Iowa businesses would be required to use the federal E-Verify system to ensure their employees are authorized to work in the United States under a bill passed Wednesday by Republicans in the Iowa Senate. Knowingly hiring people not authorized to work in the U.S. is already a federal crime, but the bill would add a state-level business penalty for employers. An employer could lose their business license if they knowingly hire undocumented immigrants and are caught twice in three years. Vanessa Marcano-Kelly, an immigrant rights advocate and small business owner, said earlier this month that the E-Verify proposal is burdensome, inefficient and can wrongly flag people who are authorized to work. These bills have not yet received a vote by the full House or Senate.