Without congressional reauthorization, E‑Verify, the electronic employment eligibility verification program, will sunset on September 30. E‑Verify is intended to screen illegal immigrants out of the job market by turning off the “jobs magnet” that attracts them to American soil.

Many policymakers want to mandate E‑Verify as part of an enforcement-only immigration policy. But its high error rate will delay or prevent employment for many current U.S. citizens, legal immigrants, and migrant workers. Furthermore, E‑Verify is incapable of meaningfully locking unlawful immigrants out of America’s job market. If E‑Verify is ever made permanent, and its inadequacy in stemming the flow of illegal migrants made apparent, the likely outcome will be the creation of a biometric identification system capable of regulating our lives in areas far outside of immigration enforcement. Join us for a discussion of E‑Verify and its many perils.