Bill would require use of ‘E-Verify’ to check workers’ immigration status
Advocates for businesses and immigrants spoke Wednesday in opposition to a bill in the Iowa Senate that would require employers use the federal E-Verify program to ensure they are not hiring undocumented immigrants.Republican senators on a subcommittee voted to advance Senate File 108, legislation prohibiting Iowa employers from knowingly hiring a worker who is not authorized to live or work in the country. Dustin Miller, representing multiple business groups including the Iowa Grocery Industry Association, Iowa Chamber Alliance and Greater Des Moines Partnership, said the concern is that “the system doesn’t work.” He said there are currently 70,000 false positives each year among employers that use the system — many of those being workers under age 18 because they’re not yet in federal databases. A first offense would require businesses fire all undocumented employees, serve three years probation filing quarterly reports on new hires and must sign a sworn affidavit to not hire undocumented workers. If a business does not file the sworn affidavit, the state would have the ability to suspend their business license. Subsequent offenses could mean the permanent loss of the employer’s business license.