Allegiant Solutions

The most important thing that needs to be checked in the entire Form I-9 process is the document. Is it real? Does it belong to the person presenting it? The major weakness of the Department of Homeland Security’s E-verify program is that it does not pick up identity theft or fraud. It might not identify those people who are using valid numbers but false documents.

According to the Department of Homeland (DHS) officials, the use of fraudulent documents by aliens is extensive. CBP officers have intercepted tens of thousands of fraudulent documents every year. The types of false documents most frequently intercepted by CBP officers include border crossing cards, alien registration cards, non-immigrant visas, and passports and citizenship documents (both U.S. and foreign). CBP reports that large-scale counterfeiting has made fraudulent employment eligibility documents (e.g., Social Security cards) widely available.

A glaring example of E-Verify’s pitfalls is what happened to Swift & Company, a meatpacking enterprise with operations in several states. The company had used E-Verify for its employees and was under the impression that they were indeed eligible to work. But in a 2006 raid, ICE officials arrested 1,300 people who had used valid - yet stolen - Social Security numbers and other documents in order to work.

February 2nd, 2008

By Diane M. Grassi

As the United States Senate and President George Bush try to come to some understanding of what is needed to properly address the illegal entry of non-resident aliens to the United States, for the 12 to 20 million illegal aliens already residing in the U.S., the issue of existing false documentation has yet to be honestly addressed.

But proposed legislation in the Senate leading to a path of legal residency and ultimately citizenship for those illegal aliens presently residing in the U.S. would involve presentation of proof of identity and length of residency.

The problem will be whether or not the illegal or “undocumented” aliens will be willing to admit that their status in the U.S. is illegal, or will continue to maintain that the documentation they hold is valid, even if fraudulent and illegally obtained. In order to do so, there would have to be an amnesty program, but President Bush has insisted that his proposal for legal residency of illegal aliens is not an amnesty program which presents a problem.

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