Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) President and CEO Susan R. Meisinger, SPHR, urged Congress to replace the current federal system for verifying employment eligibility with a system already in place in the states that tracks parents who are delinquent in child support payments.

The employee authorization plan supported by SHRM would be implemented under the proposed New Employee Verification Act (NEVA) (H.R. 5515)—introduced by Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas—Meisinger said at a May 6, 2008, House Subcommittee on Social Security hearing on the impact employment verification will have on the Social Security Administration.

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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.

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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Now that Electronic Employment Verification is state mandated in Arizona, businesses of all sizes are looking for a simple and cost effective way to comply with the new law. However, when an Arizona company uses the E-verify program they are not totally free from scrutiny, prosecution or business shutdowns.

Case in point, Swift & Co., the company has participated in the federal government’s Basic Pilot worker authorization program for ten years, yet the company was raided by federal agents on December 12, 2006.

Swift & Co. processed the Social Security numbers through the e-verify (basic pilot program) and illegal aliens were cleared for employment.

So what happened? The federal agents searched for illegal immigrants who stole the identities of lawful U.S. residents and used valid Social Security numbers to get jobs at the company. The government detained and removed nearly 1,300 illegal aliens during this raid.

“Swift said it believes the raids violated the agreements associated with the company’s participation over the past ten years in the federal government’s Basic Pilot worker authorization program.”

The shutdown and the long road to return operations back to full production; cost Swift & Company between $45 million to $50 million.

If Swift & Company had used Allegiant Solutions as an identity document verification service to screen their employees’ documents, the illegal aliens would have been declined from being hired.

Allegiant Solutions focuses on the source, “the document”. The document is the key to identity verification, not the information on the document. We provide a practical solution to the most difficult ID verification environment; where an individual who is seeking identity verification is unknown to the verifier. We do this by verifying that the document is valid and that it belongs to the bearer through a series of questions comparing the security features against a known source document.

Allegiant Solutions has numerous applications, such as employment verification (Form I-9 compliance), resident screening, and any situation when an identity document needs to be scrutinized or verified.

Phoenix, AZ - State law mandates as of January, 1 2008 all Arizona employers verify that every employee is legally permitted to work in the United States through use of the Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify System and proper Form I-9 completion.

Now that Electronic Employment Verification is state mandated in Arizona, businesses of all sizes are looking for a simple and cost effective way to comply with the new law. However, when an Arizona company uses the E-verify program they are not totally free from scrutiny, prosecution or business shutdowns.

Case in point, Swift & Co., the company has participated in the federal government’s Basic Pilot worker authorization program for ten years, yet the company was raided by federal agents on December 12, 2006.

Swift & Co. processed the Social Security numbers through the e-verify (basic pilot program) and illegal aliens were cleared for employment.

So what happened? The federal agents searched for illegal immigrants who stole the identities of lawful U.S. residents and used valid Social Security numbers to get jobs at the company. The government detained and removed nearly 1,300 illegal aliens during this raid.

“Swift said it believes the raids violated the agreements associated with the company’s participation over the past ten years in the federal government’s Basic Pilot worker authorization program.”

The shutdown and the long road to return operations back to full production; cost Swift & Company between $45 million to $50 million.

If Swift & Company had used Allegiant Solutions as an identity document verification service to screen their employees’ documents, the illegal aliens would have been declined from being hired.

Allegiant Solutions focuses on the source, “the document”. The document is the key to identity verification, not the information on the document. We provide a practical solution to the most difficult ID verification environment; where an individual who is seeking identity verification is unknown to the verifier. We do this by verifying that the document is valid and that it belongs to the bearer through a series of questions comparing the security features against a known source document.

For more information concerning on being compliant with Arizona House Bill 2779, consider subscribing to Allegiant Solutions.

For more information concerning the Certificate of Citizenship Form N560, consider subscribing to Allegiant Solutions.

Its primary purpose is to track individuals for taxation purposes. In recent years the SSN has become a de facto national identification number. A social security number may be obtained by applying with Form SS–5, “Application for A Social Security Number Card”.

The original purpose of the social security number was to track an individuals’ account within the Social Security program. It has become to be used as a unique identifier for employee, patient, student and credit records that are sometimes indexed by Social Security number. The U.S. military also uses the SSN as an identification number.

There is no law requiring a U.S. citizen to apply for a Social Security number to live or work in the United States; however, it is required for parents to claim their children as tax dependents. Although some people do not have an SSN assigned to them, it is becoming ever increasingly difficult to engage in legitimate financial activities without one.

Types of Social Security Cards

There are three different types of Social Security cards. The most common one contains the cardholder’s name and number. These cards are issued to U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents. The other two Social Security cards are a restricted Social Security card:

• One reads “NOT VALID FOR EMPLOYMENT.” Such cards cannot be used as proof of work authorization, and are not acceptable as a List C document on the I-9 form.

• The other reads “VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION.” These cards are issued to people who have temporary work authorization in the U.S. They can satisfy the I-9 requirement, if they are accompanied by a work authorization card.

What is the significance of the numbers on a social security card?

The number is divided into three parts: the area, group and serial numbers. The Area Number, the first three digits, is assigned by the geographical region and are determined by the ZIP Code of the mailing address shown on the application for a social security number.

THIS DATA IS STRICTLY FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES

NOTE: The same area, when shown more than once, means that certain numbers have been transferred from one State to another, or that an area has been divided for use among certain geographic locations.

Any number beginning with 000 will NEVER be a valid SSN. The information in the social Security Database about an individual is confidential by law and cannot be disclosed except in certain very restricted cases permitted by regulations.

• 700-728 Issuances of these numbers to railroad employees was discontinued July 1, 1963.

Within each area, the group number (middle two (2) digits) range from 01 to 99 but are not assigned in consecutive order. For administrative reasons, group numbers issued first consist of the ODD numbers from 01 through 09 and then EVEN numbers from 10 through 98, within each area number allocated to a State. After all numbers in group 98 of a particular area have been issued, the EVEN Groups 02 through 08 are used, followed by ODD Groups 11 through 99.

This chart below shows how Group numbers are assigned:

ODD - 01, 03, 05, 07, 09	EVEN - 10 to 98
EVEN - 02, 04, 06, 08	ODD - 11 to 99

Within each group, the serial numbers (last four (4) digits) run consecutively from 0001 through 9999.

Since 1973, social security numbers have been issued by the central office. The first three (3) digits of a person’s social security number are determined by the ZIP Code of the mailing address shown on the application for a social security number. Prior to 1973, social security numbers were assigned by our field offices. The number merely established that his/her card was issued by one of our offices in that State.

For more ways to verify Social Security documents, consider subscribing to Allegiant Solutions.

They worry that the rules could possibly lead them to fire legal workers because the Social Security Administration doesn’t have the infrastructure to help clear up discrepancies within the 90-day period as the “no-match” letter rules require.

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