BACK TO NACUANOTEFN36. Early in the new
Administration, Secretary Janet Napolitano directed a review of the E-Verify system,
noting, “E-Verify has encountered criticism both for false negatives (persons who are
authorized to work but who nonetheless receive a tentative non-confirmation from the
system) and for false positives (unauthorized aliens who receive a confirmation because
they have borrowed or stolen the identity of an authorized worker).” Department of Homeland Security Press Release,
Secretary Napolitano Issues Immigration and Border Security Action Directive (Jan. 30,
2009), available at http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1233353528835.shtm. In May 2008, USCIS implemented a system-based
and data-source enhancement to address the high number of mismatches and faulty data
regarding foreign born US citizens. This
system reduced those mismatches only by about 39% resulting in continued mismatches for
foreign born US citizens that require follow up through USCIS or the Social Security
Administration. As further evidence of the
high error rate of the databases, USA Today reports that Intel, one of the largest U.S.
employers, had found that 12% of its 1,360 workers hired between January and July 2008
were initially rejected by the E-Verify system. Moreover, Intel challenged the 143
rejections and all of the workers were found to be legal U.S. workers. See Thomas Frank, “Use of Federal Database for
ID Checks Hits Some Bumps,” USA Today, Feb. 6, 2009, available at http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-02-05-immigration_N.htm. |