These questions are culled from phone calls, letters, faxes and e-mails sent to Rep. Gallegly's Camarillo, Solvang, and Washington offices. Each week Rep. Gallegly adds another question and answer. Please add your comments.
June 17, 2011
Question: How would H.R. 2164, the Legal Workforce Act help legal workers?
Answer: The U.S. unemployment rate has now been at or above 9 percent for the past 23 months and more than 800,000 potential workers stopped looking for work in May.
At the same time, an estimated 7 million people are working illegally in the United States and taking American jobs. Americans should not have to compete with illegal immigrants for jobs.
The best way to free up these jobs for American workers is to require all employers to use E-Verify to allow employers to ensure that new hires are legal.
E-Verify is based on one of the recommendations of the 1995 Congressional Task Force on Immigration Reform, which I chaired. E-Verify simply matches a person's name, Social Security number and birth date against Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security databases. It is free, accurate, and easy to use.
Today, more than 250,000 American employers voluntarily use E-Verify and an average of 1,300 new businesses sign up each week.
Specifically, H.R. 2164:
- Repeals the current paper-based I-9 system and replaces it with E-Verify.
- Requires the largest employers, those having more than 10,000 employees will be required to use E-Verify six months after it becomes law.
- Employers having between 500 to 9,999 employees will be required to use E-Verify 12 months after it becomes law.
- Within 18 months, businesses having 20 to 499 employees must use E-Verify
- Two years after enactment, businesses having 1 to 19 employees must use E-Verify.
H.R. 2164 recognizes that, unlike other industries, agriculture employs workers whose skills are not readily available in the United States. Therefore, the bill does not require E-Verify for farm workers until three years after enactment, giving Congress time to devise an effective guest worker program for agricultural workers.
For more information on my positions on illegal immigration issues, please see my Illegal Immigration issues page. For more information on my positions on the economy, please see my Economy issues page.
For previous Questions of the Week chronologically and by topic, please see my Questions of the Week page.
I have written you through the lost of my home and my car. I am a single parent non-Hispanic which these days means I will not get help from the government including jobs and housing. With my status as below the poverty line, I have sought a job any job for the last 3 years. I volunteer as a girls U-12 Soccer coach. I am 53 years old and have been told several times they would prefer younger people. I have contacted the EEOC opened a case and after 3 years they we unable to do the investigation as promised. My case worker at county does not inform me of the extra food programs or work programs that illegals in my neighborhood receive. I am an American citizen. I worked hard to build a commercial construction business with my husband for 17 years. We employed several Hispanic men. Even though they would bring false greencards and identities, by law we could not question them. They would change their names after six months of work and return home (Mexico) when ever they needed. In truth, all 15 men were Mexican Nationalist reporting the highest level of deductions including people in Mexico. With these deductions these unskilled workers were able to receive a take-home pay equal or above a skilled tradesmen with equal and true deductions. While on Visa they had new born children and used the community health resources stating no income in lieu of the provided insurance. This is not equality. Blue colar workers in this state and country are being slighted in favor of illegals. Where once a family could depend on a skilled trade to bring in enough money to buy a modest house, American families are left to fend for themselves. People wonder why the American workforce has changed and it's because there is too much disparity bringing complacency and disdain. I have a nine year old daughter and I want a job. I have a higer education degree and qualified. Without jobs for Americans, my daughter and I will continue to share a room. We have no home. Let's get back to being America with self-esteem and wisdom.