LA RAZA HARRY REID SAYS NO TO E-VERIY - So Does Obama, Feinstein, Pelosi, Boxer and MEXICO!

Sen. Reid Blocks Sen. Sessions’ E-Verify Amendment to Unemployment Extension Bill

This past week, undeterred by Congress’ previous failure to permanently extend E-Verify, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) again took to the Senate floor to fight for American workers and to protect American jobs. When the Senate took up a bill to extend federal unemployment benefits for 14 weeks, Senator Sessions filed an amendment to permanently extend the E-Verify program – the online, electronically operated system that allows employers to quickly and easily confirm that their new hires are legally authorized to work in the United States and not illegal aliens. (H.R. 3548, September 22, 2009; See S.AMDT.2695, October 20, 2009). The Sessions amendment will ensure that available jobs would go to American citizens and legal immigrants.

Earlier this year, during Senate debate over the Department of Homeland Security annual appropriations bill, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) successfully attached an amendment permanently extending E-Verify to the Senate version of the DHS bill. (See FAIR’s Legislative Update, July 13, 2009). Unfortunately, the Sessions amendment was stripped from the final version of the bill by the House-Senate conferees, and the DHS Appropriations bill ultimately authorized E-Verify for only three years. (See FAIR’s Legislative Update, October 19, 2009).

Senator Sessions’ latest amendment sought to accomplish three important job protection and immigration enforcement-related goals, including:

Making E-Verify permanent. (S.AMDT.2695, Sec. 201). As stated above, Congress recently reauthorized E-Verify for only three years. This leaves the program vulnerable to amnesty proponents using a long-term or permanent reauthorization of E-Verify as a bargaining chip to leverage the passage of a mass amnesty for the 12 million illegal aliens living in the United States.

Requiring that individuals who receive unemployment compensation benefits under any state or federal law first have their identity and employment eligibility verified through E-Verify. (Id., Sec. 203). This provision in the Sessions amendment would have helped ensure that illegal aliens would not be able to access taxpayer-subsidized unemployment compensation benefits.


Requiring businesses that contract with the federal government to use E-Verify “to verify the identity and employment eligibility of—(1) all individuals hired during the term of the contract by the contractor to perform employment duties within the United States; and (2) all individuals assigned by the contractor to perform work within the United States…under such contract.” (Id., Sec. 204). The Obama Administration recently – after several delays – implemented a regulation similar to this provision of the Sessions amendment. (See FAIR’s Legislative Update, September 8, 2009). However, the Sessions amendment is necessary because it would have codified the requirement that federal contractors use E-Verify, effectively barring the Obama – or any subsequent – Administration from gutting this provision without Congressional approval.
Unfortunately, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) filed a motion to cut off debate (i.e., invoke cloture) on the unemployment compensation extension bill without first allowing the Senate to vote on the Sessions amendment. The Senate agreed to Reid’s “cloture motion,” effectively stalling any forward momentum on the Sessions amendment. (Roll Call Vote #329, October 27, 2009). The Senate is expected to vote on final passage of the legislation sometime this week. (Congressional Quarterly, October 29, 2009).