Your employment may depend on a system that’s 98.3% accurate
Your employment may depend on a system that’s 98.3% accurate
The Obama administration will add drivers license information from the state of Mississippi to the E-Verify program as soon as this week. It’s part of a test to see if that information makes it easier to check on someone’s employment eligibility.
E-Verify is operated jointly by the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration. It’s been operating for many years now and is a free optional service in many states. But an increasing number of states are requiring business owners to use it. State governments are doing this as part of an effort to curb illegal immigration.
The program has its critics. We talk with Tyler Moran, Policy Director at the National Immigration Law Center. Her organization estimates that 80,000 people lost their jobs in 2010 due to errors in the E-Verify system that caused them to show up as ineligible when they actually were. From there, those people can appeal by going down to a Social Security office but there’s no guarantee that they will be able to resolve the problem and in the mean time they’re out of work.
We also talk with Alejandro Mayorkas, Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. It’s part of the Department of Homeland Security. He says the program’s accuracy rate is now at 98.3 percent, which he feels is extremely high. He says his agency strives for perfection and that he’s heartened to see the rate improving.
Also in this program, a new app called SOS can provide help in dealing with seizures, choking, and broken bones. But maybe it’s good to read up on that stuff BEFORE an emergency occurs instead of fumbling with your phone during the actual crisis. Just saying.
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