follow:

    * DHS announced that, after delaying implementation of the federal contractor rule for E-Verify three times, the rule will take effect on September 8.

    * DHS announced that it will rescind the safe-harbor process for employers to follow should they receive a “No-Match” letter from the Social Security Administration.

          o According to the Department of Homeland Security, “every year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) informs thousands of employers via a ‘no-match’ letter that certain employees’ names and corresponding Social Security numbers provided on Forms W-2 do not match SSA’s records every year.”  In the most recent year for which SSA has data, more than 140,000 employers had sufficient numbers of mismatches to warrant such a letter. Mistakes are often an indication that the employee is an illegal immigrant.

          o Repealing the rule tells businesses who do not want to follow the law that they can continue to ignore these letters, even though they know that the people listed on them are often illegally in the U.S.