Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez District 4 Illinois (Democrat) on Tuesday July 21, 2009 testified before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security. The hearing was entitled "Ensuring a Legal Workforce: What Changes Should be Made to Our Current Employment Verification System?" His testimony cut right to the heart of the matter.
He stated: "I know some in Congress believe that a mandatory employment verification system alone would actually fix our broken immigration system by encouraging undocumented immigrants to "self-deport." However, those who believe this do not fully understand (1) how much undocumented workers are already an integral part of our country, economy, communities and families; (2) the extent to which bad-apple employers are willing to go to exploit this source of vulnerable and cheap labor; and (3), the significant shortfalls of the current E-Verify system. "
He continued by explaining E-Verify's shortfalls:
"[T]he current E-Verify system falls short of being as effective as we need it to be, because it does not prevent discrimination or misuse by employers, such as pre-screening job applicants and circumventing the system altogether. The current system also has a serious security flaw, in that it is incapable of preventing or determining fraud or identity theft. "
We can only hope that there are more people in Congress that understand the issues that need to be addressed in tackling comprehensive immigration reform, and that they listen to people like Congressman Gutierrez before taking action.
Click here to read the full testimony of Congressman Gutierrez before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security.
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