The Key To Effective Immigration Reform - Fact of the Day

Congress is currently debating whether to mandate use of an employment verification system based on the existing “Basic Pilot” as part of comprehensive immigration reform.  HR experts predict such a mandate – without first ensuring accuracy of the government databases upon which Basic Pilot relies – will result in a debacle for U.S. employers and continued vulnerability to widespread unauthorized employment.

What is the Problem with the Basic Pilot?

• The Basic Pilot’s accuracy is severely limited by the proliferation of fraudulent identity documents. The Basic Pilot system does not verify the authenticity of the identity being presented for employment purposes, only that the identity presented matches information in the Social Security and DHS databases.

• A major cause of delay and inaccuracy in the system is that the Basic Pilot’s information resides in separate government databases – which may not be up-to-date – increasing instances of tentative non-confirmations and delays.

• A significant percentage of the Basic Pilot queries require human intervention, a clear indication that substantial resources are needed to purge the various agency databases, improve communication between agencies, and prevent identity fraud.

• The problem is likely to be exacerbated if participation increases from 13,000 voluntary users to all 6 million-plus employers in the United States.

• GAO officials have testified that Basic Pilot is not ready for nationwide participation.

• The HR Initiative supports Congress and DHS in the effort to restore integrity to our immigration system.  The vast majority of U.S. employers would endorse a process to bring certainty to employment verification. Required participation in the Basic Pilot in its present form magnifies past mistakes and will fail to provide the security needed.

Preventing Unauthorized Employment is the Key to Effective Immigration Reform

The Human Resource Initiative for a Legal Workforce (www.legal-workforce.org) represents human resource professionals in thousands of small and large U.S. employers representing every sector of the American economy. The HR Initiative and its members are seeking to improve the current process of employment verification by creating a secure, efficient and reliable system that will ensure a legal workforce and help prevent unauthorized employment, a root cause of illegal immigration.