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It is hard to believe, however before 1986, the federal government was agnostic concerning whether or not an employer’s workforce was legally documented. That year, passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 1st introduced the American workplace to the ideas of I-9 compliant forms, unauthorized employment sanctions and over-documentation discrimination. Ever since, employers have been conscripts: deputy border guards making an attempt to stem the tide of undocumented economic immigrants to the U.S.

Talk concerning the law of unintended consequences! Who knew that economic immigrants wouldn’t be deterred? That the economic boom times of the 1990’s would cause sustained shortages in unskilled labor and a deliberate abandonment of enforcement of the 1986 1aw? That the I-9 compliant necessities would spawn an trade of pretend identification? Who knew, when the I-9 process failed, miserably and utterly, to dissuade economic migrants from coming to America, that the policy manufacturers, instead of conceding failure, would double down on employers with a new twist on the same recent song.

Enter E-Verification, USCIS’s internet-based, on-line system to check whether or not the I-9 compliance knowledge matches the data the govt. has in its knowledge bases. Despite a lot of unhealthy press, E-Verification will work: it’s (sometimes) quick, simple and done, and it does facilitate employers who otherwise have no meaningful ability to suss out whether or not I-9 compliance documents are real or fake. But when it isn’t quick, simple or done, E-Verification, like the I-9 compliance system before it’s fertile ground for unintended consequences:

• A lot of identity theft: employment verify puts a premium on having knowledge that can “match” the information governmental data. What higher information than that of a true person? To combat this, E-Verify rolls out the photo tool, and what happens? The Photo Tool examines only Employment Authorization Documents and Legal Permanent Resident cards, thus undocumented workers beat the system by avoiding these documents within the I-9 compliance.

• No man’s land for authorized employees who get caught within the bureaucracy:

False positive final non-confirmations are rare, however they are doing happen-I personally grasp of two things during the last year. And once they happen, there is no remedy for the employee whose record is wrong. The employer is sort of sure to fireside the worker-he enjoys statutory immunity from all legal claims therefore long as he depends in sensible faith on E-Verify implementation, whereas if he keeps the worker on board, he has to inform E-Verify he’s doing so-thereby inviting a visit from ICE. Where is this employee supposed to seek out employment where every employer requires E-Verification and where the employee needs to depend upon the bureaucracy for a data fix?

• A lot of training prices for employers: to protect against discrimination, E-Verification prohibits pre-employment queries and requires employers to continue to employ staff with tentative non-confirmations till the case is resolved. At a minimum, this implies every week or 2 of labor for any employee who decides to contest the tentative non-confirmation; at worst it suggests that employees bent on gaming the system will move from job to job to draw a paycheck, whereas the employer has to keep recruiting and coaching, over and over again.

• A permanent underclass in Arizona. Obligatory E-Verify compliant participation has led to an ever-increasing category of unintended consequences-our fellow Arizonans, dropped at the U.S. as kids, educated in our schools and drenched in our culture. Note: E-Verify compliant suggests that thousands are doomed to suffer the sins of their fathers-they need no chance of employment in this State.

Thus where do we go from here? Employment continues to be a magnet that attracts economic migrants, regardless of what our immigration laws provide. Electronic verification is politically standard and continues to achieve traction with employers. Pragmatists say it’s time to target fixing employment verification, not opposing it. The New Employment Verification Act, co-sponsored by Congresswoman Giffords and currently pending in Congress, puts fresh concepts on the table-a biometric choice to the verification process and a remedy for Americans mistakenly rejected by the government systems. Notably, E- Verify has commissioned an freelance, comprehensive study of E-Verify compliant in Arizona, which can embrace an assessment of its unintended consequences and undoubtedly, sound recommendations for tweaking the system. Most importantly, the DREAM Act, which will permit a path to legal standing for undocumented kids who will demonstrate their contribution to our society, is ready to move in Congress. Let’s make it happen.

Bonnie K. Gibson of Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy writes for immigration and economic policy, international trade, human resources. Fragomen is the world’s largest business immigration law firm, specializing in work permits, immigration compliance, worksite enforcement and export licensing, worldwide.