Monday, January 26, 2009

FW: [URGENT ACTION REQUESTED TO SUPPORT IMMIGRANT RIGHTS -- NILC: Call Congress to Oppose E-Verify in Economic Stimulus Bill]

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From: National Immigration Law Center [mailto:reply@nilc.org]
Sent: Friday, January 23, 2009 11:13 AM
To: Marielena Hincapie
Subject: E-Verify Requirement in Stimulus: Calls Needed Today

 

 

ACTION NEEDED:
STIMULUS BILL INCLUDES REQUIREMENT TO USE BASIC PILOT/E-VERIFY

 

PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE, EMAIL ALL RESPONSES TO HUYNH@NILC.ORG.

 

Leave Harmful and Ineffective Anti-Immigrant Enforcement Measures Out of Economic Stimulus

The House Appropriations Committee made a serious mistake when it approved an amendment to the stimulus bill (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) that would require all businesses and other public or private "entities" that contract to receive money from the stimulus package to use the flawed federal Basic Pilot/E-Verify program.  This will not only delay use of stimulus funds, but will hurt millions of workers.  It should be stripped from the bill.

The amendment represents a massive expansion of the E-Verify program.  As has been well documented, the E-Verify program is deeply flawed, inaccurate, and subject to substantial employer abuse.  Bottom line - it is not ready for a massive expansion and definitely not in times of economic crisis.  

 

The E-Verify provision in the stimulus will:

•    Harm workers who are either falsely denied work or are targeted by employers abusing the E-verify program;
•    Create substantial new burdens for businesses, especially small businesses, at precisely the wrong time;
•    Send the wrong signal to new voters that the Congress prefers to play politics by enacting symbolic and ineffective immigration "enforcement" measures over serious and effective economic stimulus or serious immigration reform.

ACTION NEEDED

1.    Call Speaker Nancy Pelosi (head of Democratic Leadership) at 202-225-0100.

2.    Call Chairman Obey (chair of the House Appropriations committee) at 202-225-3365.

3.    Call Democrats who sit on the appropriations committee if you live in their state (see below).

4.    Tell them:

•    You are extremely disappointed that the E-Verify requirement was included on the Stimulus and you want the provision stripped from the bill.

•    Including E-verify in the stimulus package completely undercuts the purpose of the bill and will only be counterproductive for American business, workers and the economy.

•    Real solutions to our economic problems and immigration reform should be approached seriously and separately.

•    The flawed E-Verify program's database errors will wrongly workers their jobs.

FAIR (the Federation for American Immigration Reform) just sent out an alert to its very active network to call committee members in support of this provision.  We need to counter their calls.

DEMOCRATS

Marion Berry (AR-1)    202-225-4076
Sanford D. Bishop (GA-2)    202-225-3631
Allen Boyd (FL-2)    202-225-5235
Albert Benjamin Chandler (KY-6)     202-225-4706
Lincoln Davis (TN-4)    202-225-6831
Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3)    202-225-3661
Norman D. Dicks (WA-6)    202-225-5916
Chet Edwards (TX-17)    202-225-6105
Sam Farr (CA-17)    202-225-2861
Chaka Fattah (PA-2)    202-225-4001
Maurice D. Hinchey (NY-22)     202-225-6335
Michael M. Honda (CA-15)     202-225-2631
Steve Israel (NY-2)    202-225-3335
Jesse L. Jackson (IL-2)    202-225-0773
Marcy Kaptur (OH-9)    202-225-4146
Patrick J. Kennedy (RI-1)    202-225-4911
Carolyn C. Kilpatrick (MI-13)     202-225-2261
Barbara Lee (CA-9)    202-225-2661
Nita M. Lowey (NY-18)    202-225-6506
Betty McCollum (MN-4)    202-225-6631
Alan B. Mollohan (WV-1)    202-225-4172
James P. Moran (VA-8)    202-225-4376
John P. Murtha (PA-12)    202-225-2065
David R. Obey (WI-7)    202-225-3365
John W. Olver (MA-1)    202-225-5335
Ed Pastor (AZ-4)    202-225-4065
David E. Price (NC-4)    202-225-1784
Ciro Rodriguez (TX-23)    202-225-4511
Steven R. Rothman (NJ-9)    202-225-5061
Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34)     202-225-1766
C.A. Ruppersberger (MD-2)     202-225-3061
Timothy J. Ryan (OH-17)    202-225-5261
John T. Salazar (CO-3)    202-225-4761
Adam B. Schiff (CA-29)    202-225-4176
Jose E. Serrano (NY-16)    202-225-4361    
Peter J. Visclosky (IN-1)    202-225-2461
Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-20)    202-225-7931

Background

E-Verify is a voluntary internet-based program intended to allow employers to electronically verify the information that workers present to prove their employment eligibility by accessing information in databases maintained by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA).   For more information on why the provision should be stripped from the economic stimulus bill, see Talking Points.

 

 

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