MADISON – Senator Eric Wimberger (R-Oconto) released the following statement after introducing LRB-0512, a bill that would require the State of Wisconsin and contractors with contracts totaling $50,000 or more to use the federal E-Verify program to ensure workers are legally eligible for their positions:
“Congress failed to address a gap in our immigration law by making E-Verify use optional, rather than mandatory. This means employers are not required to check their workers’ employment status beyond filling out an I-9 hiring form. Because of this, bad actors can plausibly deny their exploitation of illegally-hired cheap immigrant labor, since the law does not compel them to do anything beyond the bare minimum to confirm the employment status of their workers.
By requiring E-Verify, Wisconsin will ensure it does not participate in abusive labor practices that take advantage of illegal aliens, depress wages for union and non-union labor, and attract human trafficking.
Governor Evers expressed concern recently that he might be accused of violating federal immigration law. This bill should ease his concerns, since employees and contractors will need to be pre-screened to be lawfully employed.”
Administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the E-Verify program has been an important tool used by many states to reduce instances of identity theft and fraud in the workplace. E-Verify cross-checks information from an employee’s I-9 with Homeland Security and Social Security records to ensure employment eligibility. LRB-0512 would require that the State of Wisconsin, and any contract project valued at $50,000 or more, use E-Verify to certify their employees’ statuses, bringing Wisconsin statutes in line with Midwestern neighbors such as Minnesota, Indiana, and Pennsylvania.
