Mark-up of H.R. 1772 – Legal Workforce Act – Congressman Lamar Smith and House Judiciary Chairman, Bob Goodlatte Introduce a Bill to Improve the E-Verify System

By EWIC

June 26, 2013 (see PDF Here)

We write to thank you for the work done on H.R. 1772, The Legal Workforce Act introduced by Congressman Lamar Smith and House Judiciary Chairman, Bob Goodlatte on April 26, 2013, and we support your continued efforts toward immigration reform. This is a bill that, if passed, would mandate an improved E-Verify program on all employers and for all new hires.  EWIC is a coalition of businesses, trade associations, and other organizations from across the industry spectrum that supports reform of U.S. immigration policy to facilitate a sustainable workforce for the American economy while ensuring our national security and prosperity. We want to underscore the need for establishing a workable, reliable and efficient worksite enforcement employment eligibility system. A new E-Verify mandate would impact every business in the United States as well as every employee. It is imperative that this new system function properly and be administered in the proper environment.

 
One of the most important goals for EWIC that is included in the current version of H.R. 1772, is a clarification that federal jurisdiction preempts state and local laws. Business needs one standard to comply with and elimination of the morass of state and local employment verification laws. State, local and municipal immigration laws imposing new rules and regulations are virtually impossible to track and follow. Small business is particularly burdened by the myriad of rules and regulations that are currently imposed by non-federal immigration “authorities.” We believe that the current version of H.R. 1772 strikes the right balance on federal preemption and urge members to oppose any dilution of the strong federal preemption language.