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A Reasonable Step In Immigration Reform

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 9, 2008

Florida lawmakers have been more restrained than most in the fray over illegal immigration, a problem best solved at the federal level.

Yet state legislators feel pressure from constituents to do something - anything - to express their displeasure with Washington's inability to craft comprehensive reform.

Still, it's important for lawmakers to recognize the limits of what Florida can do to address illegal immigration without creating a climate of discrimination.

One of the top proposals this year is a simple - and reasonable - measure to make businesses seeking state contracts use the federal E-Verify system to check the immigration status of new hires. The provision sponsored by Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, and Rep. Sandy Adams, R-Oviedo, is neither over-reaching nor particularly onerous.

E-Verify is an electronic database managed by the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration that allows employers to check the legal status of new workers. It's essentially an electronic version of the I-9 form that has been used for two decades.

The E-Verify requirement would be limited to those who do business with the state and their subcontractors. Arizona, by contrast, requires every business with a state license to use E-Verify.

E-Verify is not perfect. The databases contain errors, and illegal immigrants still could work under stolen identities. But the same problems faced the paper-based system.

The advantage of E-Verify is that it works faster, and employers are better protected against being accused of knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.

More importantly, E-Verify puts the onus on the federal government to verify identities - not small businesses that suffer mightily when immigration raids wipe out their workforces. In Arizona, employers say they get fewer illegal immigrants applying for jobs because they know they will be thoroughly checked.

Lawmakers should approve this proposal, but resist the temptation to adopt sweeping changes that could hurt the state's agriculture, homebuilding and tourism industries.

If Florida adopts E-Verify for state contractors, the state will have addressed constituent concerns without going overboard.

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